My Basketball career

By Teo Tarda, MYP2

Top image from https://www.sloveniaball.com/boys/team/Slovakia

“Basketball has always been a big part of my life. I started playing 3 and a half years ago at a club called BK Inter.

At first I was much weaker than the others. They had been playing for many years before I joined. Some of the guys bullied me because I was a newbie and didn’t have the skills they had yet. I never gave up though. I knew that one day I would be equally strong and good as them, if not better.

Even though some of my coaches and teammates underestimated me, I kept pushing myself. After a new coach joined the team, he saw how motivated I was and recognised my potential. Even when I made mistakes during training or games, I didn’t stop. My new coach noticed and started playing me more in matches. He even complimented my skills and told the other players to learn from my defence and motivation.

Thanks to this I became more successful. I got the opportunity to play for the national team of Slovakia U15 which was a huge accomplishment for me. I also played in tournaments with older guys which was tough but it motivated me even more.

With my new coach’s help I won an MVP trophy at a CEYBL tournament and multiple medals including a gold one at the Slovak championships. Now I earned the respect of my friends. But I didn’t forget that success doesn’t come easily. It takes time and hard work. I still have strong motivation to become an even better basketball player and I hope to continue being successful.”