“I have seen everyday kids like me make it big through playing the sport. So, I thought maybe I could as well.”
Playing team sports has and most likely will always be a part of the culture of growing up a teenage boy. Introduced as early as the first years of school, sport is deeply rooted in many people’s life. That is the case for Australian fourteen-year-old Bede Galvin. Throughout the multiple schools Bede has gone to he has always played a sport as his passion has always remained. Different sports ranging from Cricket, to AFL, Rugby Union to Basketball. But the one that stuck with him was the latter.
The NBA team The Chicago Bulls, and their power forward DeMar DeRozan have inspired my younger brother in his endeavours with the sport. As well as the external support from family and friends, giving him the motivation to take his journey with basketball seriously.
In my interview with Bede, I raised the question “Can you tell me about a moment that changed your life?”. His response was, “In year seven when I started playing basketball my life changed, because ever since then all I have been thinking about pretty much every day is basketball.”
Q: Do you think basketball will be in your life forever?
A: Yes, if I have any, I would want my kids to play the sport.
Q: How did you find basketball, and how did you get into the sport?
A: At the school I go to now it is a really big culture, that people like basketball and at my old primary school we used to play basketball at recess and lunch, it became familiar to me.
Q: When was the first time you played basketball? And do you remember playing your first actual game?
A: I would have to say I started when I was pretty young, like six or seven. But I really picked it up when I was 12ish, in primary school. I don’t really remember playing my first game well, but I do know that I didn’t play that well because I was really new to the sport.
Q: Through learning more about the actual professional league and the games and getting interested in it, do you think that it helped in growing your interest for the sport?
A: Yea because I have seen everyday kids like me make it big through playing the sport. So, I thought maybe I could as well.
Q: Were there any people in your life who supported you in playing the sport? How many people do you have, out of your friends and others in your life play or is it just yourself?
A: My dad used to play. Mum and my sister have supported me. Pretty much everyone I have encountered in my life that knows about me playing has as well. And pretty much all my friends play basketball. Our entire friend group plays it.
Q: Can you tell me about the feelings related to you playing basketball?
A: I am really happy when I play. I feel really energized and I just have an overall love for the sport.
Q: Compared to the other sports you have played; how does basketball compare in relation to them?
A: Pretty much outweighs them completely, because I felt like I wasn’t fit for playing footy when I used to play. And for basketball I feel like I am just more well-rounded in it.
Q: Can you tell me about a favourite game that you have played so far?
A: It would have been a couple games ago when I hit my most threes in a game because I have not really ever been a really good three-point shooter but this season I have and in my game I had around five threes or something.
Q: Do you think you will be able to go somewhere in basketball, in the future? Or do you have plans to do something else?
A: I would really like to go professional for basketball but if that goes to fail. I would do something in sports science. Like physiotherapy or something. But I also see it as a fun hobby to play at the same time.
Q: Why do you think basketball has been such a big thing in your life?
A: Because my dad used to play it and I would use to play it with him. And also, because I was ok at it when I started, but I really saw improvement when I would practice.
Q: Other than directly relating it to the sport, how do you think playing basketball has changed your life overall?
A: I feel like I am more active and I have got something to look forward to doing during the day. And when I am sad or bored, just when I need something to do. It has helped change my life because I have a more positive outlook now. I feel like I really have something to look forward to and it has become a part of my routine.
Lili Gavin is an aspiring journalist in her last year of school at St Clare’s College. She is interested in everything, from creative writing to visual arts and music.