Leaders of Unites #123 - Jasmijn Jalink

I feel completely at home again in the place where I grew up. There’s always something going on and the atmosphere is great. I’m friends with almost all my neighbors. A lot of people my age live in the area, and we do many things together: hanging out, playing basketball, playing football, going to parties, or watching horror movies. I love that the people I grew up with are still my friends today.

I always like to stay busy. I enjoy cooking and baking, reading books, shopping, and recently I’ve discovered photography. I bought my own camera and started taking pictures of my boyfriend’s basketball games. I love capturing something you can also see with your own eyes. I think I inherited my passion for photography from my father; he always took pictures of everything too.

I’ve only been doing it for a few months, so I still have a lot to figure out. Before each game, I try to set up my camera properly and find a spot with the best light. I just take loads of photos, and then at home I sort out which ones are blurry and which ones I’m happy with. I’m in my final year of pre-university school (VWO 6) and will take my exams at the end of the year. For my final project, I want to do something with photography, though I don’t know exactly what yet.

I tried hockey once, but after five minutes I knew it wasn’t for me

But my biggest passion is still basketball. When I was eight, my mother decided I should pick a sport. A new hockey club had just opened around the corner, so I joined a trial training session. After five minutes, I walked off the field. My back hurt from constantly bending over with that stick in my hand. I didn’t enjoy it at all.

So my mother said: “Then you’ll play basketball.” I started at CBV Binnenland and was hooked right away. I played there for a few years before moving to Rotterdam Zuid Basketball. I wanted to play at a higher level and spent a year in the under-16 premier league. I loved it, especially because I quickly formed a strong bond with my teammates.

At Rotterdam Zuid Basketball, I also got to know 3X3 Unites. The assistant coach asked me if I wanted to join the 3X3 Leader Course, because he thought it would suit me. I agreed. I wanted to learn more about leadership and develop my life skills. I really enjoyed it, especially because I learned new things from other young people in the course, and because we worked towards a final event.

Since managing the Instagram account for 3X3 Unites Rotterdam, followers grew from 80 to 619

I’ve learned a lot about managing and promoting things. I manage the social media account for 3X3 Unites in Rotterdam, and I love helping it grow. Since I took over, the account has grown from 80 to 619 followers. I’ve learned that you need to post a lot and put in real effort if you want to be seen or get people to show up at your events.

I now also ask 3X3 Leaders who are at events to take photos and videos and send them to me. During the week, I post them on Instagram. Sometimes participants even message me to ask if I have a video of them. They then post it themselves and tag 3X3 Unites Rotterdam, which helps our reach grow even more.

Meanwhile, I’m still playing a lot of basketball myself. In fact, this season I’m playing for two clubs: The Hurricanes in Spijkenisse and Rotterdam Basketball. I train four times a week in total and often play two games during the weekend. Rotterdam Basketball was already pretty full, and then the coach of The Hurricanes asked me to join them as well. When I realized I could still play for Rotterdam Basketball too, I thought: why not just play for both?

I don’t mind being on the court every day. Basketball is what I love most, although this year my school exams come first. Next year I want to study abroad. I’m still deciding between Sports & Event Management or International Relations and Organisations. Ideally, I’d love to go to the United States, but if that doesn’t work out, France is my plan B.