Leaders of Unites #125 - David Timmerman

12 November, 2025

"I now know: if you take initiative and follow through, you can achieve a lot."

I built huts with kids from the neighborhood

My name is David Timmerman, I’m 24 years old and was born and raised in Zwolle. I grew up living with my grandparents together with my mother. We lived there until I was twelve, after which we moved to another neighborhood. That’s also when my little sister was born.

As a kid, I spent a lot of time playing outside. We built huts with kids from the neighborhood, played games, and kicked a ball around. I was also a member of a local football club. When I wasn’t outside, I enjoyed gaming at home. Back then, I didn’t really care about basketball yet, everyone I knew played football.

It wasn’t until I was seventeen that I realized there were other sports that suited me better, and I quickly discovered basketball. I liked the vibe and the culture much more. I joined Landstede Basketball ZAC in Zwolle and noticed that the training sessions were more intense and that people were more serious about the sport than in football. Football was fun too, but it was mainly about having a good time.

Through a teammate, I got in touch with 3X3 Unites. He had already helped out at several events and thought it might be something for me as well. I helped once during an activation on a local court and thought it was super fun. Later, I tried to organize another activation together with that teammate, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out.

My experiences with 3X3 Unites led me to study Social Work

Three years ago, I moved to Rotterdam for my studies. Partly because of my first experiences with 3X3 Unites, I decided to study Social Work. I feel much more at home in Rotterdam than I did in Zwolle. I missed a bit of diversity there. I’m half Dutch and half Sierra Leonean, and sometimes I felt people in Zwolle stared at me longer just because I have a different skin color.

In Rotterdam, I feel there’s truly room for everyone, regardless of your background or where you come from. Here, nobody cares what you look like or what you do. Everyone just does their own thing. People are used to living together with many different cultures. I really feel at home in Rotterdam, a city that not only has more diversity but also a lot of space for creativity.

I’m now in my third year of my studies and did my internship at 3X3 Unites. I already knew some people there, including Lenno. I sent an email and started exploring opportunities in Rotterdam together with him. During my internship, I set up a 3X3 Leader Course myself, and during that course, I also earned my own Leader diploma.

Learning to take initiative

It was a very valuable experience, and I still use some of the tools I learned in my daily life. I used to be quite reserved, but I’ve learned to take more initiative and show who I am. I now know: if you take initiative and follow through, you can achieve a lot. I love being able to inspire others to do the same, that’s what leadership means to me.

Together with Lenno, I want to build something great in Rotterdam. We see plenty of opportunities and really believe we can make it happen. The plan is for me to become the 3X3 Unites coordinator in Rotterdam, and I’m super excited about it. I just think: okay, let’s go!

During my studies, I’ve already connected with many social organizations in Rotterdam. Outside of school, I’ve also been networking to get to know the city better. I feel that many social organizations in Rotterdam still work separately, while we could achieve so much more together. I’d love to take on that connecting role.

These days, I play basketball with Rotterdam-Zuid, which is great. I also want to talk to young people in the city and listen to their needs. Only when we understand those can we make sure that 3X3 Unites fits in as well as possible. We can really make an impact here in Rotterdam, I’m sure of it.