Leaders of Unites #137 - Ninthe Bongers
"The 3X3 Leader Course gave me the confidence to speak up and take the lead again."
I don’t like being alone – I love being around people
My name is Ninthe Bongers, I’m 17 years old, and I’m from Heesch, a village near Oss, where I still live. I don’t like being alone; I love being around people. That has always been the case, even when I was a child. I spent a lot of time with my friends. We often played "mum and dad," a role-playing game where you would pretend to be a mother, a daughter, or someone else. It sounds a bit silly now, but back then we absolutely loved it. We also made TikTok dances.
I was five years old when I started swimming and eventually earned 14 swimming certificates. I think I collected just about every certificate you could get. After that, I wanted to start competitive swimming, but my mother didn’t think that was such a good idea. I also did gymnastics for a few years, although I wasn’t as good at that.
At primary school, learning came fairly easily to me. I was in an enrichment class where we worked on additional projects to challenge ourselves. For example, we had to think about how to make a particular product more environmentally friendly. But to be honest, I didn’t really enjoy being in that class. I didn’t have much in common with the other children. They were quite quiet and kept to themselves, whereas I really enjoy being around people.
Basketball showed me how much fun a team sport can be
In the final year of primary school, we were given a booklet with all kinds of activities we could try, ranging from cooking to different sports. I decided to take a basketball trial session. I immediately enjoyed it and joined Slamdunk ’97 in Heesch. After a year, however, I decided to quit. I was the only girl on the team and felt a bit left out.
I then did karate for a while, but I quickly realised how much I missed basketball. I’ve now been playing for OBC in Oss for several years and I absolutely love it there. That’s largely thanks to my teammates and all the great people at the club. It’s a really friendly environment. I met my best friend there and currently play for the Girls Under-18 team.
Now I know how much fun it is to play a team sport. In swimming and gymnastics, I was always focused on myself. But I get so much satisfaction from training together, improving together, and beating an opponent as a team that you would normally struggle against. Being able to share that euphoria and happiness with each other makes winning even more special.
The 3X3 Leader Course gave me the confidence to speak up and take the lead again
A friend told me about the 3X3 Leader Course. He thought it would really suit me. I thought it sounded like a lot of fun, and I could also earn some money. But at first, my parents didn’t agree. At the time I was dealing with depression, and my psychologist had advised me to do less. So why would I want to take on something else as well? That’s what my parents wondered.
Fortunately, I managed to convince them, because the course has meant a lot to me. Besides really enjoying it, it also helped me personally. Before my depression, I was someone who liked taking the lead and speaking up. But during my depression, I became more and more withdrawn. It felt as though I disappeared into the background.
Thanks to the 3X3 Leader Course, I’ve found the confidence to speak up and take the lead again. Or rather, I came up with the idea for the final event and took charge of organising it. We organised a 3x3 basketball event with a game of tic-tac-toe in the middle of the court. Every time a team scored, they earned the right to make a move in the tic-tac-toe game. That meant teams also had to think strategically.
I’m proud of myself. It felt so good to be the old version of myself again. My parents noticed it too. They told me they could really see me flourishing again. That meant a lot to me.
I don’t just enjoy listening to music - it also gives me energy
I’m a huge music fan, especially of Public Enemy, the American hip-hop group. I don’t like silence and almost always have music playing. More often than not, it’s Public Enemy. I own five of their CDs and one vinyl record. I also have a huge poster of the band hanging on my wall at home.
I used to be a huge Eminem fan, but my father introduced me to Public Enemy. We even went to one of their concerts together at the Melkweg in Amsterdam. It was fantastic. Sometimes we listen to their music together in the car. My mother, however, absolutely hates it. She prefers Dutch-language music.
I would have loved to help at the 3X3 Festival, but I had exams. Next year I’ll definitely be there
After the summer, I’ll start my final year of pre-university education (VWO). After that, I want to study Biology and Medical Laboratory Research at a university of applied sciences. I already know exactly what I want to do in the future: I want to work in a hospital, researching patients’ cells.
For 3X3 Unites, I lead activations in Oss three times a week. I’d love to do even more, including helping to organise events. I would have loved to help out during the 3X3 Festival, but unfortunately I was right in the middle of my exam week. Next year I’ll definitely be there. I think it’s going to be amazing.
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