The annual One Team Awards will be presented during the September’s Annual Workshop, and between now and then we will be telling a short success story from each of the six shortlisted clubs. Today we feature Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Baba is an 8-year-old boy who joined Baskonia’s One Team program last season. His home life was very unstable, resulting in several home and school changes that negatively impacted his personal life, affecting his confidence and delaying his development. But the One Team sessions with Baskonia provided Baba with a safe environment and an opportunity to make new friends, as well as giving him the chance to take part in something constant and reliable – unlike his unstable home life.
At first, Baba struggled in the sessions. His size and height affected his coordination, making him angry and frustrated at his inability to perform like the rest of the children. He was often reserved and upset, lowering his head and avoiding interaction with his teammates.
However, with the guidance and support of the Baskonia One Team coaches he began to improve his coordination and embrace his height. This boosted his confidence and happiness, allowing him to start to engage and make friends within his team. And by the end of the program, Baba was leaving every session with a big smile on his face.
One Team, supported by Turkish Airlines as the One Team Founding Patron and with the collaboration of Special Olympics as Proud Partner, uses basketball to achieve real social impact in our communities.
With an innovative model of interconnectedness across an entire continent, Euroleague Basketball and its clubs have developed a complete CSR program that brings together activities from each team in an integrated, impactful way, working under the theme of ‘community integration’ that actively addresses targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 on Reduced Inequalities.