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. We begin today with AX Armani Exchange Milan.
One Team teaches its participants that every day we can learn something new that will provide us with the tools to confront future challenges both on the basketball court and in real life. There is always something to learn, no matter how old or how talented you are, and the art of training is one we must all learn.
When Marco first joined Milan’s One Team program, he was not used to following the demands of practice. He did not like being instructed what to do, being told no, or being given strict guidelines to follow. Every mistake made him very angry, every difficulty was followed by a cry and an escape to the garden.
Marco was enthralled with basketball, the sound of the swish of a basket; yet he was so frustrated by the effort it required to be successful. However, with the support and dedication of his coach, Marco began to push past his fears, test his limits and find that equilibrium between frustration and satisfaction.
The One Team program gave Marco direction and structure. It boosted his resilience and developed his determination. Finding a coach who was constantly supportive, challenging and driving him to greater achievements was the very making of Marco, who has now also transferred the skills he learned from basketball into his everyday life, knowing that he can push past failure and keep on trying.
Milan’s One Team coach Marilisa Zanini said: “If you are able to make a basket after a thousand attempts, then there are no goals that you will not be able to achieve with commitment and dedication, which will make you arrive before the others.”
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.