My Journey
Eura is small 12,000-people village in the south western Finland. Its located next to Pyhäjärvi lake in the Satakunta region. That’s the place I grew up and had my sporty upbringing. It all started early on. When I was about a year old, I got my first basketball from my parents. When I was three years old, my dad took me to watch older guys practice. I guess the spark and love for basketball began then.
It wasn’t only basetball I played in my childhood, but other sports as well like soccer and hockey. It was easier to play those sports in my hometown because all of my friends played either hockey or soccer. Actually, I almost ended up playing soccer as my first chosen sport because it was so hard to find enough players for a basketball team to play. Sometimes we had a few girls on our team and played against teams that were two years older. However, none of that mattered. I think those types of things have taught me to appreciate the opportunity to play, no matter what the circumstances were.
My parents have made this all possible by providing me support and guidance. My mom Tarja has told me that I can do whatever I want as long as I keep handling my school properly. However, the biggest influence on my sports career has been my father Ari. He was my coach in basketball until I moved to Loimaa to play at the age of 13. He was also part of the coaching staff on my hockey and soccer teams. Even though his soccer and ice hockey IQ are not the best, he replaced them with the passion for sports and his eagerness to help me succeed.
When it was time to move to another city for a better opportunity to play with people at my age, my dad started driving me 3 to 4 times a week, 60 kilometers back and forth to practice straight from school. Later on, when I moved away from my childhood home, Ari kept watching my games with my mom and my little brother Samuel. During the summer, my father would come watch me and my brother play ball in the local gym. My father has been the man who always helped me to overcome every obstacle I have had, helping me to think about the bigger picture and that the next opportunity is the most important one. Thank you dad.
Like I said, I played other sports as well and at the age of 13 I had to choose which sport to pursue. My godfather Vesa alongside my father wanted to write down list about the pros and cons of my abilities in every sport I played. They later told me which they thought was the most suitable sport for me. It was difficult to give up first hockey and then soccer, but something about basketball was so interesting to me that I eventually chose it. Also, my godfather’s list made it clearer that basketball is the sport I would dedicate myself fully into.
After that, I had chance to play for the Finnish national team at every youth level and also captain them. In 2015, I moved to Helsinki for high school to play for HBA Märsky. During that time, my uncle Jarmo helped me a lot and let me live with his family in Sipoo for two of my first high school years. In 2018, I got my first call-up for the men’s national team and since then I have had the chance to play for Susijengi every year. Also at that time, I wanted to see what basketball is like in the U.S. Therefore, I moved to America to play for Arizona State University. During my two years in America I saw and learned a lot.
However, I felt like it was my time to move on to a different setting because my long time dream of playing basketball professionally became closer to reality at the time. Quickly after, I had the chance to start for Germany’s 2nd league Tübingen Tigers and after that, for Baxi Manresa in the Spanish league.
I am grateful for all the places basketball has brought me. 20 years ago I had my first memories of basketball and 10 years ago I made my decision to see how far I could go. I keep following my journey and trying to embrace every moment during it.
-Elias Valtonen
