20-year-old Sault Ste Marie Maximus Fasulo who graduated from St Mary’s College where he played basketball for four years along with playing soccer and football for one season each while running cross country for three of the year while he pulled on a Knights jersey before graduating in 2020.
Being a student athlete playing basketball overseas can be a fantastic opportunity to grow both academically and athletically while experiencing a new culture Sault Ste Marie’s Maximus Fasulo headed to Lancaster in the United Kingdom to attend Lancaster University to part of the IPBS, International Partnership of Business schools it essentially splits a four year undergraduate in Canada into two parts; thus I have completed my first two years of university at Brock University hypothetically graduating with a Bachelors (Hons) of Business administration.
How has living in a foreign country impacted your personal growth and perspective on life? How do you stay motivated and focused while being away from family and friends for an extended period? What advice do you have for aspiring basketball players who are considering playing overseas after high school?
To me, this is the most important question here. Personally, my family is my everything, they’d laugh if they heard me sat this because I’m not all that good at showing it, moving to a different country for two years and all that. But everything I do is for them; my parents have given me everything I could ever need to succeed and more and my sisters have comedically destroyed my self-esteem enough to force me into become a better more respectful and humbler person. So being away from them is in a nut-shell the hardest thing I have ever done and hopefully the hardest thing I will ever have to do.
At the time of righting this it has been just under seven months since I’ve seen anyway in one family, and with a five-hour time difference and all the distractions personal life has to offer for all of us, communication hasn’t been all that easy. So just as they were in Canada, living in a foreign country, my family still and will always be my motivation. I play every game of basketball for my dad because I know how happy it made him, I volunteer relentlessly for my mom because she has always showed my love, love that I know not everyone is lucky enough to have and I take part in school societies and strive for scholarships in my program in hopes that I can help my sisters with their, similar, ironically, university degrees. So really, I am motivated because of them, and I stay focused because they are always there to keep me going.
Living in a foreign country has made this all more of a reality for me. Yes, I have grown individually beyond recognition, I have matured endlessly and made friends in parts of the world that would have never been possible if I didn’t undertake this opportunity and as much as I have lost with friendships and relationships back home simply in preparation of living abroad, I have made back here ten-fold. I can’t express my perspective of life as some knew found vast international cubulation of different experiences. In fact, my perspective of life is smaller now than it was before through everyone I have met all the friends I have made we are all really just people at the end of the day we worry the same, love the same, play the play and live to live. My flatmate from China who laughs at the same jokes I do, my basketball captain from Spain cried after his last game just as I did back in Canada my Romanian coach struggles to please people just as I have struggled when coaching and my British best friends make fun of me in the same way my sisters due.
To sum everything up because I can write forever, living in a foreign country, finding the motivation to just get out of bed in the morning and all else, has been overwhelming obviously, but it has been, in a lack for better words modest or humbling. Though there is distance and differences I have never been able to find comfort in the little things in Canada as I do here. In my best guest it is because when you have everything you take it for granted in the moment but take that away and had 3000 miles you miss it at first and wonder how you can go on without, but you realize that its always there through all the people and all the things you could ever strive to amount to.
A little side note to anyway considering doing something remotely similar to what I am doing I would suggest it, all though I haven’t pleaded the struggles as anything too appetizing it has been the most adverse and influential thing I have ever done, and I would suggest it to anyone. Whether it is playing a sport, education or simply for something new I would encourage them to try.
What are some of the key cultural differences you’ve encountered while playing basketball in a foreign country?
The main cultural difference I could illustrate is the basketball culture. In Canada especially in Toronto and Southern Ontario basketball has a culture, with the likes of the Toronto Raptors and other semi-pros teams that culture continues to grow and is represented in leagues and communities across the country.
Contrary in the UK basketball hasn’t developed a culture just yet, there is of course professional teams, but they receive very weak attention, even the basketball players from the UK, that I have encountered of course, do not inherently care for the sport. As a volunteer coach in the community of Lancaster I see this on all levels. Growing up playing basketball in Canada it was structured, educational basketball which then turned into competitive and disciplined forms. Of course, there was aspects of fun and play associated to that yet here that takes definitive rule, kids don’t wish to play the sport to learn or grow as a player they simply like to do so for the aspect of fun this is true at all levels seen through volunteering as a coach of 10–11-year old’s up to being the co-head coach for our universities second team, players even at 18,19,20 years would rather treat basketball as a game opposed to a lifestyle.
What are the major challenges you face as a university basketball player competing at the international level? How has playing basketball overseas influenced your overall game and skill development? How do the training methods and coaching styles differ between your high school team and your overseas team?
My specific school is an international hub, my team this past season was a majority combination of persons from countries outside the UK; Canada, Spain, Australia, Hungary, and Romania made up our starting line-up while our head coach was also Romanian – which was lead for a very hectic beginning to the season. Everyone coming from different backgrounds playing basketball their entire lives, learning, and growing through different lessons, styles of play, coaches and down to even terminology. In the beginning, this was the most significant challenge, getting every individual, all high-quality athletes in their own respective ways, to an agreeance, on terminology, team culture, playing style – I soon realized there is no perfect assimilation of all our combined talents and knowledge, instead the fruition of trust on its highest level. Though this was the biggest challenge yet in the same sense it’s had the strongest influence over my game and skill development. Playing in Canada I remember it was almost ‘awkward’ or uncomfortable playing with people from different cities, I remember playing for Thomas Corey’s competitive Thunderbirds team in the summer leading into grade ten.
It was a U19 team, I was fourteen at the time accompanied by Elijah Suffel who was also 14 at the time. That team was combined of myself and Elijah the youngest some, high-quality high School players from Sault Ste Marie, Top players from Timmins, two young Algoma University recruits and three players from Portugal that I had the honor of hosting. For those two months it was the most difficult, challenging, and uncomfortable moments of basketball I’ve ever experienced, yet it was the most I developed as a basketball player. Playing more physically for my stature, and overall gaining a mind-set of constant competitiveness in order to prove myself day-in-day-out. When I tried out for the University team here, it was on a limb, I didn’t expect to make it, let alone allow the sport to gain lead my life once again. In order to become an integral part of the team as I have, I had to play back to my roots just as I had at 14 years old.
Beyond this though I can now say I am most definitely a more intelligent player than I was at my peak in high school. Aspects of my game that I could simply accomplish through brute force or athletics wouldn’t get me nearly as fair in competition down here, and like most of my European counterparts I not the biggest, strongest or fastest in our league, but what I can definitely say I am one of few players in our league and one of many from our team that have had the luxury of playing in two different countries and being influenced by vast international minds.
Can you share any memorable experiences or moments from your time playing basketball overseas?
The most memorable experience for me would be the Roses Competition. Briefly, it is the largest inter-university sports competition in Europe, the competition occurs every year between Lancaster University and York University this year it was hosted at York University and men’s basketball was the closing ceremony. Lancaster made history by being the first of the two schools to wine away in 39 years. The experience was memorable since it wasn’t just basketball being played, over the weekend every single sport both schools have to offer was played and counted to the final tally of points I believe the final total was 336 events or games played. In addition to this the school spirit was like that of an American university football game just everyone has British accents so its makes it much more entertaining.
What school are you attending and why did you decide to go overseas?
Lancaster University, since my home institution is Brock University I had four choices to complete the double degree program – Lancaster U is a top 10 school here in the UK, my other options were Dublin City University Ireland, ESB Germany and Neoma France. In a nutshell Lancaster U was the best ranking school of the four I believe in the Top 110 of University Rankings world-wide plus the prestige of studying in the UK and the simplicity of not having to re-learn French or attempt to learn German.
What are you taking at school over there?
The program and both Universities are part of the IPBS, International Partnership of Business schools it essentially splits a four-year undergraduate in Canada into two parts; thus I have completed my first two years of university at Brock University hypothetically graduating with a Bachelors (Hons) of Business administration (only if of course I continue to pass here at Lancaster) and after next year I will graduate from Lancaster University with a Bachelor’s (Hons) of International Business Management. That illustrates the double degree component. The co-op component means that I must complete an internship in both Canada and the UK. In Canada I had completed my Internship with BADGER DAO a decentralized autonomous organization dedicated to bringing bitcoin to decentralized finance. Currently here in the UK, I am a marketing intern for a large logistics and transportation firm.
How has playing overseas improved your understanding of the global basketball landscape and expanded your network within the basketball community?
Playing overseas has made me realize how globalized a sport basketball is, it is very interesting to see the passion and knowledge everyone has for the sport, and I think that is an invaluable lesson for me. From a network perspective it has expanded greatly, I don’t necessarily know how to put it into perspective but any endeavors I have associated with basketball I will list down below:
- Men’s First Team Starting Point Guard
- Women’s First Team Assistant Coach
- Men’s Second Team Co-Head Coach
- RedStars Basketball Volunteer 5–7-year old’s
- RedStars Basketball Volunteer 10-12-year old’s
- Turn-up and play volunteer
To repeat what I’ve probably said a million times it is amazing to learn, grow and help grow the game of basketball overseas and I am forever grateful for everyone that has given me the opportunity to do so.
The league you play in for your school, how does it compare to USport basketball?
The league is Called BUCS British University and College Sports, Lancaster U is in the Northwest Division, similar to like an OUA though the UK isn’t split into provinces. In Canada basketball is arguably one of the more popular sports, and probably the most popular in-door court sport. Here in the UK basketball is trumped by the like of Netball and Badminton thus the overall treatment of basketball players is dismal to that of athletes in Canada. That is what I can say is the main difference it takes more of an aspect of discipline to better yourself every day in any way possible since practice is unable to occur every day due to shared gym time.
