Thompson Falls exchange student shares love for basketball

THOMPSON FALLS – Baptiste Seynaeve, a foreign exchange student from Belgium, played to his full ability alongside the Bluehawks creating some unforgettable memories along the way.

Seynaeve has played basketball for ten years in his home country and has now reached into the realms of “American” basketball, learning along the way.

During his time with the Bluehawks, Seynaeve said he learned a lot thanks to his coach Chadd Laws and the different perspectives his teammates gave him on the game.

“I improved a lot and I learned a lot in the United States,” said Seynaeve referring to his time playing basketball.

With the season now behind us, Seynaeve was pleased with the way it went.

“Our season was a really good season. I have really good teammates and a really good team,” said Seynaeve.

Seynaeve explained the hardest thing to get used to while playing basketball in the United States was the amount of practices.

“We have two trainings per week in my country and here it was every single day, sometimes two times a day,” said Seynaeve. “It was very difficult in the beginning.”

Throughout the long practices and the many games, Seynaeve created a strong bond with his other teammates, planning to keep in contact with some of them when he returns to Belgium on June 20.

“I’m really thankful for every single thing they did for me,” said Seynaeve who was surprised with how quickly and fully the team accepted him.

“I hope some of them will come to Belgium to visit me,” said Seynaeve.

Seynaeve plans to go to college to become a civil engineer but one day hopes to return to Thompson Falls.

And as always, he will continue the sport that he loves so much, basketball.

This year his team in Belgium took the championship and will be advancing to a higher level for the next season.

“They told me I had my place in the team and to come back when I want,” said Seynaeve, which he plans on doing.

One lesson he wants to bring to his team back home is to “play hard all the time.”

Sometimes his team in Belgium plays two games a day and his teammates reserve their energy for upcoming games. However, Seynaeve would like to teach them to give it their all, all the time.

“You need to play hard all the time,” said Seyneave.

Coach Laws saw major improvements in Seyneave as the season went on.

“He is a very talented basketball player,” said Laws. “Baptiste was a pleasure to coach and he was a wonderful young man to be around, on and off the court.”