Meet Julie Vanloo, one of Belgium’s finest basketball talents. At 27 y/o old, she’s been playing the game for 25 years and wanted to share her story with us.
Immediately it is clear that she is a real ‘bon vivant’ (likes the good things in life) and takes nothing for granted. Enjoy this Q&A with our team.
What is your life story?
“I grew up in Ostend (BE) as an only child. I’ve always had a strong relationship with my parents. They would tell me that as a young four-year-old child, I would already grab toy balls in the store. I was a kid that always wanted to be outside to play soccer or basketball.
My parents saw that they had to do something with this toy ball obsession of mine. So they were incredibly supportive of my decisions. When I was eight years old, I joined the girls’ basketball team in Ieper. A lot of girls who are now in Belgium’s National Team were also playing with me in Ieper. My dad would drive me there every time for my workouts, even though it was a one hour drive. Because of the long commute, my parents got us an apartment there and we could stay the weekend. They truly stood by my side along my journey. My mom would help me out in school a lot. She made the assignments that I was too busy to do. Fun example; when we had to assemble flowers and name their parts, she would go into the woods and collect them for me. I would then get an A on my work (laughs). Not only for homework, but she would help me study to pass my tests. School was never a thing that interested me, though. Only basketball would get my attention. Then at age 18, I decided to play professionally. They were more supportive than ever.
Besides my parents, my friends were supportive as well. The summer is always important to me because that’s the moment I can spend a lot of time with my friends. We go to festivals and so on. Here is a little quote I like to use; We live for the nights that we can’t remember with the people we can’t forget.
I was always really cheerful, and I still am up onto this day. A little ray of sunshine, they would call me. But I was quite the late bloomer. By the age of 22, only then I started going to parties and putting on my first makeup. Yet, that did not stop me from being a bon vivant. I love travelling and going on new adventures and meeting new people.”
Was becoming a basketball player, always your passion?
“Yes, it was definitely my dream as a child. It has always been significant to me. It almost felt like nothing else mattered. Soccer though, was also something that I thoroughly enjoyed. Up until this day, I still love going to amateur soccer tournaments with my friends. It is also a big part of my life. I am a big supporter of the Belgian team Club Brugge. Every single game they play, I intend to watch. I go to a lot of games with my dad as well. When I was in Australia for a year, I woke up in the middle of the night to watch a soccer game of Club Brugge (laughs). I am pretty dedicated.”
How did you experience being a woman in this industry?
“Well, as a woman, you have to fight harder in general. Men quickly take things for granted, especially in this industry. When I was four years old, I was a member of a boys basketball team. I got bullied there because I was better than them and they didn’t like that. But this made me who I am today. It made me confident and made me stand my ground. Their mentality is mostly wrong. They immediately assume that, because I’m a woman, I’m worse than them. But that is most certainly not true. Oh and don’t get me wrong here, I’m not a man-hater!
My friends and I are pretty innovative thinkers. We used to dream together. And so we founded an all-girls basketball camp. It stands for two years now. Also, we organised an All-Star game. Something like this already existed for boys. That is why we wanted to get girls to be able to do it. It sold out in one minute! Our dream came true. And those girls dare to dream now!
We want to create our very own girls basketball team. Because there aren’t many investments for female activities. This way, we can prepare them for what’s coming. The future is female!”
What would you do if you were not able to play basketball?
“I would coach the upcoming youth. I would love to work with children and teenagers to inspire them to do something they love. I would want to do this via a sports school, for example, like what I do at the basketball camp as well. I would do a lot for young girls as well and try to put them into the spotlight. At the camp we hosted, there was a mixed group, so boys and girls. You could clearly see the difference between them. The boys were more confident and sturdy while the girls were more quiet and polite.”
What is your biggest goal within your career?
“It used to be an ambitious goal. My goal was to get into the EURO League. But now as I got older, it changed to me wanting to be happy. I want to feel good in my skin and be able to do my thing. Sometimes you have to think about yourself and your own wellbeing. I think it would be hard to function without being happy.”
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