Basketball takes Nazzari from Douglas to Iran

Hamed Nazzari has had the journey of a lifetime.

A constant for much of Nazzari's life has been basketball - it brought him to Douglas College and more recently, it drew him back to his birthplace to try out for the Iranian men's Olympic basketball team.

"Sports and academics have a lot of similarities, in that they both require a great deal of discipline and commitment in order to succeed," says Nazzari, who started playing basketball seriously when he was 12.

Nazzari contacted the coaches with Iran's national men's basketball team last year after finding out they would be sending a team to the Olympics. He was invited to try out and while he didn't make the final cut, he says it was the experience of a lifetime.

"The feeling that I was contributing in helping the national team prepare for the biggest competition in the history of the Iranian basketball program was amazing," says Nazzari.

While training in Iran, Nazzari updated his family and friends in Canada on his progress, including David Munro, now Faculty Program Manager at the Sports Institute. Munro coached the College men's basketball team when Nazzari took University Transfer courses in sciences at Douglas.

Nazzari first met Munro when he was playing for the under-17 provincial team. Though he considered offers from colleges and universities in the US and across Canada, he felt Munro and Douglas offered him a good balance of basketball and academics.

"David was very supportive of me. He is the type of coach who communicates well with his players and knows how to get the best out of them. I really enjoyed my time playing for him," says Nazzari.

Munro wasn't surprised to hear that Nazzari took the initiative to contact the Iranian national men's basketball team to ask if he could try out.

 

"Everything he accomplishes in his everyday life is through his own hard work and determination," says Munro.

Indeed, Nazzari worked hard while at Douglas, juggling basketball with a full load of courses. He found the small classes were great preparation for university.

"I appreciated not having to compete with 400 other students for the instructor's time. With smaller classes, it was easier to reschedule an exam if I had to be away for a basketball game. The teachers knew my face and were supportive in accommodating my basketball with my studies," Nazzari explains.

After a year, he transferred to Simon Fraser University to complete his BSc (Hon). Now that he's back in Canada, he is putting the finishing touches on his PhD in cardiovascular physiology at the University of British Columbia.

For his part, Munro says Nazzari's work ethic is the key to his own success.

"Hamed is one of the most dedicated young men I have ever coached. For those who have had the opportunity to coach him, we would all agree that he would one day accomplish great things. He's proof that 'You can go anywhere from here.'" says Munro.

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