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Samara Funnell: Her Dream Brought Her to Germany – Now She Coaches Men's Pro Basketball

Samara Funnell: Her Dream Brought Her to Germany – Now She Coaches Men's Pro Basketball

Hangtime vor 1 Tag

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1:10:43

Our guest on today's episode of "Hangtime" is Samara Funnell –
Assistant Coach and Team Manager at Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt.
This is our first episode entirely in English.

Samara didn't start playing basketball until her second year of
high school, around age 15. Her best friend dragged her to a
tryout, and her own reaction was: "There's no way – I'm like a
skinny white girl, I can't play a contact sport." She never
played professionally. Coaching started while she was still in
school, when she took over a junior team as one of the seniors.

Then came years in Australia, working in restaurants, cafés and a
hardware store while coaching 15 to 20 hours a week on the side.
Until a message arrived on Instagram, from someone she had never
met. Two weeks later she quit her job, sold nearly everything she
owned and flew back to New Zealand with a single suitcase: "I'm
gonna just gamble on this opportunity."

We talk about building her own confidence as a woman in men's
professional basketball, how the Frankfurt offer came about –
"No, I'm serious. And I want an answer." – and why she has never
applied for a job abroad in her life. For her, everything has
come through relationships: "It's always been about the
relationships and the connection piece."

We also get Germany through New Zealand eyes: a season that runs
nine months instead of four, six imports instead of three, and
road trips where she and her colleague rate every arena out of
ten for noise. Her verdict on the smaller markets: "I could never
tell it was a small market team." Plus her first Eintracht
Frankfurt match, where strangers bought them scarves so they
could join in the chants.

Finally, her summer with the Portland Fire in the WNBA, the Nike
World Headquarters – and how far she wants to take this. Her
answer: "I just don't want to have any limits."

Links

Samara Funnell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachsam_nz/

DUNKNDANIELS

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dunkndaniels

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dunkndaniels

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro — Starting at 15, never a pro

04:50 The DM that changed everything — quit two weeks later

15:52 What shaped her — family, responsibility and people

28:15 Being a woman in men's pro basketball

33:15 The call from Frankfurt — three weeks to decide

39:55 Germany through New Zealand eyes — league, arenas, fan
culture

56:23 Portland Fire, the WNBA and no limits