As with everything in this world, it has its purpose and meaning. 

The game of basketball serves many different purposes for every individual. Cardio workout. Self-improvement. Form of discipline. Relaxation. Socialise. And many other more.

Playing with people who share a similar purpose will bring you closer to the game and have a great time playing. Sharing the love for the game with a community is what pushes you to play day in and day out.

Personal story

From the young age of 6, I started playing basketball. Brought to the court by my oldest brother, we used to shoot hoops on hours. Using the underhand shot, I would throw up shots. I would even grab rebounds to pass it back to my brother.

As I grew older, I would go down by myself and wait for pockets of time to take shots while the bigger boys were playing. Soon, I joined them to play pick up games. Basketball was fun.

Slowly evolving through the years of playing, I played my first ever 5 on 5 competition when I was 12. I remember going through somewhat of training and joined a U12 basketball league. Every Sunday, my parents would bring me to the indoor court to play in this league. There were referees, scoreboards and most importantly, opponents. Basketball was a competition.

After years of playing in my condominium’s basketball court, my brother gathered my friends and I to form a basketball team to enter a youth’s basketball league. It was our first and only season together. We named ourselves after the condominium; Northvale.

During one of our games, the referee came over to our bench. After the final whistle, my mother came over to me to tell me that the referee was a basketball school coach! He was interested to coach me and requested me to transfer over to his team. Basketball was my way into secondary school.

Playing in a team with many other skilled basketball players, things were simple. Three times a week, we would train together as a team. On our off days, we would scour the area for different basketball courts after school to play pick up games. Weekends were filled with basketball competitions. And the cycle repeats itself for those 4 years. Basketball was life.

After the glory days of those 4 years, I slowly drifted away from the game and it has lost its purpose in my life. Going through my 3 years of tertiary education and 2 years of National Service have shaped my life very differently from the past 8 years of my life. Basketball wasn’t life anymore.

In my next 2 years, I studied abroad in Australia. It was coming back to me. I felt the drive and the urge to play. Taking regular trips to school to play ball, it was a new experience for me. At that point, I’ve lost touch of the game. It was a new starting point for me. Basketball was fun again.

Coming back from Australia, I got my first job. The job was tough and I was struggling to manage work. Stress was piling and my days and nights were no different from each other. One day, my friend called me out to play at Cairnhill Community Centre. I followed through and left work early. The games were light-hearted and friendly. And I even managed to catch up with my old friends! Basketball was to relieve stress and reconnect with friends.

One day, it started raining. We couldn’t go back to our usual basketball court and we didn’t know where else to go. This weekly basketball game was what we were looking forward to every week! We searched the web for nearby sheltered basketball courts but there was nothing readily available. This is where it all came together.

OwnYourCourt’s vision is to connect and create a community of basketball players in Singapore. Be it casual or competitive, we are here to find your people. Our mission is to locate on ALL basketball courts in Singapore.

Basketball is our passion.