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Samara Funnell (Sam)

@coachsam_nz

2.5K

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1867

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🤘🏽Assistant Coach @bullsbasketballnz
🇳🇿Assistant Coach @basketballnz Junior Tall Ferns
🏀CCM @franklinbasketball_nz
🔗Partnership @coachbballimmersion

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Season 2, year 2✌🏽 @skyliners_frankfurt @easycreditbbl @eurocup

Media day shenans 📸🤳🏽

Grateful to be here another year, excited to continue the work, the grind and the journey 🔒

#growth #basketball #coaching #womeninsport #explorepage✨ taken in Europe by @coachsam_nz

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2 months ago

Bulls Season 25 ✅🤘🏽

Grateful for another year 🙏🏽 @bullsbasketballnz @nznbl

#coaching #womeninspiringwomen #basketball #development #womeninsports #developmentneverstops #leadthecharge taken in Franklin Bulls Basketball by @coachsam_nz

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a year ago

2K24 ✅ Season 3 with the Bulls done🔒📈

~ In the midst of chaos there is also opportunity ~

Thankful for another year, another opportunity.

@bullsbasketballnz

#basketball
#coaching
#franklinbulls
#2024season
#learning
#developmentneverstops
#womeninsport taken in Franklin Bulls Basketball by @coachsam_nz

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2 years ago

BELONGING MATTERS 💛🫶🏽🔗

To be part of the huddle. To have someone celebrate your small wins. To know that even on the days you don’t feel like yourself, there’s still a place for you.

As a basketball coach, I get to witness little moments of belonging all the time. The high fives, the conversations, the laughs, the encouragement, and the way a team can become so much more than a group of people playing the same sport.

And it reminds me that we don’t always know what someone is carrying when they walk through the door.

It’s about connection. It’s about feeling seen. It’s about knowing you don’t have to have everything figured out to be accepted. It’s about knowing there’s a place for you, exactly as you are. 🌱

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week in Aotearoa (New Zealand), the theme is Belonging Matters. And I think it’s a reminder we all need, feeling connected isn’t a luxury. It’s part of being human.

So, check in on your people. Make room for someone who’s a little quieter than usual. Invite someone in. Celebrate the small things. Let people know their presence matters.

You never really know how much a small moment of connection might mean to someone.

Share this with someone who has made you feel like you belong, or someone who might need the reminder that they do.

Let’s keep creating spaces where people feel seen, valued, and never alone in what they’re carrying.

We might never know what someone is going through, but we can always help them feel like they don’t have to go through it alone. 🤲🏽🌍🏀

#basketball #mentalhealthawarenessweek #mentalhealthawareness #belongingmatters #lifeabroad by @coachsam_nz

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5 days ago

Hardwork can be f**king fun.

Just because something is hard, doesn’t mean you cant have a smile on your face.

We often act as if the harder something is, the more serious we have to be about it. As if struggle only counts when we’re exhausted, stressed, and completely consumed by the process.

But what if we allowed ourselves to enjoy the challenge? What if we stopped treating joy and ambition as opposites? You can work incredibly hard and still laugh along the way. You can push your limits without losing yourself in the process. You can take your goals seriously without taking every difficult moment so seriously.

The growth, the uncertainty, the mistakes, the days when nothing seems to go according to plan, they’re all part of the experience.

You don’t have to wait until you’ve made it to enjoy the journey. You don’t have to earn the right to be happy by making everything harder than it needs to be.

So show up. Put in the effort. Do the uncomfortable things. Chase the things that matter to you.

Remember to enjoy being the person first.

Keep working hard, care deeply. And don’t forget to smile along the way. ☺️🌱🪬

#travel #growth #journey #womeninsport #basketball taken in Frankfurt, Germany by @coachsam_nz

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8 days ago

First @eurocup home game win wit the crew 🏠🏙️🔒✅ @skyliners_frankfurt

OTTN

#basketball #coaching #europe #womeninsport taken in Fraport Arena by @coachsam_nz

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10 days ago

First EuroCup road game ✔️✈️🏀🌍🎭🇮🇹 @eurocup @umanareyer @skyliners_frankfurt taken in Venice, Italy by @coachsam_nz

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16 days ago

@coachsam_nz on why leaving the communities was harder than leaving the job 🏀

Full episode „Hangtime“ via the link in bio 🎧

#samarafunnell #podcast #hangtime #skylinersfrankfurt #basketballdeutschland taken in Frankfurt, Germany by @coachsam_nz

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21 days ago

Grateful to the guys! 🤲🏽 shout out to @dunkndaniels for hosting me on the podcast a few weeks back. Love talking hoops and life. Even more so with passionate, dedicated and driven people like yourselves.

If you don’t already, give them a follow, two great dudes promoting the game, showcasing people in the game, sharing knowledge and insights as well as being dedicated to their craft 🎙️📄📈🏀

#poscast #basketball #connections #growth #womeninsport taken in Germany - Deutschland by @coachsam_nz

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24 days ago

She sold everything she owned to chase this dream 🏀

@coachsam_nz on the road from New Zealand to coaching a men’s pro team in Germany.

Full episode „Hangtime“ via the link in bio 🎧

#samarafunnell #podcast #hangtime #skylinersfrankfurt #basketballdeutschland taken in Frankfurt, Germany by @coachsam_nz

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25 days ago

🧘‍♂️🔮🔒⚡️🌊🌀🤲🏽💆🪴

The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit.

#basketball #dedication #womeninsport #travel #growth by @coachsam_nz

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a month ago

@skyliners_frankfurt is back 🌃🔒 Great to hit the home court for the first time for the 26-27 season. 🙌🏽@easycreditbbl

Let’s work!

Grateful to be here. Long way from home, but where I belong 💆🏀🫶🏽🌍

#womeninsport #basketball #coaching #travel #grateful taken in Fraport Arena by @coachsam_nz

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a month ago