It’s Where You Grow Up That You Learn to Win

A clear head and feet firmly planted on the ground, Daniele Sesoldi has been like this since he was little. When children bounce their first basketball, they normally think they will join the NBA or their national teams someday, dreams that in the vast majority of cases are destined to remain just that. Daniele, on the other hand, always had a goal that was fully consistent with his values: to wear the red-and-white jersey of USE Basket Empoli, his home team, and to do so for a long time, possibly forever.

A So-So Beginning

"The first time I entered a gym I was 6 or 7," recalls Daniele, 33, a computer engineering graduate who is now enrolled in the Executive MBA at SDA Bocconi School of Management to add managerial skills to his technical qualification. "This was to follow my father’s example, who perhaps was a better player than me, even reaching Serie A2, and my older sister’s." Today, Daniele, who plays forward-center, is the captain of USE Computer Gross Empoli, in Serie B. He has always played there and this in an era when professional athletes change teams each year. His beginnings were not encouraging, however: "Until I was 12 or 13, I wasn't considered among the most talented," he says. "Then, when I was nearly 15, I improved a lot and got called up to the first team. At first, I didn't play, but I got to practice with people much older than me. And I learned." So much so that, over 450 games later, he became a mainstay of the team in Serie B, a category that, after the string of reforms of the Italian basketball league in recent years, is a strange mix of professional and amateur players, even though the level is high and the commitment required is totalizing.

Aiming for the Top Every Day

"I never wanted to make my living out of basketball," says Daniele. "To me, sport has always been a way to complement real life, which was supposed to be somewhere else. I had my personal goals: I wanted to study computer engineering and then work in that field. But I always played with teammates for whom basketball was their main job, although obviously it's not something you can do your whole life."

Today, Daniele leads the technology department of a large digital company while simultaneously pursuing his sporting career. An arduous commitment, but one that Daniele finds sustainable: "I've always succeeded and continue to do so, at the cost of great sacrifices. Much depends on the level of your game as a player and, consequently, the commitment required from you. Perhaps I've never been good enough that I could focus only on that and turn it into a full-time job. But in reality, it's never been my goal, although at certain points in my career I was sought by other teams," Daniele continues. "But I preferred to remain in Empoli where I could pursue everything I wanted to do." The life of a student/worker/player, like Daniele's right now, is anything but simple: "Every day I have to juggle work, practice, commitment to the MBA (and getting treated for a back injury), as well as, of course, my private life. It's a lot of work, sure, but that's where my determination and passion come into play: maintaining a high level in everything is a product of daily decision, not happenstance. I know that sport has taught me a lot about managing pressure, responsibility and sacrifice, and it's this inner balance that allows me to give myself completely, on and off the court."

Professional Career at the Center

In this particular moment of his life, Daniele stays committed to basketball but is especially focused on his profession, as evidenced by his decision to pursue a Master of Business Administration: "The Executive MBA will be a key tool to strengthen my managerial skills. It's the ultimate kind of training in the profession, and will open many doors for me, also far from my hometown. It's a matter of making things fit together; life is all about fitting things together." Amid the whirlwind of ideas and initiatives, basketball will always have a place in Daniele Sesoldi's life. In his heart, certainly, but not only that: "The Empoli basketball club is my home. I have an exceptional relationship with everyone. I've always been told I bring added value for what I do on and off the court, whether as captain or in any other role. I'll evaluate what to do some time from now; as I said before, you have to make everything fit, as I've always done." And there's no reason he can't continue to do so in the future.