Playing in a Higher League

The RSU Sports Club is home to basketball players, volleyball players, athletes, hockey players, swimmers, power triathletes, rowers, aesthetic gymnasts are all part of the RSU Sports Club. What experience can the captain of the Latvian national basketball team bring to the Sports Club?

Having ended his career as a player just last summer, the captain of VEF Rīga can now frequently be observed in the stands showing his support during training and RSU team games. We structure our conversation both around keeping talented players in Latvia and attracting European players. At the end of the conversation, Blūms laughs:

‘Today, we mentioned the word “professional” a lot, but this word is also at the heart of our goals.’

How does a long-time national team captain manage his time six months after retiring from professional sports? 

It was difficult psychologically to turn off the professional basketball player within myself – it felt like I would have been able to play a bit more... But it is important to be able to stop at the right moment. For me, it coincided with being offered to chair the VEF Rīga Council, so I am still involved in basketball, but now as a functionary and manager.

So far, my entire life has been related to basketball. For many years I was the captain of the Latvian national team, and I have played in all the major European leagues. I gained experience and established contacts, so I know the European and global matters of this sport very well. Now I can put this experience and knowledge to use, and I like the job I have now a lot, because the I can see results already.

The cooperation with RSU, which became a farm club of VEF Riga, gave me a new perspective. This means that young players who are not in the core VEF team also get access to opportunities to play professionally and develop under international coaches – Kristaps Zeids and Mihails Hlebovickis.

RSU provides young athletes with all the necessary sports infrastructure, while encouraging a balance between sports and studies. 

Blūms has a great record in the national team – 170 games, including seven European Championship finals. Photo from private archive.

How important is education for an athlete in your opinion?

It is very important not to forget about studying – an injury can put an end to an athlete's career in a heartbeat. Adapting to life after the end of one’s sports career will also be easier if you have a diploma.

I have a master's degree in Law. I wouldn't say that it was easy to combine studying with playing professionally, but I appreciate this diploma a lot now. While I was playing in Europe in the top Spanish, Italian, and Greek leagues, I saw that this approach was not obvious to all. When I said that I have a Law degree, I was looked at in disbelief. There are not many athletes who have been able to combine professional sports with getting an academic degree successfully. I would say that this trend is changing, and I also wish to tell young people that

there is a lot of competition! Only one in a thousand athletes gets far in basketball, so any education you have in parallel to your basketball career will be very valuable.

I like the US model, where college sports are highly developed and young people who wish to grow both in the sports and academic areas are given many opportunities. The RSU VEF system means that young people will not have to go to the USA to get opportunities like this anymore – they will have a chance to practice professionally in Riga, while at the same time getting a good education.

What does this cooperation look like from the point of view of VEF Rīga?

The farm team is a positive turn. It means that young people who are working for a place in the top team are provided with professional training.

If VEF Rīga has any problems with their players, they can call up the new players. In this season already, several players got to train with the team.

There are also players in our system who have already graduated from RSU and are developing professionally in another field. They really appreciate this professional training process. Kristaps Jurjāns, for example, is a neurologist and the winner of the Latvian Medical Award who works with stroke patients on a daily basis. He is one of the veterans of the RSU team who comes for individual training even after a shift at the hospital. This is an inspiring example for the younger players!

You are introduced as being the coordinator of sports at RSU and attracting sponsors. Please tell me, how do you see your position at RSU?

I have accumulated extensive experience and contacts, and I want to use these to develop sports at RSU, especially basketball. The women's basketball team, coached by Matīss Rožlapa, is currently competing in the Baltic Basketball League, whereas the men's team is competing in the 2nd Basketball Division of Latvia, which has now been renamed the National Basketball League, and in the Latvian Basketball Cup. So far, everything is moving forward as planned – the communication between RSU management and VEF is good and the training is taking place, which we are continuing to improve with individual practices and analysing videos. Coaches have successfully engaged in developing the RSU sports system, and there are frequent discussions.

From the left: The captain of RSU women's basketball team Guna Lagzdiņa, the coach of the women's basketball team Matīss Rožlapa, RSU Vice-Rector for Administration and Development Toms Baumanis, the Head of RSU Sports Club Laura Ritova, the Chairman of the Council of VEF Rīga Jānis Blūms, the coach of RSU / VEF Rīga men's basketball team Kristaps Zeids and the captain of RSU / VEF Rīga men's basketball team Rihards Ginters.

The University’s ambitions for sports, and for basketball in particular, are high – starting from infrastructure, where the main project will be to construct a basketball court at 3 Cigoriņu iela that complies with FIBA League 2 standards.

Investing in the RSU Sports Club is good news for existing as well as prospective students. It is planned that the construction of the new building will be completed by the end of 2024. This will be a huge step that will allow training and matches to take place in the same hall. Now that the court will be up to standard, maybe VEF Rīga will play some of their games there.

After all, we are now one big team.

Currently, every fourth student at RSU comes from abroad. Are there plans to attract talented athletes from abroad?

That will be our next focus, which may serve as additional motivation for local students. Healthy competition is always good! In Europe, basketball is most developed in Spain, also Italy and Turkey. There is a problem with tall players in Latvia. It may be worth considering attracting students from Georgia, because Georgians are both talented and tall.

The education offered at RSU is well-known in Europe and beyond. Now, we need to communicate that students can train and play at a high level in addition to getting a diploma.

So, we have to work in two directions – we need to create a system that encourages young, talented Latvian basketball players to stay in Riga, instead of going to universities in the USA, and we need to attract sports talents from abroad.

Jānis Blūms together with his daughter at the Riga International Airport, before the Latvian national basketball team flew to Istanbul. Photo from private archive.

Do you remember what it was like being a teenager and having to choose a university? 

My situation was slightly different, because I started playing professionally when I was 17, but I still managed to cope with my studies. Even if I was not one of the best students in my class, I was determined and, in some way, cheeky – I went and talked to teachers, studied late into the night, and eventually got the grades [laughs.]. My family has always emphasised education, as I come from a family of teachers – my mother, brother, and sister are all teachers. They all have always pushed me to get an education, and they were right!