Brad Losing – basketball pro from the neighborhood

The old apartment near the harbor has become very small. After all, Brad and Maren Losing had to look after their daughter Tila for two weeks as well as their son Kylian (1). Since it became clear in the summer that Brad would play basketball for the Rostock Seawolves for at least another year, the move was a definitive deal.

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The couple now lives with their two children in the Rostock station area. The first floor of a residential building, stylish kitchen, functional but comfortably furnished living room. The male hybrid Tucker can already be seen in the stairwell. Fresh faces, he’s just doing his homework. The American Terrier’s name is no more bearable than the name of the dog Brad brought with him from his homeland at Loesing House.

Brad opens the apartment door with Tila in his arms, and Killian rushes through the hallway—of course, a basketball in his hands. The decoration in the house remains invulnerable, the little one already has a good sense of the ball for his age. All Christmas decorations are securely in place. “We are both big fans of Christmas,” says Brad, who also generally enjoys decorating the apartment. “I am happy, but she is,” he explains, looking at Marin, “a professional.”

She also set up the home they shared in Kentucky near the Brad family, which they both own in the States and live in during the summer months when there is no play. “I threw all the bright and colorful stuff out of it and put nice ones out for it,” Bliss says. The couple met “six years and a week ago” in Stuttgart, Marin’s hometown, when Brad was playing in the Ludwigsburg Giants’ basketball league. Since then he has been around and has also played in Oldenburg, Würzburg and Jena. And since summer 2020 in Rostock.

“It’s different here than it is in other places,” Marin says. better. “We feel very welcome here. And people are more interested in basketball. “The neighbors know Brad is a professional and they want to come back to the lounge to support him. Brad doesn’t want any special treatment because he’s a professional athlete.” We’re always on TV because of games or ads, but that’s part of the job. We try not to make it a big problem. We are totally normal people, and we want to be part of the community,” he says.

That is why he is looking for a conversation with the neighbors and is friendly. “It’s great for people to say hi, including to Marin. I don’t want people to walk away just because I’m a professional athlete.” That’s why he’s also happy when he’s recognized ‘every now and then’ on the street. “But I’m not that clear,” he laughs, referring to his size. With a height of 1.83 meters, it is not quite gigantic for a basketball player, but the smallest in the Seawolves team.

Still one of the loudest voices. At 32 years old, he is one of the oldest and most experienced members of the team. He’s been a professional for ten years now. That’s why he also knows that basketball isn’t just played on the court. The community is important. “I also try to be there for the team behind the scenes.” Sometimes with his wife as a hostess. “We meet here sometimes, and then eat together or play in the evening.”

As a father of two now, time is increasingly scarce. Since he often moves with the team, there is a lot of work to be done at Maren. she’s a nurse. However, due to maternity leave and paternity leave, she did not have to work in this pandemic. “But I look forward to it when it starts again.”

But even then it will take a little longer. First of all, it’s Christmas. “We are both vegetarians, which is why we have raclette,” Marin says. A nice wine cooler adds with it. Even as a professional he can treat himself to something, sometimes a few cookies. “You just don’t see them now because they’ve always gone that fast.” He doesn’t have a lot of parties either. A game the day before Christmas Eve, then again on Christmas Day and the second of January. Brad’s family is visiting from America to meet their daughter Tila. “When I started here, it was not like that. But basketball is developing in Germany.”

Brad says he wants to play “a few years”. He would like to win another title by then, that’s his big goal. Climbing with the Seawolves would be a start, after all. “Here we have the opportunity to create something unique.”

How things will go after your career is still in the stars. America or Germany, maybe even Rostock? Everything is open. “We feel comfortable here, and we have developed a feeling of being at home,” Brad says. “Our children were born here.” Nothing has been decided yet regarding his future career. Anyway, he would like to remain loyal to basketball. as a coach. “But I don’t know yet if he’s working full time or just a side business.” After all, he also has a university degree in economics, which could do something. He also knows little about real estate.

First of all, however, the focus remains on an active career. And Thursday’s match against his old club Jena. He still has a few connections, “That’s also the nice thing about professional sports, you get to know a lot of people.” However, it would be especially nice to defeat the old companions. Within an hour there is the training of the last unit before match day. “It will be intense again, but not as usual,” he said as he said goodbye, his daughter Tila who had been sleeping the whole time, in his arms.