At the age of 31, Belgium Power Forward Emma Meesseman has seemingly completed basketball. Representing the Belgian Cats on an international level, Meesseman has won 2 bronze and one gold medal at the European Championships in 2017, 2021, and 2023, respectively, and 4 Euroleague titles with the Russia basketball club, UMMC Ekaterinburg, On the other side of the pond, she won a WNBA championship in 2019 with the Washington Mystics and became the first European player to win the WNBA Finals MVP title. However, her road to success hasn’t been easy.

Born with only 50% hearing, the daughter of Belgian basketball legend Sonja Tankrey had moderate hearing loss in both ears. She has been wearing hearing devices to compensate for her lack of hearing since she was a child.

Emma Meesseman’s emergence despite the difficulties

The realization of her condition came to her parents when they noticed that she wasn’t speaking like the other kids were. However, it was her willpower and support from her family that let her realize her dreams. But Emma was not worried about her lack of hearing, rather she was focused on living up to her mother’s reputation, who was named the Belgian Women’s Player of the Year in 1983.

Brought up in a town outside Bruges, Belgium, when she came fresh into the WNBA, it was a tough adjustment for her both on and off the court. For starters, most players were in their early twenties, given the age requirement and the NCAA eligibility. And then there was Emma Meesseman, who had turned 20 during the training camp with a huge language barrier with only 50% hearing and she didn’t know anyone.

“My first day, I just arrived, I had to go to the gym, and then there was a team dinner. I saw all the people; I was so scared of them. I had looked some of them up, and you know, basketball pictures don’t show that you’re nice. They’re serious. I was so afraid to be here,” Meesseman elaborated on her initial experience of dealing with a big change.

However, she wasn’t singled out as vets Mo Currie and Michelle Snow guided her and made things easy for her off the court. Hence, success came eventually. Moreover, Meesseman has always been open about her condition and fortunately received a lot of support in her journey to success.

One such moment came by when Meesseman was taken under the tutelage of the Mystics teammate Stephanie Dolson. The shy cat, Meesseman was receiving yelling lessons from Dolson, who was the physical personification of volume. A match made so perfect!

Navigating with a loud nudge

When the Mystics would run drills, Meesseman’s teammates would hound her for not being loud enough while calling for defense. That’s when Dolson pulled Meesseman off the court, took her to the back of the arena, and asked her to yell.

“She taught her how to yell. Stef would scream and then she wanted Emma to match her volume, have her say words, our coverages and yell them. Her point was just, ‘Emma, I know you can scream. You just proved you can scream. You gotta have that volume on the court,” Kara Lawson describing Dolson’s efforts of bringing the best out of Meesseman.

The two developed a close bond with each other which showed when they played together on the court. Eventually, Dolson’s efforts started showing as Meesseman became more vocal. After that, rookie Meesseman and Dolson flew to Russia to play for Spartak Moscow and that’s when Dolson saw her dear friend’s confidence growing.

“I think playing with her last year and then in Russia, we kind of know how each other works. So I know if she’s making a move. She’s really good at reading defense. I knew she was gonna make it, so I was ready for it. Over there, when you’re a foreigner, you’re looked to score a lot more. She had the opportunity to just go one-on-one,” Dolson described the positive changes and growth she saw in Meesseman.

Meesseman took her time to grow, but she never used her condition as an excuse. She came into the league as a 19-year-old with a bag packed for only a couple of weeks, feeling extremely shy around her All-Star teammates. However, with time, Meesseman turned it all around and became who she is today, an all-rounder, a champion, and a leader, currently competing in Paris at the Olympics.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr