Sven Stammberger's recent recognition as one of the eight most outstanding student athletes in Canada may have seemed a distant dream just a few short years ago.
But the former Tigers basketball star's grit and resilience in the face of misfortune helped turn it into reality.
Sven joined the Dal Tigers in the 2012-13 season as a 鈥渞ed shirt鈥� 鈥� a team member who doesn鈥檛 play competitively. By his second year on the club, he earned the trust of the coaching staff and started coming off the bench.聽 During that season, however, he broke his right wrist. 鈥淚t was very tough,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ecause it was at a point when I was hitting my strides.鈥�
The injury made Sven doubt his future as an athlete. Nevertheless, he accepted an invitation to practise with a Division I team in Germany.
鈥淚 put in a lot of work that summer,鈥� he says.
Sven returned to Canada for the 2014-2015 season as a better and stronger player. That season was the first of Dal鈥檚 three-year domination of the AUS men鈥檚 basketball championships. And he hasn鈥檛 looked back since.
From early years
This year, Sven has been honoured with a U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian award, a national recognition for being among the most outstanding student athletes in the country. As the name suggests, only eight athletes each year receive the honour 鈥斅爋nly two from Atlantic Canada. He鈥檚 the 14th Dal student-athlete to be named a Top 8 Academic All-Canadian; only two other universities in Canada have had as many as Dal.
Sven鈥檚 interest in basketball began from watching his mother, Anna Stammberger. 鈥淢y mum played professionally in Germany,鈥� he says. 鈥淢y sister, Tessa and I would go to all the games and cheer her team.鈥� Anna had to arrive very early for her games, so that gave Sven and Tessa enough time to practice shooting and dribbling the basketball.
Anna encouraged Sven鈥檚 interest in the sport. 鈥淢y first basketball team was coached by my mum,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think she always hoped that we would love basketball as much as she did.鈥�
Before his interest in basketball, he was fascinated by trains. 鈥淎s a child I really loved trains. I wanted to be a train driver,鈥� he says. But as he grew older his interest in trains waned and he became more interested in science.
Making an impact
He eventually completed his undergraduate degree in Chemistry while playing for the Tigers. In the 2017-18 season 鈥斅爃is final season of eligibility for the team 鈥斅爃e was their leading scorer, averaging 18.4 points per game. The 6-foot-6 forward also led the Tigers in rebounding with an average of 8.2 per game.
Now, his time with the Tigers complete, he鈥檚 focused on completing his final semester in the Corporate Residency MBA program. 鈥淚 have always been interested in business,鈥� he says. 鈥淢y plan is to finish this MBA and then I hope to play basketball in Germany a for a few years.鈥�
He spends the rest of his time as a staff for the women鈥檚 Tigers basketball team. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice that they asked me to help out,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t helps me stay in touch with the program and teams. I love the connection and I love being involved.鈥�