The 12-year-old Kerfalla Sylla from Amstelveen can play basketball so well that he is already world famous. A video of the boy went viral and rapper Snoop Dogg, known for hits like ‘Drop it like it’s hot’ even shared it on his Instagram.
NH Nieuws meets the boy together with his coach Sergio Blom at a basketball court in Amstelveen. They often train here in the summer. “At first I thought it was fake was”, Kerfalla laughs. “When I went to search Instagram myself and saw it, I started screaming. I’m a big fan of his music.”
“Actually, Kerfalla didn’t even want to play basketball,” says Sergio. The coach at Millenium Basketball Club Amstelveen (MBCA) scouted Kerfalla when he gave a basketball clinic at his elementary school. That was a little over a year ago.
‘learn fast’
“He wanted to keep playing football. Then I called his mother and she said: ‘You just have to try it.’ Now he just wants to play basketball.” Kerfalla is 1.83 meters long. That is quite tall for his age and comes in handy in the sport. The boy is also very athletic and according to Sergio he can pass and shoot well. “He also has a lot of insight and learns quickly,” explains the coach Kerfalla’s success.
The young basketball player has already played a practice match for Real Madrid and received offers from several American clubs. Kerfalla is still a bit uncertain despite his great success. “I really need to put feathers in his ass,” Sergio says. “Because he often thinks that others are better.”
In any case, his coach has no doubts that Kerfalla will one day realize his big dream of playing in the most prestigious basketball league, the American NBA. But he thinks he will be better off in European competition first. For the time being, Kerfalla will inspire the Amstelveen basketball youth for a while. Today, a number of young boys see their example flying through the air, before dunking the ball into the basket with enormous force.