Wittenborg Lecturer Combines Hard Work with Personal Passions

Daniel Freeman’s Interests Include Sports and Cooking

Since he was a child, Wittenborg lecturer Daniel Freeman had the dream of participating in an international sports competition and winning. Freeman, who is originally from Rhode Island, USA, had aspired to be a baseball player, but at 11 years old his life took a different direction when his coach had a stroke after yelling furiously at the team.

“That killed all the fun, so I ended up finding out about javelin and decided to give it a try at school. When you are younger, they have you throw a small plastic javelin which is called a turbo javelin, and that is what I started with. I was 12 back then, and I loved it and never stopped; it was a great outlet for me to meet people and to slowly build up confidence,” he recalls.

As the years went on, Freeman worked toward his goal of becoming a professional athlete, facing difficulties like the lack of financial support. Even so, he persisted, following a disciplined routine of practice, which included three to four hours each day in the weights room, doing different exercises, as well as three weekly sessions of javelin throwing outside. Additionally, Freeman also spent more than three hours per week watching videos of his own throws, as well as other athletes’ performances, with the goal of finding ways to improve his technique.

In 2017, he was given the opportunity to compete internationally at the Maccabiah Games, in Israel, under the sponsorship of a company. “That was, by true definition, the first time that I competed professionally, and I knew it was my best chance. I worked really hard and managed to win the gold medal in what was definitely the most memorable moment of my career as an athlete, because it was the realisation of a dream,” he says.

Apart from javelin, Freeman has practised and coached other sports, such as weightlifting, shot put, discus and hammer throw. He has been involved in coaching for over a decade, having started at the high school where he completed his secondary studies, and regularly works at a summer camp that is targeted towards young athletes ranging from ages 14 to 18.

With an MSc degree in Exercise Science and Sport Management as well as a doctorate in Education of Global Sport Leadership, Freeman teaches two courses at Wittenborg: Community and Sport Development for bachelor’s students, and Strategic Sport Business at master’s level.

He says he is really happy to teach at Wittenborg and highlights how international the institution is. “I had students from more than six countries in one of the master’s classes that I taught, and if you told me that while I was getting my bachelor’s degree I do not think I would have believed you. It has been an incredible opportunity to expand my own knowledge by understanding the backgrounds and the experiences of the students that I teach, and I am very grateful for that.”