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Basketball professional and full-time student Pape: “If I lose a game, I can escape to the university”
Photo: Sandy Dinkelacker / Eibner / IMAGO
SPIEGEL
: Mr. Pape, what will have been more important for you after this season: that you became an indispensable player for the Telekom Baskets Bonn - or that you completed your doctoral thesis in medicine?
Pape
: I haven't even thought about that. There are many people who have written a doctoral thesis - but only a few play in the basketball Bundesliga. That's why I choose the role of top performer: I'm proud of that.
SPIEGEL
: Professional sports and full-time studies: Why do you even put yourself through the stress?
Pape
: I did right after graduating from high school
Started at the Bundesliga club Ratiopharm Ulm, back then that was my dream. But I soon realized that I was living in a bubble; I was surrounded by athletes and the topics of conversation were constantly repeating themselves. I lacked intellectual stimulation and my brain seemed to become mush. It just wasn't good for me to just focus on sports. If I lose a game now, I can escape to university. There I discuss completely different things, the cafeteria food or the next presentation, for example. That frees me.
SPIEGEL
: How do you connect the two worlds?
Pape
: My days are often full. Training, video training, physiotherapy and media appointments line up, as well as away trips with overnight stays. In the summer semester I have fewer games overall and therefore attend the events that require attendance. Now in winter I mainly attend online courses. But regardless of the season:
There are 24 hours in a day, so despite basketball, I find two to three hours a day in which I review lectures and study for exams.
SPIEGEL
: Other medical students report that they don't even have time for a 20-hour part-time job, after all, the learning load is enormous.
Pape
: I know that I am lucky and that not everyone is like that. But I find it relatively easy to pick up new things quickly. Nevertheless, of course I have to make an effort. The university mountain can't get too big because otherwise I won't be able to keep up. I tell myself: keep at it, learn every day, even if it's just a little.
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Medical student Pape (r.) before a visit to the operating room: “I’m fascinated by pediatric surgery.”
Photo: private
SPIEGEL
: Do you ever sleep?
Pape
: Always and everywhere, that is
my superpower. I sleep on the team bus between training sessions. And that's how I usually get seven hours in a row - which my body needs because of the physical strain.
SPIEGEL
: What learning strategies can others learn from you?
Pape
: To be productive, I look for a neutral place. This could be a library nearby, a sports hall, a press room or the team bus - but not my apartment, there are too many distractions. When I travel away from home, I often have several hours to spare, which I use to study. I bought a tablet especially for my travels. I use it to keep all my notes digitally and have access to 3D anatomy atlases or e-book editions of textbooks.
SPIEGEL
: And what do you advise against?
Pape
: I deleted Instagram years ago, the app stole so much time from me. And I discovered that studying at night is ineffective. You should sleep when you are tired. In the morning, when you are rested, you learn better. The brain grows like the muscles during breaks.
SPIEGEL
: Game, exam, game: How do you cope with this constant confrontation with an exam situation?
Pape
: Exam pressure doesn't bother me much. Something else is bothering me: Now that I'm playing internationally, I rarely have completely free days, especially not several at a time. For my doctoral thesis I regularly travel from Bonn to Ulm to the hospital; this is the only place where I have access to the data I need. When my teammates recently traveled to Amsterdam in their free time, I was on the train to Ulm at 5:30 in the morning. There I worked on Excel spreadsheets all day. In these moments I'm glad there's an end in sight.
SPIEGEL
: You want to finish your doctoral thesis in the spring. The topic: minimally invasive robot-assisted pancreatic surgery. What exactly is it about?
Pape
: In many surgical disciplines – such as gynecology, urology or angiology – operating with a robot is already standard. The surgeon controls the robot arms from an adjacent room; Less blood is lost and the wounds heal faster. Pancreatic surgeries are one of the few exceptions where the procedure has not yet become fully established - also because the procedures are very complex. In my doctoral thesis, I analyze all pancreatic surgeries that have already been carried out with the robot in Ulm. I would like to find out whether this technique can reliably replace the traditional open surgical method.
SPIEGEL
: Why did you choose to study medicine, of all things? There are many other courses, including shorter ones.
Pape
: I could
Back then, I couldn't decide between physics and medicine. So I flipped a coin – in favor of medicine. I am now particularly fascinated by pediatric surgery. Dealing with children suits me. And later I want to work not only with my head, but also with my hands.
SPIEGEL
: Does your studies also benefit you in your job as a basketball player?
Pape
: My understanding of my body's pain responses has improved. I can now assess where the pain is coming from - and it comforts me to know that I can't be badly hurt. I also often step in as a medical assistant in the team. One time a teammate had a cut above his eye. There was no doctor on site, so I treated the wound. During my studies I had already practiced on people and pig skin, and the two stitches weren't a big problem.
SPIEGEL
: Do you ever ask yourself: Where would I be as a basketball player today if I hadn't invested the time in studying but in training?
Pape
: No, I've actually never asked myself that question. I'm still one of the players on my team who trains the most.
SPIEGEL
: So you're simply a high performer?
Pape
: Sport shaped me. I heard from my coaches early on: Performance counts. Training, professionalism and nutrition determined my everyday life as a teenager; the performance principle sits deep within me. Therefore: Yes, I am probably a high performer.
SPIEGEL:
Can you train this principle, can you train the head in the same way as the lay-up, the block or the muscles?
Pape:
Absolutely. In basketball, my head sometimes gets in the way because I overanalyze and hesitate. I have been working with a mental trainer for three years. With him I practice tricking my brain.
SPIEGEL:
How do you do that?
Pape:
When I'm overloaded, be it because of university or sport, my thoughts block me. I can't focus anymore, I think a lot. In such moments, for example, I sit down and imagine a chessboard and the pieces moving across it. I am the chessboard, the pieces are my thoughts. I say to myself: The pieces are there, but they don't affect the chessboard.
SPIEGEL:
How do you recharge your batteries?
Pape:
This may sound cliché for an aspiring doctor, but I discovered golf. It combines nature and competition, for me it feels like a competitive walk. And when I do have a few days off, I go hiking in the mountains.
SPIEGEL:
You are 26, soon to be a young doctor, but not yet an old basketball player. What should happen next?
Pape:
That's a tricky question. To be honest, I'm unsure. Ideally, my basketball career ends and my medical career begins. However, the practical part of my studies, which is still pending, is not so easy to manage outside of the season. I will probably have to decide on a path soon, but I would like to delay the decision as long as possible.