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Basketball is in 听(EvnSt鈥�24, MBusAn鈥�25) DNA.听

Her parents met in the gym, and her father coached her mother when they were dating. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how they made it through that, but they did,鈥� Formann laughed.听听

Fast forward four kids and several grandchildren later, and the whole family is in on the game back in her homeland of Denmark. Her sister and brother even started a team called Baby Sharks for 2-to-5-year-olds. Formann鈥檚 mother, at 60, still plays once a week.听

So, there鈥檚 that family legacy, and one other thing: Formann, a guard now in her fifth year on the team, also happens to be good at the game. Really good. Last year, she became Colorado鈥檚 all-time 3-point leader. Headlines regularly followed her success, like听March Madness鈥櫶�鈥淐olorado鈥檚 Frida Formann lit up LSU with 7 threes鈥� and ESPN鈥檚 鈥淔rida Formann sinks it from downtown.鈥澨�

CU鈥檚 BuffZone.com featured a quoting the team鈥檚 assistant coach Shelley Sheetz: 鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool to have a front row seat watching Frida. 鈥� I see her work ethic. I see her getting extra shots up. I see her being a student of the game.鈥澨�

Formann foresees basketball playing a role in her life for a 鈥渧ery, very long time.鈥澨�

鈥淢y plan after graduating is to enter the draft and see what the options are, and then definitely continue with a professional basketball career, in whatever country that might be.鈥澨�

Boosting confidence听

Formann isn鈥檛 only a student of basketball. She returned to CU for a fifth year to earn her master鈥檚 in business analytics, a program now in its tenth year at Leeds. It appealed to her for the ways it could complement her bachelor鈥檚 in environmental studies, bringing in the business lens of 鈥渨hat is valuable to a company and where they might not want to spend as much time or money.鈥澨�

鈥淭he business analytics program has taught me how to be able to talk to executives, how to develop a strategy that they can use,鈥� she said.听听听

Through that she鈥檚 gained something she can take onto the court and equally into the boardroom: confidence.听听

鈥淚 think I came here and kind of was trying to hide a little bit,鈥� she said. 鈥淚've learned now from the American culture that it鈥檚 OK to really think highly of yourself鈥攁s long as you put action behind it, and as long as you鈥檙e still kind and a good teammate. It鈥檚 OK to know that you鈥檙e one of the best.鈥澨�

Formann has found parallels between excelling in sports and succeeding in business. Working with big datasets has given her an even deeper appreciation for small details.听听

鈥淚t reminds me of going back and watching film on a game or going back and looking at a scouting report and figuring out what are the little key moments where you could change something. What are little things that were good or bad, and then trying to figure out together how to implement new strategies. I can do that with data, and I can do it with basketball.鈥澨�

Building a sense of community听

For Formann, developing a fluency in data, as with basketball and English, is ultimately underpinned by the universal language of culture and community.听

鈥淢y parents always preached building community and showing up not just for kids, but for everyone who needed it. That鈥檚 something I try to apply to being a leader on the team. Everyone is deserving of a spot there and everyone needs to feel valued,鈥� she said.听

Although this year鈥檚 team includes 10 new teammates, Formann is optimistic about the season. 鈥淲ith a new team, it just shows what culture we鈥檝e built here at CU鈥攖hat it鈥檚 a culture of consistent work, and no matter what players come in, we are true to CU and to basketball.鈥澨�

Cultivating a culture of care听

Formann knew nothing about CU when she applied, but she wanted to get into a bigger market for basketball, fell in love with the school and was thrilled to get a scholarship. She arrived in 2020 during the pandemic. Between that and being an international听student, she knows what it鈥檚 like to feel out of place.听听

鈥淚t was very isolating, you know, coming from Denmark and not knowing anyone. I only had my teammates and my coaches that I actually could interact with,鈥� she said. Due to COVID, all her classes were on Zoom, and she ate all her meals alone.听听

鈥淚t was hard to navigate socially, but I was so focused on just coming here and playing basketball and doing the best I could. And luckily, I could do that. I could play a full season and actually perform,鈥� she recalled.听听

鈥淚 think culture is everything because, you know, when someone gets injured or you have things that don鈥檛 go as you want them to go, the culture is really what carries you through,鈥� she said.听

Taking her best shot听

This year, Formann wants to focus on leaving her mark and helping others as a team veteran, a leader, and as a female athlete. She鈥檚 passionate about advocating for women鈥檚 sports, particularly advancing salaries for women athletes and increasing media visibility to promote growth. She believes women athletes work equally as hard as men and are equally as inspirational.听

As this year鈥檚 gains momentum, Formann knows when she steps on the court, her hours of training and studying all come into focus.听听

鈥淓very time a game is about to start, it鈥檚 always exciting. It鈥檚 what you work so hard for,鈥� she said.

鈥淜nowing that I鈥檝e put in the work, that I鈥檝e had great preparation, makes me relax and just feel the joy in the moment.鈥澨�