Stephan Fouejieu: Fueling the Fire of Girls’ Basketball

Basketball found him in Cameroon. Engineering shaped him in France. Quebec gave him a home to build both a family and a purpose: to coach girls’ basketball with unwavering dedication.

Stephan Fouejieu, a resident of Pincourt, wears two hats—one as a professional engineer and the other, a tireless volunteer basketball coach. Without him, many young girls in his region might never have picked up a basketball. But Stephan’s uniqueness lies not only in his character, as he humbly repeats, but in his relentless devotion. At the time of this interview, he was coaching three teams and forming a fourth. That means seven days a week, he’s shaping young female athletes—not just in skills like fast breaks and dribbling, but in mindset:
“I don’t just coach basketball,” he says. “I work on the child’s attitude. I’m not here just to coach and leave. I give responsibilities to the girls—and very few have quit because they didn’t enjoy playing.”

From Individuals to Team

Like many sports organizations, the basketball world is split between school-based and club teams. Stephan works in both. To compete with teams in Montreal, he puts in extra effort to recruit girls to a sport that is often underrepresented in his area.
“With the talent pool we have, we can build strong structures and teams just like they do in Montreal,” he says. Yet often, he finds himself alone in this mission. Parents are generally absent, and the girls frequently play in near-empty gyms.
But Stephan insists it’s easy to get involved—even if you don’t know the sport:
“You can learn basketball in two hours,” claims the coach, who’s clearly at ease in the gym and commands his teams with purpose and passion.

More Than a Coach, a Community Builder

His dream? To create a lasting program—one that will outlive him and serve generations of players. He often visits schools to find new recruits and keeps the pitch simple and direct:
“Just try it. It’s free. You’ll improve your coordination and physical skills.”
Above all, Stephan Fouejieu builds communities. When he takes his teams to tournaments in places like Victoriaville, the transformation is clear:
“They leave as individuals,” he says. “But they come back as a team.”

His message is simple and open-hearted: try the sport—you might just fall in love. And if you do, he’ll be waiting, with the door wide open.