I remember talking with my grandpa about Dennis Rodman and how he is the greatest rebounder of basketball history. He started playing at age 19, and couldn't even do a layup when he first started. He was only 6’7 but was grabbing rebounds over 7 footers, and he was making it look easy too. He got 5 rings, with 3 of them being from the dominant 90s Chicago Bulls. Learning about him changed my mindset on basketball from that day forward. If he could make the NBA after starting to play basketball at age 19 and being as successful as he was, then what’s stopping me from getting a scholarship to play basketball and going to college for free. I love the sport already, I have the athleticism and height for it, I could help my family out, and it’ll give me different opportunities for my future. This is when I knew that my dream is to get a full-ride scholarship in college for playing basketball. 

A scholarship in college is important because it can give kids either somewhat a free education or financial aid to a college for however many years that they give you, it can also help you by getting into a college that may be above the colleges that you aimed for. But a full ride scholarship takes care of all your needs such as housing, books, meals, lab fees, or/and accommodations. This is why a full-ride scholarship is important to me because I can attend college without my mom having to worry about me and my education. She goes through a lot at home having two teenage sons and one son who has the highest form of autism, and is also nonverbal. She also puts food on the table and clothing on our backs. She has done so much in my life already, that I feel that it would be necessary for me to get some type of scholarship, 4 years or not. I want to take myself and my problems away from her shoulders because I feel that is the right thing to do for myself. Even though she takes care of me the most, I'd like to take my problems away from all of my family such as my grandma, grandpa, uncles, aunties, and older cousins, because they have been helping me out since I came into this world as well. Even though I want it for my family I really think it would help me personally more with my future. It’s not like being at a community college is bad or nothing, but if I get a full ride scholarship for basketball, that means I’ll be instantly going to a University and playing at a division 1 or 2 level. This will help me on the court by playing at one of the two highest levels and off the court by being at a University which will help me by having more varieties of different career resources.

I need help from my teammates, my family, coaches, and recruiters to help me get to my dream. I’ll need help from my teammates because we will have to win games to put our roster on top of recruiters desks. My coaches tell my team and I that “ No matter how good you can be individually, if your team is not winning then they won’t care about you or your skills.”, and I agree with this  I’ll need help from my family because I’ll need financial help with my clothing on the court and other sports medicine to help my body stay healthy. My coaches could help me out because they could put in a good word for me or put my name in conversations where colleges are being talked about. And I will need the recruiters' help in giving me a chance, and looking at my highlight reel in the future or coming to see me play in real life. To get to Division 1 playing basketball I’ll most likely need help from everyone that I know because my dream is too big for me to accomplish alone. 

The steps I need to take to get on a division 1 college basketball team are to practice by myself more regularly, make varsity, play for a local AAU team, get good grades, contact colleges myself, and make a recruiting profile. These steps aren’t guaranteed for me to get a full-ride scholarship but they will help me get recognition to get a scholarship from somewhere. When I say practice myself, I mean I have to do ball-handling on my patio, shoot at a park, hit the weights at a gym near my house, I mean I must continue working hard and can’t take any days off. Now making varsity is a step I completed but there can be things that college coaches look at that I haven’t done on varsity like being a leader. A leader on a basketball team keeps their teammates ready for what's coming up in front of them, they communicate with their teammates the loudest, and/or they act as the role-model on the court and off the court, making them have a 24/7 job. Another thing I can do on varsity or on any sports team that requires running is hustle, coaches always love players like this. Ryan Tremblay, a basketball coach, business owner, and internet entrepreneur states “Hustle! Coaches love to see a guy that is willing to get down and dirty, fight for loose balls.”, this tells me that I need to work harder and play harder every time I’m on that court because it will help me look better for college coaches. Playing AAU is when you're playing a sport competitively but not with your high school team or it can also be a travel team. This can also benefit you because in AAU they have big tournaments that scouts can be attending. I know this because last year when I was playing AAU for my coach, we were at a tournament called AZ Live, which was in Arizona. And not only were there college scouts, but there were other unexpected guests such as Draymond Green. Getting good grades can play a major role in where you go to college because college coaches will still look at your work in the classroom, and see how you perform there. Ryan Tremblay also states “ There are countless numbers of prospects that had to settle with no scholarship and play DIII basketball or use a year or two of there NCAA eligibility to catch up on there grades. “, basically he is telling me to stay on top of my academics so that the college coach doesn’t have to think twice about giving me a scholarship. I should contact colleges myself, because unless you’re nationally ranked or going viral on social media, that coach may not know you. So when I do contact them I should email them with highlights of myself, and what I can do for the team. A recruiting profile can be important as well, for it can be a quick and easy way for a scout to see how you look.

I need to have good qualities to get where I want such as having commitment, being competitive, having confidence, and being coachable. Having a commitment to pursue my dream is very crucial because it'll make me want to work on my dream during the days I feel good and the days I feel lazy. Kobe Bryant is an example of having a commitment to work hard to achieve a dream or goal you want. Being competitive is something that I feel I should work on more because in college, or even life itself whether it's your school or job, your spot is never secured. Someone can always take it from you. So no matter how good I may think I am there might be someone who is just like me but works harder, and is more competitive and a coach will choose them every time. I must have confidence in myself to play basketball, if I don’t have confidence in myself, then what makes me think that players or coaches will have confidence in me on the court. I must be confident at all times, if I show doubt in myself then people can easily give up on me. Being coachable is very important for my dream too, for if I can’t be open to learning new things or just can’t listen at all then my scholarship and my basketball career can be over. My grandpa told me that his twin brother got cut from a basketball team because he wouldn’t cut his facial hair off. This proves my point that being coachable is important, or it can have consequences on you.

The journey to getting a full-ride scholarship for basketball will be very hard, no doubt about it. But if I can help my family, my mom, and even my coaches by being a role model for their future players to look up to. Have the qualities to be successful throughout my high school career, know what steps I’ll have to take, and know who’s help I will need. I think my path to my dream will be pretty clear, not saying it will be easy, just saying that I’ll make it through.