New Practice Filed
|
|||
|
First off, starting with high school baseball the season is maybe three (3) months long. So, you start from tryouts in late February you end in the middle of May to the middle of June. So, you have three to four months in there that you are practicing for baseball during the whole year. That’s all you do for high school is three to four months of the year. Once I l left high school I went to junior college (Olney Central). There you are have fall baseball. You have the month of Christmas off. Then you go right back into baseball. All you have off from junior college baseball is the summer. Then you go play baseball again. That’s really the main difference from high school baseball to junior college… was time. Lifting wise in junior college we did a whole lot more lifting. You start to hit the weights more. Obviously more than you did in high school you work out five days a week, maybe six days. A lot of the guys are more interested in working out at the college level. You have to, to stay healthy, get stronger and keep up with all the competition. A step farther is when I left junior college and went to Indiana State. There you have people helping you. You have two or three strength coaches trying to make you stronger. Same thing you are working out five or six days a week there. They have more knowledge. They are giving you workouts to do. In junior college I was doing my own thing. I am working out whatever I want to work out. At ISU they will help you; they have strength coaches there showing you what to do. They can give you a weight plan if you wanted them to, a diet plan keeping you on the right weight. I feel like from high school to junior college I got stronger but from junior college to ISU I got a lot stronger. I matured a lot more and that was the difference. That helped me in baseball. It helped me hitting the ball, throwing the ball, running, and kept me in better shape. I felt stronger throughout the year and that’s from working out.
Photos of the ISU Men’s Basketball team in their game against Syracuse are online in the photo gallery. I grew up on the south side of Chicago. It was pretty rough. My mom didn’t let me outside much. I pretty much just went to school. I was a straight A student first through sixth grade. Then basketball was introduced into my life around seventh grade. I went to a new school. It was high school that branched off with an eighth grade program. I didn’t start playing until seventh or eighth grade. That was new to me. Everybody had always told me I needed to play because I was so tall. I wasn’t that interested in it. I always watched Michael Jordan and what not. But, my dad and mom didn’t put a ball in my hands. They didn’t force it upon me like some people would have. I just came around and started playing and I started to love it right away. My mom has been there more so than my dad, but my dad is always around. He has done more lately that he did at the beginning. I actually learned how to play from my friends from around my neighborhood. We used to pull a goal out and play on the playground. We didn’t have much room but they taught me to shoot at the square. I didn’t have a jump shot at all, at first. Just shoot at the square and that is how it all started. That’s where it all started. I have a few cousins that play. They live in Ohio, Delaware- Columbus area. My dad played in high school. My mom wasn’t into sports, she was a model. My grandparents didn’t play. I am pretty much the first one to go somewhere for it. Do something big sports wise. Click on the “Read More: Sycamores Going to the NCAA Tourney!” to view some pictures from the NCAA Selection Party, March 11. . . . → Read More: Sycamores Going to the NCAA Tourney! Family…my dad’s name is Jeff, my mom’s Kelley and I have 2 younger sisters. One sister, Jaime, is a sophomore, she plays basketball at Iowa. She’s had a great career so far. It’s fun watching her play and my younger sister, Jenna, is a 7th grader this year. She’s big into dance. She’s got all these dance competitions that are fun to go to and watch her. I’m real close to my family, –talk to them all the time. My mom ran track one year at Iowa and my dad played basketball in high school and played at a junior college close to home for 2 years. Sports have always been a big part of our lives. My sisters have had a pretty big career too. We’re all pretty close. We’re a pretty close family. I’ve always pretty much been just basketball. In high school that’s the only sport I played. Middle school I did run track and stuff like that but mainly its always been basketball. I do like to golf in my free time. I joined the Martin Brothers AAU team out of Iowa. I joined that after my freshman year in high school. We had some tournaments that summer and I started getting some letters and more recruiting after that. So I’d say college recruitment really picked up my sophomore year of high school. At first I was getting letters from lot of all the Iowa schools, Iowa, Iowa State, UNI, Drake, then recruitment started branching out a little bit and then my college offers ended up being from here (Indiana State) and them Indiana State, Evansville, Drake, Wright State, and Wyoming were my five major offers. Then decided to come to ISU. My Dad played basketball in high school. He actually has the rebounding record for most in a game in high school. He had twenty-six (26) or something like that. He claims that is what he got in the season but, he’s just being modest. My brother played… he was really good in high school. He has a lot of records in high school. He played at the University of Southern Indiana for four years. He was recruited by I U and schools like that. So he was pretty good. My sister played volleyball in college down in Tennessee. One of my uncles played college basketball at Oakland City. It’s in the blood a little bit, I guess. My family is great. They are very supportive. My Mom and brother come to every home game. My Dad comes when he can. Just yesterday, Sunday, some of my high school teachers and athletic director came to the game. That was pretty neat. My whole family came up. They are really supportive. I love them. I am a marketing major with a minor in sports management. I should graduate in May. I have to take fifteen (15) hours to get my diploma. I’m looking forward to that. It is kind of bitter sweet. I will be out of college and into the real world but it’s time to grow up. It is surprising how fast college life goes. It flies, it seems like yesterday we were just freshmen. Little naïve freshmen not knowing what college life is all about. Not knowing what it takes to make it in college athletics. It has gone by fast but I have learned a lot and I have grown a lot, both as a freshman and a basketball player. It has been really fun. My accident, I have a stress reaction. It is basically, like,… a prerequisite of a stress fracture. It is where the tissues around the bone in my middle foot are inflamed and weakened. I have to really take it easy. I have to wear a boot when I am not on the court. I can’t practice for at least two weeks but basically the diagnosis is day to day. It is just about what pain I can bear or if I am having any pain at all, I can’t play. If I get a stress fracture then I will have to have a surgery. I grew up here. I moved away when I was twelve years old. I stayed in touch with my close family who lived around here. I came here on the weekends with my dad all through high school. So it’s definitely my home. During Christmas and holidays I am home. I am visiting family. That’s definitely nice. I can see them whenever I want instead of two or three days that I was allowed at Iowa for Christmas break. My family understands my schedule and everything. When they call me at night and I don’t answer they know I am probably just resting and tired and don’t feel like talking. At times when we have family get-togethers, if I have a late practice they understand if I don’t make it. I don’t hear any bad things from that side. As far as that being a distraction on being on the court… it can be. I came back because I wanted to be around my brother and I wanted the support of my dad. Also to help my brother out. I am doing that. He is living with me. None of that is a distraction. It only makes you stronger I guess. It’s just part of life. Home for me is Indianapolis, Indiana. I went to North Central High School. It is in the northwest region of Indianapolis. I have a younger brother in eighth grade. I have a sister who is a freshman in college. I also have my mother and father. My sister swam. She doesn’t anymore. She was All-American in high school. My brother plays year around baseball, basketball and football. He is making the transition to high school. He is pretty solid in all of them; I think baseball is probably his best. In my sophomore year in high school I ran a 4.8 in a forty. I was fast but I didn’t have the break away. My junior year in high school I went out for track. I found out I was good at it. From there …and as well as in college, I learned how to run and the proper way to run…the techniques and opening strides. It definitely helped me get breakaway speed. It helped me go from a 4.8 in a forty to a 4.3 now. Track definitely helped — it got me the speed I have now. I have a few mentors. My Dad for one. He taught me everything I know from football and every sport I played. He played sports all through high school. He had a basketball scholarship to play in college. However, he couldn’t go because his father was in the army and he got shipped overseas. I have always idolized him. He taught me everything. I just always wanted for him to be proud of what I did and just do it for him. I grew up watching sports — most kids do. Football players, I always watched football, Jerry Rice was one receiver in that time and that was somebody I watched. I watched him and how he ran routes. He wasn’t the fastest guy out there but he worked for everything. He created a work ethic in me. To me hard work pays off. My hometown is Terre Haute IN. South-side of Terre Haute. Down where they call it Youngstown. My parents separated when I was a little kid. My Dad moved to the north end of Terre Haute. My Mom and my little brother moved to the south side of Terre Haute. I actually have friends from all areas. Growing up playing youth football and stuff like that. My Dad played football in high school. My Mom she was a cheerleader and played tennis. My little brother is a very good wrestler and football player at Terre Haute South right now. If I could do it all over again I would have wrestled too. It makes you a better football player. I am studying Communications and International Studies. I would like to work in an embassy or become an ambassador after college. That would be my goal. Role models in life would probably be my Dad and my Mom. Being separated, they still raised my brother and I really well. I think they did a really good job. Not bragging on myself, … my brother and I we were a load, but we stayed out of trouble. A role model around this area, a local guy, Mel Burk, he was my running-back coach in high school. I got pretty close with him. My Dad was always my coach in football growing up so he is probably my role model. My role model in football is Jim Brown. I like the old school guys Gayle Sayers. In high school they gave me the nick-name “Throwback” because I liked to play like the old school guys. I am just a pretty laid back guy. That’s why I like playing football. I just get out on the field and let loose. I am a Christian I value my faith heavily. When I graduated high school I wanted to play right away. Everybody does right out of high school nobody wants a red shirt. I told my Dad, if Coach Miles got the job at ISU that would be one of my main choices. He did get the job and he told me if I came here I might have a great shot at being on the field my freshman year. I came in as a linebacker and in camp I was moved to the fullback position. Because some guys got hurt or were moving around not getting the job done. I was very fortunate… enough to get to play. I actually started every game my freshman year and I have since. I missed a couple of games. I was hurt last season I think I missed three games. I have started every game since I have been here I have been very fortunate to do that. |
|
|
|
Copyright © 2012 thesycamorenation.com - All Rights Reserved |
|||
