You are never going to believe who I ran into at the Nike EYBL Basketball Tournament in South Carolina. This person changed my perspective on what I thought was possible and I know it will help inspire student athletes to get into the career of their dreams.
Lets set the stage first. I was driving from Norman , Oklahoma to Augusta, South Carolina (that’s 17 hours , one way )because I wanted the chance to conduct street interviews with some of the guest. The goal was to interview those that had inspiring advice to provide to current student athletes both in high school and college.
If you don’t already know, the Nike EYBL and Nike Jr EYBL Tournament is a star studded event with the best talent in the country for middle school and high school basketball. When I say star studded , I’m referring to not only the up in coming stars that are making a name from themselves but also those that already have made a name for themselves in the NBA too.
A few names I saw in attendance was Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul , Mike Bibby , Bradley Beal , Cuttino Mobley and Hakeem Olajuwon.
I was working on a street interview series focused on student development and helping athletes think bigger about their futures; while also learning from those that have already been in their shoes as student athletes. Everybody was providing great information. Some celebrities and some not. Didn’t matter. All valuable.
Surprisingly, the person who impacted me the most wasn’t a professional athlete.
Honestly I don’t even think he played sports at all.
The conversation that changed everything
Once he told me that he wasn’t a student athlete most people would have ended the conversation there, assuming there was nothing to gain or to learn. Instead of walking away , I decided to learn more about him as a person.
That single decision changed everything.
He told me he was there taking photos and creating media content at this event for the sports media outlet in the world (ESPN). I was blown away that he worked for such a household name in sports but I was even more shocked at his story to get there.
He is a big fan of the Miami Heat, so back when he was in the 7th grade ( he’s now 26 years old) he started what seemed to be an insignificant Instagram account based off his favorite team. He posted everything that he could find about the Miami Heat NBA Basketball Team. It was important to him to keep up with the latest news about the Miami Heat on a daily basis, so he could share it with his audience. He soon started to get traction, as many of the NBA players on the Miami Heat started to follow his page and interact with his content. Throughout that time he was able to teach himself how to film video, shoot photography and edit both as well.
His passion didn’t come without a cost. Since he kept his Instagram account throughout high school and college; he missed out on quite a bit. He told me that his friends would make sly remarks and kind of make fun of him jokingly because they didn’t understand the point. “If no one is paying you; why are you taking this that seriously? Why are you doing this?” Those were the most commonly asked questions , he said. He didn’t have an elaborate answer for them. He just said; “I enjoy it”.
It seemed silly at the time but it was the very thing that pushed his resume in front of all the other applicants; when he applied to work at ESPN. And that’s what I want to impress upon student athletes that are looking to break into the career of their dreams.
Instead of waiting to be crowned or chosen; crown and choose yourself. Ask yourself; what can I do on a daily basis that would come in handy in the particular field I want to work in. Get around the people that are doing. Too often times people sit on the sidelines and wait to get the internship or wait to get hired but what are you doing in the meantime?
Even though every career industry is different, every industry allows us all the same opportunity to work on our craft in our season of wait.
You’ll never be as young and have less responsibilities than you have right now. You’re in a perfect position to bet on yourself and build so that you are better prepared before walking into your career.
Your development in the areas that are required does not rest in the hands of your professor, coach, guidance counselor or any one else. It all lies in your hands.
You got this!
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You got this!
For more articles and list of careers dedicated to assist collegiate student athletes of "making it" after their eligibility has elapsed; check out : https://www.jobs4studentathletes.com/
"Because not all collegiate student athletes want to be a coach or a trainer."
-- Jobs 4 Student Athletes
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