I have never liked the saying ‘Chase your Dreams’ because it puts your dreams into a fantasy like state as if they will never come true. I have always rather referred to dreams as goals because no matter how extreme you make them, they seem attainable. When I was younger all I wanted to do was play sports and with sports I set goals for myself. They started small, like wanting to score at soccer in my under 10’s competition, that goal then moved to wanting to score 2, and then 3 as I reached the goals I was able to look back and see the improvement that I had made.
This is the type of thinking I was able to implement into every aspect of my life and is how I still think to this day. Growing up, I was more of an athletic kid and not too bright in the classroom, I couldn’t pay attention and always made jokes which ironically earnt me the nickname of being Smart Alec. I never appreciated the classroom as much as I should’ve always having bad behavior reports and mediocre grades. My family would never be too happy when I brought these reports home as it would always be in comparison to my older brother.
Most things I have done in my life has been influenced or in the footsteps of my older brother. He introduced me to Basketball when we were young, and has always influenced my interest and how I go about thing. As we both got older and further into basketball we saw people from Sydney be able to take basketball all the way over here to the US and play in college. The idea of moving to the US to play college basketball was the coolest thing I had ever imagined. So since the age of 13 I had made it my primary goal to do whatever it takes to make it onto a college roster.
The choices I have made since that goal has put my life into a direction that I had never thought it would go. With the help of Kenny Manzi who we all know, I reached out to Coach Kitani through an email not confident that I would get a response back, later that week he wanted to connect to my dad and he gave me an opportunity of a lifetime to move over and play for him here at RHP. There was no hesitation on my part, I didn’t care what sacrifices I would have to make. I knew it would be the best decision of my life and put me in a position to achieve my goals, and after 2 years I can happily say that with 100% confidence. Although I was all in on coming here, it did take a lot of convincing from my parents as it was a big ask, meaning I would have to move out of home only being 15. My parents are two of the most supportive parents I could ever ask for and they eventually agreed and I was on a plane a few weeks later.
The day I arrived I was picked up at an empty LAX in the midst of COVID by Mr Steve Hagee and taken home, where I met Coach Kitani for the first time. I was greeted with a bag of gear and some fresh pancakes, and at that moment I knew I was going to be ok and taken care off. My life here gave me a fresh start and one that I knew I was going to take maximum advantage of. I was able to change my behavior in the classroom and with the amazing teachers here at RHP I could get grades that I never could’ve thought I would have.
Basketball wise, the RHP program is a family away from home and I have improved beyond a point I ever thought possible. When I was younger, I would always think about what an older and more wise version of myself would say to me, these are the messages that a 17 year old me would tell that younger kid.
1: Take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself, you never know what could come out of it.
2: Set Goals for yourself and don’t stop chasing them until you reach them
3: When things are hard don’t stop, keep pushing and enjoy the process
4: Most importantly, do what makes you happy