A Hard Pill To Swallow In Sports

Coaches Can Be The Problem

I’ll be honest, basketball was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Considering how we all hype ourselves up in terms of our own skill level from time to time. There has to be some truth that lies within even athletes overconfidence. I wasn’t the most talented and barely saw the court when I made varsity during my Junior year of high school, but I was always working on my game. I’m not going to sit here and blame my coach, but I always think back to the conversations I had with him.  

I remember walking into the coach’s office during my senior year of high school and I asked for a game film for college. He told me his “laptop broke” and that he “didn’t have anything”. As an 18-year-old who was looking for a way out and some sort of motivation to continue playing, this was a hard pill to swallow. It crushed me. This is the same coach that spoke at our banquet and said; “James is one of the most hard-working players we have on the team. Basketball is in his DNA and the kid never stops working”. I remember those words so vividly because it created the foundation that you see here today.

One thing was clear to me. Being able to play multiple positions on the floor hurt you back in 2013-2015 (at least in high school). I fit the mold of that, always asked how I could be better, and even tried to voice my concerns behind closed doors. It got me nowhere. 

“James is one of the most hard-working players we have on the team. Basketball is in his DNA and the kid never stops working”

The Bright Side

I managed to dig up one 5 second clip of me hooping. Never thought that this clip would be so meaningful to me. When it’s the only clip you have of your 15 years of playing competitively you would be grateful too. 

I’ll always be a competitor and want to win more than the next guy, but when you’re 18 sitting in the locker room and have the realization that you don’t want to play basketball again; it’s a tough thing to deal with. You put so much effort into something and expect to get results, but you end up falling more times than you succeed. Even at 24 (almost 25) I’m still trying to put the pieces together. 

I’ve always chose to stay around the game, build connections, and coach. Yes I may have some bad takes on here, but anyone who really knows me will tell you that I’m a great basketball mind who loves to help people succeed more than himself. That’s why I started NoLimitJumper to give people a voice because I know what it’s like to have it stripped away at a young age.

Never stop believing in yourself and never fully swallow that Hard Pill

NoLimitJumper