In Season 1, Episode 12 of the Royal Vision Podcast, Coach Matthew 👑 sits down with multi-sport powerhouse Elijah Gammage—a rare breed of athlete dominating both the basketball court 🏀 and the baseball field ⚾️. From navigating the pressures of dual training schedules ⏱️ to staying mentally locked in 🧠 through two completely different games, Elijah breaks down what it really means to be versatile, disciplined, and built different 💪. This episode dives into identity 🪞, work ethic 🔥, and the mindset of someone who refuses to be put in a box 📦. Whether you hoop, swing, or grind in any lane—this one’s for you 🎙️👟.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to the Kingdom Guys.
This is episode 12 ofRoyal Vision Podcast.
I'm your host, coach Matthewgot another special guest today.
He is a basketball playerfrom New Berlin, Wisconsin.
He's been playing at a highlevel for the last three years.
Currently plays for Team Hero.
He is a point guard.
His name is Elijah Ga.
What's up bro?
What's up?
Thanks for being on here.
(00:21):
Yeah, so most of the time Ihave basketball players on here.
You're a basketball player.
What led you to thesport of basketball?
It was just like,I like the team.
Okay.
Like having the team and you'vegotta lead off that guy and
the guy's gotta lead off you.
And it's just all of bigold team and it's just like
you're all having fun as once.
Yeah, playing as a whole,like just your brother's
family is that example.
Yeah.
And you've been playing at ahigh level for three years,
(00:43):
but how long have you actuallybeen playing basketball?
A lot longer than that.
Probably when I was like.
I would say eight, nine.
Okay.
So you say eightor nine years old.
Most people start playingbasketball like four or five.
So like why so much later?
Because I playedbaseball, so I was
a baseball guy.
Okay.
You're a baseball.
Do you still play baseball?
(01:03):
Yeah, I still play baseball.
Okay.
And so that's just, I had alot of work on that.
I got you.
So which one's your favorites?
It basketball?
Is it baseball?
So it a little in the middle.
Okay.
A little towards baseball,but I gotcha both sides.
So what is it aboutbaseball that.
You draws you more towardsthat over basketball
because baseball, it'slike more of a you game.
It's yeah.
Yeah.
You have to work onthese little things.
(01:24):
Yeah.
Pitching don't matter.
Pitching, hitting, fielding,whatever you want and you
just gotta work on it.
So what position areyou play in baseball?
Pitching and off field.
All what?
Like whole outfield or justare you the center fielder?
Center and left.
I figured you'd bethe center field.
You give me off Hey, I'mgoing run over right field
and take your ball ifI have to or something.
Where do you takethe most pride at?
Do you take it in hitting,do you take it in your
(01:44):
defense on, in baseball?
What is it?
Definitely my hitting becausehitting, if you got a
guy on first or secondor whatever, guys on, you
just gotta hit him in.
Don't matter wherethe ball goes.
So what kind of what ammI trying to say, what
kind of hitter are you?
Are you like, Hey, I'll getin, put it in contact, but in
the field or you power hitter?
I'll be the roleanyone wants to be.
If I gotta get a guy in,I'll hit a little single.
(02:06):
If I gotta, okay.
Get a double, justbring guys in.
If I got guys on base, I'mjust hitting any anyway on,
so you're really like aversatile type of player.
Where doesthat versatility come from?
Just really being like coachableand flexible and it's okay.
'cause more coaches, likeflexible players, so it's if you
want me to go bunt, I'll bunt.
Okay, I'll put my body or dowhatever I got on the line.
Are you able, do youhave the green light when
you're on the basis or canyou just steal whenever?
Yeah.
Yeah.
(02:26):
Okay.
Is do you have one ofthose, like wrist guards
too, or, oh, sliding bits?
Yeah.
Yeah, I got one of those.
Okay.
So it's give me like the,what's the whole thing
behind the sliding glove?
I get it to protect your hand,but is it like a so you're like,
'cause last year, a couple yearsago, I jammed my fingers.
Okay.
So I was slid and I jamming'em and I didn't want to
keep jamming 'em, so I gotcha.
So it does actually work.
(02:47):
It's not just like forlooks or anything like that?
No.
No.
All.
So in your early off inyour career, what were some
defining moments that kindof led to, your mindset?
I just wanted to get,I was really lazy
in the beginning.
Okay.
And then I just picked it up.
I wanted to become better.
I wanted to do it for notjust me and my family and
anyone who was around me.
Yeah.
I just wanted to bebetter and work harder.
So you said you were lazy.
(03:07):
What kind of, whatwas that shift?
What was the moment whereyou were like, I really want
to do something with this.
I really wanna be more,I would say that shift for me.
It definitely shifted when Iwas like 11 years old, okay.
I just wanted to become betterand be a better person just
in general throughout sports.
Okay.
Not just me playinggood and sports.
Coming outside ofsports and me in a will.
How do you feel like sportstranslates into shaping you
(03:29):
into a better person or shapestransformation long term?
I'd say like forbasketball, it's a team.
Oh.
So if you go out to ajob, you gotta work with
different coworkers and itis or just meet different
people at school, college.
It don't matter what it is,you just gotta be flexible.
New teammates is just likea new coworker or something.
Is there a moment like inyour career that stood out
to you the most where, you'remeeting all these new people,
were you ever a shy person?
(03:50):
In the beginning, yeah.
Okay.
I kept a lot ofthings in myself.
So when did you like breakout of the, the shy cocoon and
then, blossom and to the abilityto like talk to other people
and put yourself out there?
So I would say I justwanted to be like more
open as I would say.
Okay.
So just like you just talkto this person, get to
know how they are and like,yeah, their personality, it
(04:10):
just correlates from there.
How do you feel like connectionsand connecting with people
really translates to chemistry?
Both not only off thecourt or off the field, but
like on the court as well?
Because connections, that's themost, I think that's the
most important thing.
If you're not really, if you'rein your team, you are not team
eye to eye, then obviouslyyou, they're not gonna pass
to him or they're gonna maketurnover and stuff like that.
(04:31):
So if as a whole team as awhole that you're like working
together, then it's like morelooks like pick and roll.
It'd be easier.
You can communicateand already know what's
happening.
Yeah.
Do you feel like there's justone person that is the gel of
the team, or do you feel likeeverybody has their own way
of being the JE of the team?
I'd definitely say everyonedoes have a different way of
being the team, but I say ourMikey t, he was a big number.
(04:54):
I would say six.
I think so.
Okay.
And he just, I think he,him himself just correlates
and starts getting us inthat motion, I would say.
I gotcha.
For our team.
So He's like your glue.
Yeah.
Almost in a way.
Even though everybodyhad, I gotcha.
So starting off have you alwaysbeen, like that star player
or did you start off slow?
I definitely started off slow.
(05:14):
Okay.
And I think that's whenI picked up my game
from both sports really.
Because I wanted to be thattop guy or that guy that
coach wants to go to, put himin for free throws or make
a play, anything like that.
So that's, I just wantedto be really that guy for
that coach or the team.
'cause you notice it when youplay, like you're out there
on the court specifically, itis just without you, you don't
win that, that second game.
(05:35):
You come out there, youget that steel early in the
second half and you dunk it,but you remember the steel.
And so we talk aboutit in your interview.
So why did you rememberthe steel specifically?
Like I said, I feel like thatsteel took the game from there.
Yeah.
Everyone saw you play hard.
Hard work on defense correlatesto hard work on offense.
So if you do great defense,you're gonna do great things
on offense no matter what.
Yeah.
(05:55):
And so like the game ofbasketball, I feel like
it's really shifted to aoffensive, heavy culture.
What do you think we, wecould do to shift it back to,
the focus being on defense.
Defense is because that'sthe most important.
Yeah.
That's likeyour driver as I would say.
Yeah.
Because if you getI call it kills.
Yeah.
Couple stops, 3, 4, 5 stops,and then you obviously you
(06:15):
gonna, that's gonna correlate.
You're gonna scoremore and more.
Yeah.
And you're up 15, 20 already.
It's almost like thegame wouldn't be the
same without defense.
I feel like you can scoretwo points or one team
that have two points.
You have zero points.
But at the end of the day,the team that won was a team
that played better defense.
Yeah.
It just happened to be thatthey scored more points.
(06:36):
You know what I mean?
So how do you feel likeyour upbringing and your
environment influenced theway you approach competition?
I would say how I approachcompetition is I don't
take nobody lightly.
I don't matter if you're, a fivestar, four star, don't matter.
Yeah.
I just take everyoneas the same.
Same competition.
You gotta work.
They're working.
So these so these fourstar, five star, who do
you feel what, is there aplayer that stands out to
(06:57):
you the most where, they'reranked or whatever, and you
essentially, you stopped them.
You just put a brickwall on their face.
Is there any momentthat stands out to you?
Notoff my top of the head really.
Okay.
Is there like a player that.
Ever gave you trouble andyou had to, you ended up
shutting him down, or maybe hescored on you a couple times.
You're like, allright, no, no more.
Yeah, def there's definitelymoments of that.
(07:18):
Don't matter if they're ahigh level athlete like that.
Yeah.
Or if they score onyou, just kinda like you
understand their game.
More of the left handdriver or right hand mini
pull up, stuff like that.
You just gotta findthe key points of what
that game is mostly.
So with a U, is there a lotof preparation that goes into
these games, like scoutingor is it more I'm gonna show
up and whatever competition'sin front of me, just.
I feel like it's inthe middle of both.
'cause there's different,I would say, a u teams
(07:41):
that take more pride in thescouting, watching videos.
Yeah.
Or even just sitting on thesideline and watching the
team, they're gonna play next.
And then the other side is,they also, some kids, some
teams just show up and just,get it done, get that work
done, or whatever they gotta do.
Yeah.
But then also, so like with au, you have circuit teams and
then you have non circuit teams.
Do you feel like there'sa difference between
the circuit teams versusthe non circuit teams?
Or do you think it'smore so just exposure?
(08:03):
I think it's more, I thinkit's both okay
if, see everyone wants tobe exposed to like college
coaches or anything really,but I feel like that kind of
either those teams, like theydo more work or show more ath
athleticism and stuff like that.
Yeah.
So what are some challengesyou feel like athletes
commonly face in the earlystages of their careers?
(08:24):
I would say the mental game.
Okay.
So if some kids are missing,like easy layups free throws.
Yeah.
Like I feel like kids nowadaysget in their heads so quickly
I gotta make those easyones, I gotta make those.
And that just like downhillsdown spirals for them.
So when did you start torecognize your mindset,
and start to take controlof your mental game?
It was a couple years agothat, 'cause I used to get
(08:45):
down myself, just like that.
If I miss a layup, I wouldget really angry at myself.
And then, yeah, now thatI realize once if I got
angry, then that kind ofcorrelate to my defense.
I didn't play help sideor I didn't get those
steals and stuff like that.
So then I just took pride in mymental game and like really just
wanted to if I missed a layup,I'd missed it, the ball again.
Go play defense, get asteel, make another one.
What strategies do, didyou use in order to conquer
(09:06):
your mindset in a way?
I did a lot like.
For me it was deep breaths.
Okay.
Forgetting about it, taking thatquick time is just forgetting
about like the missed layup, thethree free throws, whatever it
is that I did wrong, correlateon it and it's after that, just
forget about it and just goplay defense or go score again.
Like I can.
Yeah.
But then in, in baseball,you're in center field,
I'm sure it's not veryoften you miss a pop fly.
(09:28):
Yeah.
But in moments like thatwhere the spotlight, it's rare
'cause it's, it could be at thecenter field, it could be at
the shorts out the next play.
How do you.
Not, how do you not let thattranslate to your at bats?
Just forget about it.
It's one play.
One play.
Doesn't like definemy whole game.
I could go, oh, I couldbe three for three.
Yeah.
And just with one error.
But I'm still, whenI'm at my bats, yeah.
(09:50):
I'm doing it for the teamfor sure.
So how do personal experiencesoutside of sports shape the
way an athlete competes?
I think it's some partof it comes from what
they had in their pastor where they came from.
That plays a big role on it.
Yeah.
And I think that just likegrows that player or brings
that personality to likethe game of basketball.
So for you personally, whatexperiences outside of sports
(10:14):
shaped the way that you compete?
Definitely just, Ido it for my family.
Okay.
It's, I do it for me, but myfamily, they are, they got me to
practice, they got me my shoesto wear the bat ball, I dribble.
Yeah.
Everything.
So I just do it for my family.
Hard work for my family.
What is it about family thatyou feel like just drives.
Not maybe you, but likejust an athlete in general.
(10:35):
So I feellike family is just, it drives,
it's more, 'cause it's likethey're always there for you.
So like that just makes andthen you also grow with your
family and then they show,like their personality is
shifted onto you and it'sjust family's all around.
So who, do you have acloser relationship with?
Your mom or your dad?
Definitely my mom.
Okay.
I'm always with my mom.
(10:55):
What is what, so what isit about your relationship
with your mom that kindof stands out over the
relationship with your dad?
My mom, she's just,she's always there.
She's if I'm down,she's there for me.
Yeah.
If I'm happy, mad, don't matter.
She's always there.
She's always on my side.
Yeah.
So like your relationshipwith your dad.
I know dad's normallylike the Rock.
He's Hey, you gottado this, that.
Is he like a critical piecein, shaping you as a player you
(11:17):
are today or, yeah, definitelybecause he'll tell
me if I played good,he's gonna be honest.
If I play bad, he's justgonna tell me I played bad.
I gotta do better.
So I think that's alsothe good part of my dad
is 'cause he's honest.
Yeah.
Because now you get some parentsthat are just like, you
played good, but likeoverall, you didn't, yeah.
So hearing it straightfrom your parents gives you
more of that flaming ear.
The next game orsomething like that.
Yeah.
It, I know that sometimesparents can be a little
(11:38):
critical, but how do youblock out the criticism, but
then focus on just growingfrom whatever piece of
information they're giving you?
It's just I hold it to me, ifthey say, go do this, try this
at bats or basketball, or,yeah, school, it doesn't matter.
I try to remember that andthen if I, if it works.
If it doesn't, so it's justthe information you give 'em.
(11:59):
I just bring it with me,so what's the best piece of
criticism or just informationthat you've received that you
were able to then translate thatinto your game?
It's just like my mom.
My mom always says mindset.
Fix your mindset.
Fix your face.
Doesn't matter.
Bad call.
Bad call.
Yeah.
Get the next one.
So I think that's alsobrought me up in my basketball
career or baseball careeris just forgetting about it.
(12:20):
Play the next basket,play the next at bat.
Play the next.
Doesn't matter what it is, justforget about it and have fun.
Yeah.
And with baseball, I knowthat, bad ums are everywhere.
It's unavoidable.
But how do you not focuson, let's say an makes
a really bad call, it'sway outside in the box.
How do you not letthat get to you?
(12:41):
Or how do you not, be like,start cussing out the umpire?
What is it?
It's just, I adjust to 'em okay.
If it's more outside,then I kind of scoot in
on the plate to get it.
Okay.
So I can get those outsideballs or, it depends, it is
a struggle when that happens.
'cause you know the strike zoneor you know it's not there.
But yeah, it's justlike that mindset.
Forget about it, you call it.
They're calling both ways.
So it's like at the end of theday, they're playing in it.
(13:01):
They have that same up,we have that same up.
So that's the end of the day.
It's just playing the ball.
What role does self-talkand internal dialogue
play in performance?
Self-talk is, itdoes play a big role.
I think so, yeah.
Because it's, you can talk toyourself and reflect on like
the things you did in the field.
Yeah.
On the court.
So I just, I do think thatplays a big role for it.
(13:22):
How much do you typicallytalk to yourself?
So let's just say you'relike in that game out there
going into the second half.
What were you telling yourself?
Walk me through what led tothe, that translation into
the taking back the lead.
I would say it's likethe pressure that they
give me on defense.
And watching, like this guylikes left hand, so I talk
to myself, go through that.
(13:43):
Okay.
It's like he's mostly go screen,cross back to the right, try
to get a floater, something.
So like I reallyreflect on that.
If I'm on the bench, that'swhen I talk to myself more and
realize what this guy's doingand what's his not as his strong
suit so that I can get likethose steals, those rebounds.
So it's about being aware.
What, why do you feellike awareness not only in
sports, but also in lifeis so important?
(14:04):
Awareness is it's soimportant because it's like
you gotta be aware of thingsthat's going around you.
It can't be like, you can't beon a tunnel, I would say like
just all this guy defenders infront of me, stuff like that.
It's gotta be, you gottaaware of everybody.
This guy likes to Serena on thehelp side or he cuts through.
Yeah.
So it's just awarenessuntil for life.
You just gotta be,open to everything.
See everything.
Yeah.
(14:24):
'cause it's life's unpredictable.
And so habits, is there ahabit that you became aware
of and you were able to, maybeit was holding you back in a
way and you were able to shiftit and then create a new one?
The habits that I've recentlystarted doing is I keep myself
at a kind of medium tone.
Really?
Because if I don't wanna get toolow on myself or down on myself.
Okay.
And I don't want to bring toomuch energy where I sleep.
(14:45):
Start taking bad layups,bad three pointer shots
in and like then I'm beinga negative for my team.
Oh, so you kinda have a balance.
Yeah, I try to balanceit as far as I can.
So some people call that a flow.
So what woulddescribe your flow?
For me, it's likeI'm like in the medium.
Okay.
If it's like there'sgood plays, yeah.
I'll clap for my teammatesscream and all that.
Yeah.
And if there's bad plays,I don't get down on my
teammates or myself.
(15:05):
I just tell 'em, nextplay, forget about it.
You get a next open shot.
Something like that.
And so the defense's jobis always to speed you up.
How do you stay composed and notlet their pressure get to you?
I would say communication.
Oh, so if my guy's gonna getscreened or my point guard's
gonna get screened, I gottago tell 'em to scene screen.
Yeah.
So I feel like communication inbasketball is the biggest fart.
(15:28):
Not that's helps yourdefense too, because if you
know that screen's coming,you're gonna back sag off
or tighten up on the guy.
Yeah.
And switch.
And it's just, communicationis the biggest part of
basketball, I think.
So you talk about communication.
How do you feel like sportsteaches you communication?
That translates into your dailylife, maybe relationships,
friendships, anything like that.
It goes to the daily life isIf you got questions, just
you go communicate with,your work, your boss, your
(15:50):
teacher, anything like that.
Yeah.
And it's just like you cantalk about, your feelings, what
you're feeling and all that.
And it's it's better off tojust not hide it and just go
out and tell that person or,okay.
Anything you questions about.
So are you likea problem solver?
Yeah, I try to be.
Okay.
So when you get a problem,do you take, do you push it
off or do you like to get itdone right then and there?
I try to, as close asI can, I try to get it
(16:11):
done as quick as I can.
What is it about likesolving problems, right?
As soon as they happen thatlike it, like I have to do it.
So 'cause if I don't doit, it bugs me really.
Okay.
So I like to get it done,make sure like I have it
right or I'm doing it right.
So it's then if it,if I'm dribbling.
Work on my left hand and I got,that's a problem, my left hand.
Okay.
So then I fix that and thenI'm unstoppable from there.
Now you're dominantlyright-handed, right?
(16:32):
Yes.
So are, do you feel like you cantell a difference between your
right hand and your left hand?
For sure.
There?
No.
So there is avisible difference?
Yeah.
Okay.
So when did you, so do youspend more time working on
your left or do you spendmore time on your right?
It's, I do mostly left.
If I'm just, if I'm in thegym dribble and I start off
on my left, back forth, cross,anything like that on my left,
(16:53):
then I move back to my right.
To keep that quick ballhandling so I can move, adjust,
agility and all that.
How much time do you typicallyspend, let's just say in a
day between your two sports,you got baseball, right now
you're in baseball season toobetween baseball and basketball,
I go to the, there's afacility I go to, it's a
baseball facility and thenthe back of the basketball.
Okay.
So I'll go hit off the tee,do this, throw all that, and
(17:16):
I'll go back to my car, drop mybaseball stuff, grab the ball
and get some more work.
Yeah.
So it's like an equal amount.
So it's so you're probablythere, what, three and
a half, four hours?
Maybe three, four or five hours.
Yeah.
That, that's good.
That's what it takes though.
Yeah.
So people that are athletes,young athletes that are
looking to play in a nextlevel, maybe it's high
(17:36):
school, maybe it's college.
What advice would you giveto them as far as work
ethic and effort put in?
It's if you're on thecourt, do the dirty work.
No one wants to takecharges or dive.
Yeah.
If.
That shows the coaches,your coach, anybody.
If you're diving on thefloor, you're putting your
body on the line that'sshowing that you care for
your team and you're fightingfor your team to get those
loose ball or yeah, sacrificeyour body for that charge.
(17:56):
Is there a moment where youknow you're doing the dirty work
that stands out to you most?
Is like there a memorythat you have that.
Definitely charges.
I think those are mostmemorable because those
really kill the offense, yeah.
Drive.
Absolutely.
So you get a charge that'syour bolt and a file.
So like you just didtwo things right there.
Yeah.
You stop the guy and you gottafile if he's the best player or
(18:17):
worst player, doesn't matter.
You feel you.
The drive.
What do you feel like is thebest charge you've ever taken?
Best charge was close.
It was a close game.
Okay.
It was, I think it was a coupleminutes and we were down two.
Yeah.
Took the charge and thenthe next after that, they
got, that guy was filedout, so he had four.
So we had a guy and then afterthat we knocked down a three.
We won the game after that.
Hey that's good that'stranslation right there.
(18:37):
And then at the end ofthe game too, I think
you gotta steal, right?
Or it's one of your teammatesgot a steal and you're able to
get a buzzer beater as well.
So like it's obvious, likethose small moments, like
the steal the charges,the force turnovers.
I feel like that's a lot moreimportant than the offense
at the end of the day.
That's what I thinkit translates so well.
So what are some of the biggestmindset shifts that lead to
(18:59):
long-term success in sports?
The mindset shifts.
I would say it's, you gottaplay with quick awareness.
Okay.
You just gotta, like I said,forget about what happened
and shift to like defensehelping your team out.
'cause if you drop down, thenlike your whole teams could
drop down 'cause they seeyou're down and then they're
gonna start not helping ordoing anything like that.
(19:20):
But what is it about shoot,I lost my train of thought.
Move on.
How do external pressureslike expectations from
coaches, fans, even the media,how do you feel like they
affect an athlete's game?
It, those do play a big role.
'cause if you got say a collegecoach, come and watch you.
Yeah.
You wanna ab play thatyour perform, you wanna
play your top game.
(19:40):
And I feel a lot of people takea lot of players focus on that.
And I say if you, when youcross that basketball line, when
you cross that line, you justgotta forget about everything.
Block out all the noise.
Yeah.
Don't worry about who'scoming to your game,
who's not coming in.
You just gotta play your gameno matter who's there watching
you, because you never know.
So to get you preparedfor a game, I know people,
most players, they have aritual or a superstition.
(20:01):
Walk me through yourpre-game routine.
I get a good meal in kindof like toast, bananas,
anything like that.
Okay.
Gimme like, so I don't catchcramps in the game or anything.
It's just then I just,get in the car and then
just listen to slow music.
Okay.
The game's already fast enough.
Yeah.
And if you slow it down, thenyou see like the awareness,
you see it way better Yeah.
Than keep listening tofast, like fast paced stuff.
So what's your go-topre-game playlist or song?
(20:25):
I don't know.
Anything reallyslow to be honest.
Okay.
Like I'd be listening to alot of Drake's stuff.
Okay.
That's a good one.
Because he's slow and it'sjust yeah, that's what I like,
is I like making it slow.
Or I've heard athleteseven mention csa.
I don't know.
That's one too.
Yeah,people talk about that, but so
what is it about the music thatkind of, that's just so calm or
puts you in a flow state almost.
(20:46):
It's 'cause nerves are also abig part of the game, Uhhuh.
So it's like hearing that slowlike rhythm or the tone or the
voice doesn't matter what it is.
Then it gives you that slowtone or it's yeah, you're in
the media, you're just nottoo nervous, not too hyped.
It's just in the,you're in the middle.
So what do you feel, what do youfeel like the nerves come from?
Is, do you think it comes from.
Performance or justexternal pressures?
(21:09):
I think pressure.
Okay.
Because, I used to put alot of pressure on myself.
If I made a mistake,then that's on me.
I made the mistake.
And that's where themindset comes in.
And if you just release thatpressure and play your game,
have fun no matter what.
'cause you pick the sport toplay it 'cause he loved it.
Yeah.
And so when, once youstep on the court.
Do all the nerves subside orare they there the whole time?
No they're gone.
(21:29):
They're gone.
Yeah.
Everything's, everythingabout the nerves.
Everything is just gone.
When I play, to be honest,I don't hear nobody.
Okay.
Like the fans I can'teven hear my mom or my
dad screaming at me.
Okay.
'cause everything'sjust quiet for me.
It's been a neutral.
So once you, do you have anypre-game, like once you're
on the court, do you haveany rituals or superstitions?
(21:51):
No, not really.
What about on thebaseball field?
I know there's a lotof superstitions there.
Baseball, there's a couple.
Okay.
I make sure, like what I,I re tie my laces twice.
Really?
Yeah.
For some reason I do that,but, and it just gets me
that's like how I start myday or how I start the game.
So when you say, so ifthey're tied, you'll untie
them and then tie them.
That's your retie?
Yeah.
Okay.
(22:11):
Do you have a, I don't know,like a not touch the lines?
I know that's a big thing.
Are you one of those people?
Yeah, I don't like totouch the line 'cause, okay.
Just bad.
The touching line is bad luck.
That's what they say.
Yeah, that's what they say.
I get that.
What about are you a believerin like religion or do you feel
like that's been a big role or abig factor in your life as well?
(22:32):
Definitely.
I definitely believe thateverything that you do is like
in, in God's will, for example.
Okay, so he, he wakesyou up every day.
He puts the, you surround youwith the family and all that.
And I just, it's like God'spath in away if it's like you
just follow that path and likefrom there on you'll be good.
So long term, I know you'rewhat, a senior or junior?
(22:53):
Junior.
So you start, you're gonnabe graduating next year.
Yeah.
So where do you feel likeyou've shifted from going
into your junior year tonow at this point, leading
into your senior year?
Being more mature.
Okay.
That definitely helped me.
'cause before I was kinda like.
It's whatever.
It's just do this,don't do that.
Doesn't matter.
So I matured more of like init done, just don't matter
(23:16):
how hard it is, how easyit's just get done and it's
then that's out the way.
So why do you feel likepeople push off doing the
work that most people knowis necessary so that they can
get results and they can grow?
Because I feel like it's,'cause it takes time.
Oh.
And I feel like some peopledon't like how hard you have
to work or the hours and daysand weeks you gotta put in.
(23:37):
So like I, I make sure I getmy daily hours in or wake up
my workout in, stuff like that.
'cause if I work out, thenthat's gonna make me stronger.
Yeah.
To take the contact orswing harder and it's
just definitely helps you.
Do you feel like there'smore time or do you think
it's more comf comfort?
I think it's a both.
Okay.
Because if you take the time,then obviously you are
(23:58):
gonna get comfortable.
Yeah.
So if you work out four orfive hours a day working on
your game, then that's gonnacorrelate to the on the court.
Yeah.
Then it's like you'recomfortable with that.
You can absorb the contactor you can shoot that shot
with a hand in your face.
It's just after that, it'sjust like practice for me.
Do you, where do you feellike you get the most growth
from being comfortableor being uncomfortable?
(24:19):
Uncomfortable.
Definitely.
Okay.
Because I feel like if you'recomfortable then it's like
there's no added pressure orlike I would say yeah, because
if you're comfortable thenit's just really, not really,
you're not working hard.
You're not, yeah.
Getting better.
'cause you just going throughlike the motion and all this
left hand lay up, left righthand, it's just like motions.
If someone's up in your facelike that, then that's pressure.
It makes you work on retreatsteps and stuff like that.
(24:41):
And yeah, passes, spinmoves, euros, all that.
And I wouldn't even sayit's so much pressure, more
so like stress or strain.
It's like an unknown territory.
Kinda I'm sure youlift a little bit.
So like the first time youstepped in the weight room.
Didn't it hurt?
Oh, it hurt.
It hurt.
It hurt.
It hurt, right?
And then you go back the nextday and you know you're still
in pain, but you lift again.
(25:03):
You lift again, andit doesn't get easier.
You just get more used to it.
It just becomes a habit.
It becomes.
So what are some key habitsor strategies that athletes
used to build confidenceand also build resilience?
I would say to build confidence.
It's have also havingconfidence in yourself.
If you don't have confidencein yourself, then you know
(25:23):
you're not gonna feel itto play your best ability.
So if you gain that confidencewith, doesn't matter, it
could be off the court.
On the court.
Yeah.
You have that confidence thatmakes you like a better person.
And it just growsyou as like a human.
Where, so where did youfeel like you started to
gain confidence in yourgame and who you and also
in who you are as a player?
I gainedmy confidence later on and
(25:43):
I wish, I do wish I gainedmy confidence earlier.
It's just confidence isa big motivator, I think.
Yeah.
So if you got confidence withanything you don't matter.
Sports, school.
Yeah.
Anything.
If you have that drive andthat confidence, it's just
like things are easier for you.
How do you feel likeshoot, how do you stop?
(26:06):
Letting regret or guilt fromcreeping into your game?
It's how do I stop the guilt?
It is, it's it's just,I don't focus on it.
Okay.
It's like it happens.
It happened, forget about it.
Like you could be, itdoesn't matter what it is.
It's just the guilt comes,recognize it and yeah,
forget about it and focusonto something else.
Is it aboutRecognizing it, let it go,
or is it more so just owningthat it's just who you are?
(26:31):
Like this?
Is this who youwere in that moment?
It could be.
It could be that.
Okay.
It could regret comesin many different ways.
It, yeah.
Come any time.
And it's definitely in thatmoment something happened.
Yeah.
And it's just you gotta focusyourself back in and realize
you can reflect from it too.
Yeah.
So it could be a positive atthe same time that you realize
that, that you could fix it.
Yeah.
(26:51):
Stuff like that.
So you course me as somebodywho reflects a lot, how
much time do you feellike you spend reflecting?
I reflect a lot.
It doesn't matter what it is.
Basketball school, Ijust reflect on it.
If I did something bad, it'swhy did I do something bad?
Not, oh, I did it bad'cause I didn't sleep right.
Or something like that.
Yeah.
It's like I could, oh, I couldhave passed it out to this guy.
He was wide open thecorner said that spin move
and forcing a bad shot.
(27:14):
So how do you feel likean athlete's belief system
shapes their ability toperform at the highest level?
Believe is a big thing.
' cause if you believe inyou can do anything.
Because if you don't believeyou can take guys guarding in
front of you, you don't believeyou can score in them, then you
just shy off, pass the ball off.
And don't get thoselike easy layups or
easy threes as you want.
So you definitely gottajust focus on that as well.
(27:35):
Is there a moment that youremember where you didn't
believe in yourself andwhat is what in you shifted?
To where you werelike, I can do this.
It was earlier in my career.
I didn't reallybelieve in myself.
I didn't really understandwhy I was still playing that
sport or something like that.
Yeah.
And what shifted is just likemy family, she, my mom is always
there and she believes in me.
(27:55):
My dad believes in me, mygrandma, my grandpa, they
all believe in me and believethat I can go be something
or do something for 'em.
Yeah.
And that's what I want to do.
I wanna improve their wayof life and yeah, bring
'em to stuff that theywant and stuff like that.
And with.
Having the spotlight on you.
There's people that theypretend like they're there
(28:16):
for you and then they'lltalk talk behind your back,
or they'll, they're justconstantly you can't do that.
You can't do that.
What is it aboutjust succeeding?
That doesn't necessarily belike, ha, like I did this, but
more so just gives you that.
Satisfaction.
It's definitely'cause if you, I like to go,
I score on that guy, forexample, he's talking trash
(28:37):
or something like that.
So I can't shoot, can't do that.
And it gives me that likeself-confidence more.
Because it's Iknow I can do that.
Yeah.
I know I can do this.
So it's it just I growfrom there because
it's just one of those thingswhere why do you feel like
people say negative thingsto get you in your head?
Okay.
Because if, 'cause pretty muchlike mental, if I'm talking
(28:59):
trash to you saying youcan't do this, you can't do
that, you're gonna go try it.
Yeah.
And if you really can'tdo that, then you're just
gonna, it's like you're anegative factor for your team.
Yeah.
And so if someone gets in yourhead, it's pretty much they
could be in your head for that,that time or that whole game.
And it's like you don'tplay the best ability
as you know you can.
Do you think it's them trying toget in your head or do you think
it's their own limitations?
I think it's both.
(29:19):
Okay.
Because if, like I said, ifyou get someone's head, that
could be, they could just be.
Breaking down therest of the game.
It could be the bestplayer, the worst player.
You just, if I'm insomeone's head, I took that
guy out of the equation.
Yeah.
I took him out ofthe game pretty much.
And then I feel like thatcould just be someone, and if
someone's trash talking, thatcould be how their game is.
Yeah.
Like how that couldbe more confidence for
them, stuff like that.
(29:40):
Now you said as soon asyou step on that court, you
don't really hear anything.
You hear yourteammates a little bit.
So how is it that you don'tlet other people trash talk
you and it get into your head?
Because when I'mwatching that game.
Somebody could have beenlike, your mom is this.
And I don't think itwould've ever affected you.
Definitely not.
'cause it's just the game'sso high, intense and fast.
(30:01):
Yeah.
And making quick decisions.
It's all about that.
And if you slow the gamedown and just tune out the
noise, I would say yeah.
And tune out the trash talk.
Sometimes if you knowthe parents, the refs
call or whatever.
Yeah.
You tune all that out and youjust focus on yourself and
more opportunities to come.
'cause you're not worriedabout that person.
Oh, he said this aboutmy mom, or he said
this, I can't do this.
You just work harder andyou just forget about it.
(30:23):
Yeah.
So being an athlete,it's a busy life.
How do you balancethat with your, also
your personal identity?
It'sI get this, I get the things
that I need to do first.
Okay.
So if I gotta, if Igotta get this workout
in, I gotta get it in.
Oh.
It's like I'm, I won'tgo to like for friends,
that's the hangout.
I got it.
If I didn't work out forthis many hours or something.
Yeah.
I gotta get thatbefore I can even.
(30:44):
Think about, hanging outwith this or having go to a
party or something like that.
I gotta get my work done.
Yeah.
Before, because if Iskip it, then that's
gonna be a bad habit.
Yeah.
Oh, I'll put it to side, do ittomorrow, but I really
don't do it tomorrow.
Yeah.
So it's just create good habits.
So it's about, so likeprioritizing yourself first?
Yes.
Okay.
Definitely.
And how do youshow up as Elijah?
(31:09):
Whether you're in sports,whether you're outside
of sports, how do you notlet your sport identity?
Almost translate intoyour personal identity.
You feel like you havethe same identity?
It's definitely okaybecause if I feel like
you respect everybody.
Yeah.
And I respecteveryone on the court.
No matter, you're thebest player, the worst
player I respect.
No matter what I'll play,I'll have a high hand.
Even if you can't shoot.
(31:29):
And it's and then itcorrelates to like school
work, who doesn't matter,interacting with other people.
I give you that same respect.
'cause I want thatsame respect back.
Okay.
So it's like you give someonerespect and they're gonna
see that you respect them,that you care about 'em,
then they'll care about 'em.
Respect you.
So outside of your sport,what impact do you have
beyond it and how can you useyour platform effectively?
(31:52):
I would say that'sa good question.
I would say how I canuse it effectively is,
Hey, you caught me on that one.
That's a good question, isn'tit?
It definitely is.
My platform is.
I wanna be theperson I want to be.
Okay.
And I don't want to getdragged into like friends
(32:13):
or anything like that.
So like I'll do anything Iwant first kinda like what
I said, work on myself.
'cause if you work onyourself, then that builds
confidence, beliefs,basketball, like it just works.
So you build greatplatform for yourself.
Then that just correlates tosports life, stuff like that.
Like for you, I'm not sure ifyou found your purpose yet, or
(32:34):
what you wanna do in life, but.
What do you feel?
How do you want to impactpeople and impact the world?
In a sense, I would say Iwant to impact people is
like treat everyonewith kindness Really?
Okay.
Because like you could,you don't know what that
person went through.
Yeah.
You don't know what thatperson's going through
at the moment thatyou're talking to 'em.
So you treat peoplewithout that kindness.
Yeah.
Or your familywith that kindness.
(32:54):
And then it's just everything.
Again, just rollsbetter, I would say.
Yeah.
And so it's justlike bringing impact.
I like bringingimpacts to, yeah.
Things.
So there's a lot of peoplethat are like anti kindness.
Why do you feel like so manypeople are like, kindness
isn't good or kindness is bad?
Because I feellike there's a lot of anti
kindness is because it'staking time outta their day.
(33:18):
I would say a big thingis like maybe holding
the door for somebody.
Yeah.
Or holding the elevator.
Yeah.
It's like you don'treally do that.
'cause it's oh,that's too much work.
Or takes too much timeoutta my day and I gotta
focus on it's just me.
Yeah.
And how do you find thatbalance between giving but also
taking time for yourself andgiving to yourself as well?
Both of those arereally important because
you gotta also givetime to yourself to make
(33:39):
yourself a better person.
Yeah.
And if, when you give thattime to yourself, you give
that time to other people too.
Your family, yourfriends, no matter who
it is, you interact with.
So it's about fillingyour cups so you can then,
give from an overflow soyou're able to definitely,
give more to other people.
Definitely.
I get that.
So obviously I don't wantyou to be done playing
sports anytime soon.
I'd love to see you go playcollege, play professional
(34:00):
sports, baseball,basketball, whatever it is.
But how do you, how does anathlete prepare for life after
sports and what challengescome with that shift?
There's a lot ofchallenges that come
from that shift.
It's more work, I would say.
More work workload.
If you go to college.
Hours.
You gotta put enough study in.
Yeah.
And then you gotta makesure you gotta get to
the gym earlier or later.
Yeah.
So you still gotta getthat college athlete, you
(34:20):
gotta get that workout in.
Yeah.
So that could be waking upearlier, getting it done at
night or something like that.
And then getting yourschoolwork done too, because
it's gotta reflect with both.
So it's about, understandingyou might gain more
responsibility, but that doesn'ttake away from who you are.
Like what also you need todo definitely in your life.
So for you, I wouldjust kinda explain.
(34:42):
So success for me looks likeshowing up every single day,
regardless of the outside noise,regardless of what's going on
in my external life, showing up.
That's success for me.
What does long-termsuccess look like for you?
I would say definitely thesame as you showing up.
Okay.
It doesn't, I show upfor, family, friends,
basketball, and my team.
Yeah.
I just show up.
Does it?
I won't, like if I'mhaving a bad day, I'll
(35:03):
drop that bad day's timeor reflect it on later.
Okay.
And come be for that personor my family or that team.
Because a lot of people, theydefine success as, I want an
MVP, I wanna state championship.
How do you not let thoseaccolades, those championships
define you and you really createyour own definition of success?
I would say creating your owndefinition of success is like
(35:25):
not 'cause I could care lessif I made that buzzer, beater.
Yeah.
I could care less if.
I had that made the MVP?
Yeah.
Or anything like that?
It's me about if wedid it as a team.
Okay.
Because if I could goscore 25 points and that
doesn't, I really, I couldcare less about points.
Yeah.
If I'm on the floor grinding,getting rebounds assist.
Yeah.
Overall that leads to points.
That leads to leads.
(35:46):
Stuff like that.
So it's so you're more, sosuccess for you looks like just
going out there being you andall the accolades, the points,
they just, they top lawn extra.
Exactly.
Pretty much.
It's.
It's like cake's really good.
Just being cake.
But then you throwsome icing on.
It's like, allright, but it, yeah.
So how do athletesdefine their legacy, and
(36:06):
what do you personallywanna be remembered for?
I wanna be rememberedas a, a kind person.
Person that gets it doneis like there for you.
'cause I'll always be there formy family no matter where, how
far I am, where I am in college,no matter what, I'm always
gonna be there for my family.
My family was there for me.
I'm just like,it's like a return.
Yeah, because you gotta returnto anything that they did.
Good for you.
You gotta do good for them too.
Yeah, for sure.
(36:26):
I'd say the biggest thing drivesme is myself, but I'd love to
do something for my family,hook them up, whatever I can.
So for the next generationof athletes striving for
greatness, what advicewould you give to them?
Keep working.
Okay.
Make sure you have thattime to work for yourself.
Get stronger, get betterat your, any sport,
football, basketball,whatever sport you play.
Yeah.
Just to get better because.
(36:48):
You're getting better atthis, then you're getting
better at other things too.
Yeah, because it hard work.
You're going out four orfive days working out.
Yeah.
Then it's gonna lead intolike habits, like getting
stuff done, like you gottaget this homework done, or
Yeah, you gotta turn in thisassignment before the due date.
Stuff like that.
Yeah.
So before we sign off,do you have anything you
wanna say to the kingdom?
No, I just, no, it was nice.
(37:09):
Nice meeting on the podcast.
I'm glad to have you.
So that's the conclusionof episode 12 of
Royal Vision Podcast.
It's been ElijahGa, coach Matthew.
Peace out.
Love you guys.
Appreciate you.
Welcome to the Kingdom Guys.
This is episode 12 ofRoyal Vision Podcast.
I'm your host, coach Matthewgot another special guest today.
He is a basketball playerfrom New Berlin, Wisconsin.
He's been playing at a highlevel for the last three years.
Currently plays for Team Hero.
He is a point guard.
His name is Elijah Ga.
What's up bro?
What's up?
Thanks for being on here.
(00:21):
Yeah, so most of the time Ihave basketball players on here.
You're a basketball player.
What led you to thesport of basketball?
It was just like,I like the team.
Okay.
Like having the team and you'vegotta lead off that guy and
the guy's gotta lead off you.
And it's just all of bigold team and it's just like
you're all having fun as once.
Yeah, playing as a whole,like just your brother's
family is that example.
Yeah.
And you've been playing at ahigh level for three years,
(00:43):
but how long have you actuallybeen playing basketball?
A lot longer than that.
Probably when I was like.
I would say eight, nine.
Okay.
So you say eightor nine years old.
Most people start playingbasketball like four or five.
So like why so much later?
Because I playedbaseball, so I was
a baseball guy.
Okay.
You're a baseball.
Do you still play baseball?
(01:03):
Yeah, I still play baseball.
Okay.
And so that's just, I had alot of work on that.
I got you.
So which one's your favorites?
It basketball?
Is it baseball?
So it a little in the middle.
Okay.
A little towards baseball,but I gotcha both sides.
So what is it aboutbaseball that.
You draws you more towardsthat over basketball
because baseball, it'slike more of a you game.
It's yeah.
Yeah.
You have to work onthese little things.
(01:24):
Yeah.
Pitching don't matter.
Pitching, hitting, fielding,whatever you want and you
just gotta work on it.
So what position areyou play in baseball?
Pitching and off field.
All what?
Like whole outfield or justare you the center fielder?
Center and left.
I figured you'd bethe center field.
You give me off Hey, I'mgoing run over right field
and take your ball ifI have to or something.
Where do you takethe most pride at?
Do you take it in hitting,do you take it in your
(01:44):
defense on, in baseball?
What is it?
Definitely my hitting becausehitting, if you got a
guy on first or secondor whatever, guys on, you
just gotta hit him in.
Don't matter wherethe ball goes.
So what kind of what ammI trying to say, what
kind of hitter are you?
Are you like, Hey, I'll getin, put it in contact, but in
the field or you power hitter?
I'll be the roleanyone wants to be.
If I gotta get a guy in,I'll hit a little single.
(02:06):
If I gotta, okay.
Get a double, justbring guys in.
If I got guys on base, I'mjust hitting any anyway on,
so you're really like aversatile type of player.
Where doesthat versatility come from?
Just really being like coachableand flexible and it's okay.
'cause more coaches, likeflexible players, so it's if you
want me to go bunt, I'll bunt.
Okay, I'll put my body or dowhatever I got on the line.
Are you able, do youhave the green light when
you're on the basis or canyou just steal whenever?
Yeah.
Yeah.
(02:26):
Okay.
Is do you have one ofthose, like wrist guards
too, or, oh, sliding bits?
Yeah.
Yeah, I got one of those.
Okay.
So it's give me like the,what's the whole thing
behind the sliding glove?
I get it to protect your hand,but is it like a so you're like,
'cause last year, a couple yearsago, I jammed my fingers.
Okay.
So I was slid and I jamming'em and I didn't want to
keep jamming 'em, so I gotcha.
So it does actually work.
(02:47):
It's not just like forlooks or anything like that?
No.
No.
All.
So in your early off inyour career, what were some
defining moments that kindof led to, your mindset?
I just wanted to get,I was really lazy
in the beginning.
Okay.
And then I just picked it up.
I wanted to become better.
I wanted to do it for notjust me and my family and
anyone who was around me.
Yeah.
I just wanted to bebetter and work harder.
So you said you were lazy.
(03:07):
What kind of, whatwas that shift?
What was the moment whereyou were like, I really want
to do something with this.
I really wanna be more,I would say that shift for me.
It definitely shifted when Iwas like 11 years old, okay.
I just wanted to become betterand be a better person just
in general throughout sports.
Okay.
Not just me playinggood and sports.
Coming outside ofsports and me in a will.
How do you feel like sportstranslates into shaping you
(03:29):
into a better person or shapestransformation long term?
I'd say like forbasketball, it's a team.
Oh.
So if you go out to ajob, you gotta work with
different coworkers and itis or just meet different
people at school, college.
It don't matter what it is,you just gotta be flexible.
New teammates is just likea new coworker or something.
Is there a moment like inyour career that stood out
to you the most where, you'remeeting all these new people,
were you ever a shy person?
(03:50):
In the beginning, yeah.
Okay.
I kept a lot ofthings in myself.
So when did you like breakout of the, the shy cocoon and
then, blossom and to the abilityto like talk to other people
and put yourself out there?
So I would say I justwanted to be like more
open as I would say.
Okay.
So just like you just talkto this person, get to
know how they are and like,yeah, their personality, it
(04:10):
just correlates from there.
How do you feel like connectionsand connecting with people
really translates to chemistry?
Both not only off thecourt or off the field, but
like on the court as well?
Because connections, that's themost, I think that's the
most important thing.
If you're not really, if you'rein your team, you are not team
eye to eye, then obviouslyyou, they're not gonna pass
to him or they're gonna maketurnover and stuff like that.
(04:31):
So if as a whole team as awhole that you're like working
together, then it's like morelooks like pick and roll.
It'd be easier.
You can communicateand already know what's
happening.
Yeah.
Do you feel like there's justone person that is the gel of
the team, or do you feel likeeverybody has their own way
of being the JE of the team?
I'd definitely say everyonedoes have a different way of
being the team, but I say ourMikey t, he was a big number.
(04:54):
I would say six.
I think so.
Okay.
And he just, I think he,him himself just correlates
and starts getting us inthat motion, I would say.
I gotcha.
For our team.
So He's like your glue.
Yeah.
Almost in a way.
Even though everybodyhad, I gotcha.
So starting off have you alwaysbeen, like that star player
or did you start off slow?
I definitely started off slow.
(05:14):
Okay.
And I think that's whenI picked up my game
from both sports really.
Because I wanted to be thattop guy or that guy that
coach wants to go to, put himin for free throws or make
a play, anything like that.
So that's, I just wantedto be really that guy for
that coach or the team.
'cause you notice it when youplay, like you're out there
on the court specifically, itis just without you, you don't
win that, that second game.
(05:35):
You come out there, youget that steel early in the
second half and you dunk it,but you remember the steel.
And so we talk aboutit in your interview.
So why did you rememberthe steel specifically?
Like I said, I feel like thatsteel took the game from there.
Yeah.
Everyone saw you play hard.
Hard work on defense correlatesto hard work on offense.
So if you do great defense,you're gonna do great things
on offense no matter what.
Yeah.
(05:55):
And so like the game ofbasketball, I feel like
it's really shifted to aoffensive, heavy culture.
What do you think we, wecould do to shift it back to,
the focus being on defense.
Defense is because that'sthe most important.
Yeah.
That's likeyour driver as I would say.
Yeah.
Because if you getI call it kills.
Yeah.
Couple stops, 3, 4, 5 stops,and then you obviously you
(06:15):
gonna, that's gonna correlate.
You're gonna scoremore and more.
Yeah.
And you're up 15, 20 already.
It's almost like thegame wouldn't be the
same without defense.
I feel like you can scoretwo points or one team
that have two points.
You have zero points.
But at the end of the day,the team that won was a team
that played better defense.
Yeah.
It just happened to be thatthey scored more points.
(06:36):
You know what I mean?
So how do you feel likeyour upbringing and your
environment influenced theway you approach competition?
I would say how I approachcompetition is I don't
take nobody lightly.
I don't matter if you're, a fivestar, four star, don't matter.
Yeah.
I just take everyoneas the same.
Same competition.
You gotta work.
They're working.
So these so these fourstar, five star, who do
you feel what, is there aplayer that stands out to
(06:57):
you the most where, they'reranked or whatever, and you
essentially, you stopped them.
You just put a brickwall on their face.
Is there any momentthat stands out to you?
Notoff my top of the head really.
Okay.
Is there like a player that.
Ever gave you trouble andyou had to, you ended up
shutting him down, or maybe hescored on you a couple times.
You're like, allright, no, no more.
Yeah, def there's definitelymoments of that.
(07:18):
Don't matter if they're ahigh level athlete like that.
Yeah.
Or if they score onyou, just kinda like you
understand their game.
More of the left handdriver or right hand mini
pull up, stuff like that.
You just gotta findthe key points of what
that game is mostly.
So with a U, is there a lotof preparation that goes into
these games, like scoutingor is it more I'm gonna show
up and whatever competition'sin front of me, just.
I feel like it's inthe middle of both.
'cause there's different,I would say, a u teams
(07:41):
that take more pride in thescouting, watching videos.
Yeah.
Or even just sitting on thesideline and watching the
team, they're gonna play next.
And then the other side is,they also, some kids, some
teams just show up and just,get it done, get that work
done, or whatever they gotta do.
Yeah.
But then also, so like with au, you have circuit teams and
then you have non circuit teams.
Do you feel like there'sa difference between
the circuit teams versusthe non circuit teams?
Or do you think it'smore so just exposure?
(08:03):
I think it's more, I thinkit's both okay
if, see everyone wants tobe exposed to like college
coaches or anything really,but I feel like that kind of
either those teams, like theydo more work or show more ath
athleticism and stuff like that.
Yeah.
So what are some challengesyou feel like athletes
commonly face in the earlystages of their careers?
(08:24):
I would say the mental game.
Okay.
So if some kids are missing,like easy layups free throws.
Yeah.
Like I feel like kids nowadaysget in their heads so quickly
I gotta make those easyones, I gotta make those.
And that just like downhillsdown spirals for them.
So when did you start torecognize your mindset,
and start to take controlof your mental game?
It was a couple years agothat, 'cause I used to get
(08:45):
down myself, just like that.
If I miss a layup, I wouldget really angry at myself.
And then, yeah, now thatI realize once if I got
angry, then that kind ofcorrelate to my defense.
I didn't play help sideor I didn't get those
steals and stuff like that.
So then I just took pride in mymental game and like really just
wanted to if I missed a layup,I'd missed it, the ball again.
Go play defense, get asteel, make another one.
What strategies do, didyou use in order to conquer
(09:06):
your mindset in a way?
I did a lot like.
For me it was deep breaths.
Okay.
Forgetting about it, taking thatquick time is just forgetting
about like the missed layup, thethree free throws, whatever it
is that I did wrong, correlateon it and it's after that, just
forget about it and just goplay defense or go score again.
Like I can.
Yeah.
But then in, in baseball,you're in center field,
I'm sure it's not veryoften you miss a pop fly.
(09:28):
Yeah.
But in moments like thatwhere the spotlight, it's rare
'cause it's, it could be at thecenter field, it could be at
the shorts out the next play.
How do you.
Not, how do you not let thattranslate to your at bats?
Just forget about it.
It's one play.
One play.
Doesn't like definemy whole game.
I could go, oh, I couldbe three for three.
Yeah.
And just with one error.
But I'm still, whenI'm at my bats, yeah.
(09:50):
I'm doing it for the teamfor sure.
So how do personal experiencesoutside of sports shape the
way an athlete competes?
I think it's some partof it comes from what
they had in their pastor where they came from.
That plays a big role on it.
Yeah.
And I think that just likegrows that player or brings
that personality to likethe game of basketball.
So for you personally, whatexperiences outside of sports
(10:14):
shaped the way that you compete?
Definitely just, Ido it for my family.
Okay.
It's, I do it for me, but myfamily, they are, they got me to
practice, they got me my shoesto wear the bat ball, I dribble.
Yeah.
Everything.
So I just do it for my family.
Hard work for my family.
What is it about family thatyou feel like just drives.
Not maybe you, but likejust an athlete in general.
(10:35):
So I feellike family is just, it drives,
it's more, 'cause it's likethey're always there for you.
So like that just makes andthen you also grow with your
family and then they show,like their personality is
shifted onto you and it'sjust family's all around.
So who, do you have acloser relationship with?
Your mom or your dad?
Definitely my mom.
Okay.
I'm always with my mom.
(10:55):
What is what, so what isit about your relationship
with your mom that kindof stands out over the
relationship with your dad?
My mom, she's just,she's always there.
She's if I'm down,she's there for me.
Yeah.
If I'm happy, mad, don't matter.
She's always there.
She's always on my side.
Yeah.
So like your relationshipwith your dad.
I know dad's normallylike the Rock.
He's Hey, you gottado this, that.
Is he like a critical piecein, shaping you as a player you
(11:17):
are today or, yeah, definitelybecause he'll tell
me if I played good,he's gonna be honest.
If I play bad, he's justgonna tell me I played bad.
I gotta do better.
So I think that's alsothe good part of my dad
is 'cause he's honest.
Yeah.
Because now you get some parentsthat are just like, you
played good, but likeoverall, you didn't, yeah.
So hearing it straightfrom your parents gives you
more of that flaming ear.
The next game orsomething like that.
Yeah.
It, I know that sometimesparents can be a little
(11:38):
critical, but how do youblock out the criticism, but
then focus on just growingfrom whatever piece of
information they're giving you?
It's just I hold it to me, ifthey say, go do this, try this
at bats or basketball, or,yeah, school, it doesn't matter.
I try to remember that andthen if I, if it works.
If it doesn't, so it's justthe information you give 'em.
(11:59):
I just bring it with me,so what's the best piece of
criticism or just informationthat you've received that you
were able to then translate thatinto your game?
It's just like my mom.
My mom always says mindset.
Fix your mindset.
Fix your face.
Doesn't matter.
Bad call.
Bad call.
Yeah.
Get the next one.
So I think that's alsobrought me up in my basketball
career or baseball careeris just forgetting about it.
(12:20):
Play the next basket,play the next at bat.
Play the next.
Doesn't matter what it is, justforget about it and have fun.
Yeah.
And with baseball, I knowthat, bad ums are everywhere.
It's unavoidable.
But how do you not focuson, let's say an makes
a really bad call, it'sway outside in the box.
How do you not letthat get to you?
(12:41):
Or how do you not, be like,start cussing out the umpire?
What is it?
It's just, I adjust to 'em okay.
If it's more outside,then I kind of scoot in
on the plate to get it.
Okay.
So I can get those outsideballs or, it depends, it is
a struggle when that happens.
'cause you know the strike zoneor you know it's not there.
But yeah, it's justlike that mindset.
Forget about it, you call it.
They're calling both ways.
So it's like at the end of theday, they're playing in it.
(13:01):
They have that same up,we have that same up.
So that's the end of the day.
It's just playing the ball.
What role does self-talkand internal dialogue
play in performance?
Self-talk is, itdoes play a big role.
I think so, yeah.
Because it's, you can talk toyourself and reflect on like
the things you did in the field.
Yeah.
On the court.
So I just, I do think thatplays a big role for it.
(13:22):
How much do you typicallytalk to yourself?
So let's just say you'relike in that game out there
going into the second half.
What were you telling yourself?
Walk me through what led tothe, that translation into
the taking back the lead.
I would say it's likethe pressure that they
give me on defense.
And watching, like this guylikes left hand, so I talk
to myself, go through that.
(13:43):
Okay.
It's like he's mostly go screen,cross back to the right, try
to get a floater, something.
So like I reallyreflect on that.
If I'm on the bench, that'swhen I talk to myself more and
realize what this guy's doingand what's his not as his strong
suit so that I can get likethose steals, those rebounds.
So it's about being aware.
What, why do you feellike awareness not only in
sports, but also in lifeis so important?
(14:04):
Awareness is it's soimportant because it's like
you gotta be aware of thingsthat's going around you.
It can't be like, you can't beon a tunnel, I would say like
just all this guy defenders infront of me, stuff like that.
It's gotta be, you gottaaware of everybody.
This guy likes to Serena on thehelp side or he cuts through.
Yeah.
So it's just awarenessuntil for life.
You just gotta be,open to everything.
See everything.
Yeah.
(14:24):
'cause it's life's unpredictable.
And so habits, is there ahabit that you became aware
of and you were able to, maybeit was holding you back in a
way and you were able to shiftit and then create a new one?
The habits that I've recentlystarted doing is I keep myself
at a kind of medium tone.
Really?
Because if I don't wanna get toolow on myself or down on myself.
Okay.
And I don't want to bring toomuch energy where I sleep.
(14:45):
Start taking bad layups,bad three pointer shots
in and like then I'm beinga negative for my team.
Oh, so you kinda have a balance.
Yeah, I try to balanceit as far as I can.
So some people call that a flow.
So what woulddescribe your flow?
For me, it's likeI'm like in the medium.
Okay.
If it's like there'sgood plays, yeah.
I'll clap for my teammatesscream and all that.
Yeah.
And if there's bad plays,I don't get down on my
teammates or myself.
(15:05):
I just tell 'em, nextplay, forget about it.
You get a next open shot.
Something like that.
And so the defense's jobis always to speed you up.
How do you stay composed and notlet their pressure get to you?
I would say communication.
Oh, so if my guy's gonna getscreened or my point guard's
gonna get screened, I gottago tell 'em to scene screen.
Yeah.
So I feel like communication inbasketball is the biggest fart.
(15:28):
Not that's helps yourdefense too, because if you
know that screen's coming,you're gonna back sag off
or tighten up on the guy.
Yeah.
And switch.
And it's just, communicationis the biggest part of
basketball, I think.
So you talk about communication.
How do you feel like sportsteaches you communication?
That translates into your dailylife, maybe relationships,
friendships, anything like that.
It goes to the daily life isIf you got questions, just
you go communicate with,your work, your boss, your
(15:50):
teacher, anything like that.
Yeah.
And it's just like you cantalk about, your feelings, what
you're feeling and all that.
And it's it's better off tojust not hide it and just go
out and tell that person or,okay.
Anything you questions about.
So are you likea problem solver?
Yeah, I try to be.
Okay.
So when you get a problem,do you take, do you push it
off or do you like to get itdone right then and there?
I try to, as close asI can, I try to get it
(16:11):
done as quick as I can.
What is it about likesolving problems, right?
As soon as they happen thatlike it, like I have to do it.
So 'cause if I don't doit, it bugs me really.
Okay.
So I like to get it done,make sure like I have it
right or I'm doing it right.
So it's then if it,if I'm dribbling.
Work on my left hand and I got,that's a problem, my left hand.
Okay.
So then I fix that and thenI'm unstoppable from there.
Now you're dominantlyright-handed, right?
(16:32):
Yes.
So are, do you feel like you cantell a difference between your
right hand and your left hand?
For sure.
There?
No.
So there is avisible difference?
Yeah.
Okay.
So when did you, so do youspend more time working on
your left or do you spendmore time on your right?
It's, I do mostly left.
If I'm just, if I'm in thegym dribble and I start off
on my left, back forth, cross,anything like that on my left,
(16:53):
then I move back to my right.
To keep that quick ballhandling so I can move, adjust,
agility and all that.
How much time do you typicallyspend, let's just say in a
day between your two sports,you got baseball, right now
you're in baseball season toobetween baseball and basketball,
I go to the, there's afacility I go to, it's a
baseball facility and thenthe back of the basketball.
Okay.
So I'll go hit off the tee,do this, throw all that, and
(17:16):
I'll go back to my car, drop mybaseball stuff, grab the ball
and get some more work.
Yeah.
So it's like an equal amount.
So it's so you're probablythere, what, three and
a half, four hours?
Maybe three, four or five hours.
Yeah.
That, that's good.
That's what it takes though.
Yeah.
So people that are athletes,young athletes that are
looking to play in a nextlevel, maybe it's high
(17:36):
school, maybe it's college.
What advice would you giveto them as far as work
ethic and effort put in?
It's if you're on thecourt, do the dirty work.
No one wants to takecharges or dive.
Yeah.
If.
That shows the coaches,your coach, anybody.
If you're diving on thefloor, you're putting your
body on the line that'sshowing that you care for
your team and you're fightingfor your team to get those
loose ball or yeah, sacrificeyour body for that charge.
(17:56):
Is there a moment where youknow you're doing the dirty work
that stands out to you most?
Is like there a memorythat you have that.
Definitely charges.
I think those are mostmemorable because those
really kill the offense, yeah.
Drive.
Absolutely.
So you get a charge that'syour bolt and a file.
So like you just didtwo things right there.
Yeah.
You stop the guy and you gottafile if he's the best player or
(18:17):
worst player, doesn't matter.
You feel you.
The drive.
What do you feel like is thebest charge you've ever taken?
Best charge was close.
It was a close game.
Okay.
It was, I think it was a coupleminutes and we were down two.
Yeah.
Took the charge and thenthe next after that, they
got, that guy was filedout, so he had four.
So we had a guy and then afterthat we knocked down a three.
We won the game after that.
Hey that's good that'stranslation right there.
(18:37):
And then at the end ofthe game too, I think
you gotta steal, right?
Or it's one of your teammatesgot a steal and you're able to
get a buzzer beater as well.
So like it's obvious, likethose small moments, like
the steal the charges,the force turnovers.
I feel like that's a lot moreimportant than the offense
at the end of the day.
That's what I thinkit translates so well.
So what are some of the biggestmindset shifts that lead to
(18:59):
long-term success in sports?
The mindset shifts.
I would say it's, you gottaplay with quick awareness.
Okay.
You just gotta, like I said,forget about what happened
and shift to like defensehelping your team out.
'cause if you drop down, thenlike your whole teams could
drop down 'cause they seeyou're down and then they're
gonna start not helping ordoing anything like that.
(19:20):
But what is it about shoot,I lost my train of thought.
Move on.
How do external pressureslike expectations from
coaches, fans, even the media,how do you feel like they
affect an athlete's game?
It, those do play a big role.
'cause if you got say a collegecoach, come and watch you.
Yeah.
You wanna ab play thatyour perform, you wanna
play your top game.
(19:40):
And I feel a lot of people takea lot of players focus on that.
And I say if you, when youcross that basketball line, when
you cross that line, you justgotta forget about everything.
Block out all the noise.
Yeah.
Don't worry about who'scoming to your game,
who's not coming in.
You just gotta play your gameno matter who's there watching
you, because you never know.
So to get you preparedfor a game, I know people,
most players, they have aritual or a superstition.
(20:01):
Walk me through yourpre-game routine.
I get a good meal in kindof like toast, bananas,
anything like that.
Okay.
Gimme like, so I don't catchcramps in the game or anything.
It's just then I just,get in the car and then
just listen to slow music.
Okay.
The game's already fast enough.
Yeah.
And if you slow it down, thenyou see like the awareness,
you see it way better Yeah.
Than keep listening tofast, like fast paced stuff.
So what's your go-topre-game playlist or song?
(20:25):
I don't know.
Anything reallyslow to be honest.
Okay.
Like I'd be listening to alot of Drake's stuff.
Okay.
That's a good one.
Because he's slow and it'sjust yeah, that's what I like,
is I like making it slow.
Or I've heard athleteseven mention csa.
I don't know.
That's one too.
Yeah,people talk about that, but so
what is it about the music thatkind of, that's just so calm or
puts you in a flow state almost.
(20:46):
It's 'cause nerves are also abig part of the game, Uhhuh.
So it's like hearing that slowlike rhythm or the tone or the
voice doesn't matter what it is.
Then it gives you that slowtone or it's yeah, you're in
the media, you're just nottoo nervous, not too hyped.
It's just in the,you're in the middle.
So what do you feel, what do youfeel like the nerves come from?
Is, do you think it comes from.
Performance or justexternal pressures?
(21:09):
I think pressure.
Okay.
Because, I used to put alot of pressure on myself.
If I made a mistake,then that's on me.
I made the mistake.
And that's where themindset comes in.
And if you just release thatpressure and play your game,
have fun no matter what.
'cause you pick the sport toplay it 'cause he loved it.
Yeah.
And so when, once youstep on the court.
Do all the nerves subside orare they there the whole time?
No they're gone.
(21:29):
They're gone.
Yeah.
Everything's, everythingabout the nerves.
Everything is just gone.
When I play, to be honest,I don't hear nobody.
Okay.
Like the fans I can'teven hear my mom or my
dad screaming at me.
Okay.
'cause everything'sjust quiet for me.
It's been a neutral.
So once you, do you have anypre-game, like once you're
on the court, do you haveany rituals or superstitions?
(21:51):
No, not really.
What about on thebaseball field?
I know there's a lotof superstitions there.
Baseball, there's a couple.
Okay.
I make sure, like what I,I re tie my laces twice.
Really?
Yeah.
For some reason I do that,but, and it just gets me
that's like how I start myday or how I start the game.
So when you say, so ifthey're tied, you'll untie
them and then tie them.
That's your retie?
Yeah.
Okay.
(22:11):
Do you have a, I don't know,like a not touch the lines?
I know that's a big thing.
Are you one of those people?
Yeah, I don't like totouch the line 'cause, okay.
Just bad.
The touching line is bad luck.
That's what they say.
Yeah, that's what they say.
I get that.
What about are you a believerin like religion or do you feel
like that's been a big role or abig factor in your life as well?
(22:32):
Definitely.
I definitely believe thateverything that you do is like
in, in God's will, for example.
Okay, so he, he wakesyou up every day.
He puts the, you surround youwith the family and all that.
And I just, it's like God'spath in away if it's like you
just follow that path and likefrom there on you'll be good.
So long term, I know you'rewhat, a senior or junior?
(22:53):
Junior.
So you start, you're gonnabe graduating next year.
Yeah.
So where do you feel likeyou've shifted from going
into your junior year tonow at this point, leading
into your senior year?
Being more mature.
Okay.
That definitely helped me.
'cause before I was kinda like.
It's whatever.
It's just do this,don't do that.
Doesn't matter.
So I matured more of like init done, just don't matter
(23:16):
how hard it is, how easyit's just get done and it's
then that's out the way.
So why do you feel likepeople push off doing the
work that most people knowis necessary so that they can
get results and they can grow?
Because I feel like it's,'cause it takes time.
Oh.
And I feel like some peopledon't like how hard you have
to work or the hours and daysand weeks you gotta put in.
(23:37):
So like I, I make sure I getmy daily hours in or wake up
my workout in, stuff like that.
'cause if I work out, thenthat's gonna make me stronger.
Yeah.
To take the contact orswing harder and it's
just definitely helps you.
Do you feel like there'smore time or do you think
it's more comf comfort?
I think it's a both.
Okay.
Because if you take the time,then obviously you are
(23:58):
gonna get comfortable.
Yeah.
So if you work out four orfive hours a day working on
your game, then that's gonnacorrelate to the on the court.
Yeah.
Then it's like you'recomfortable with that.
You can absorb the contactor you can shoot that shot
with a hand in your face.
It's just after that, it'sjust like practice for me.
Do you, where do you feellike you get the most growth
from being comfortableor being uncomfortable?
(24:19):
Uncomfortable.
Definitely.
Okay.
Because I feel like if you'recomfortable then it's like
there's no added pressure orlike I would say yeah, because
if you're comfortable thenit's just really, not really,
you're not working hard.
You're not, yeah.
Getting better.
'cause you just going throughlike the motion and all this
left hand lay up, left righthand, it's just like motions.
If someone's up in your facelike that, then that's pressure.
It makes you work on retreatsteps and stuff like that.
(24:41):
And yeah, passes, spinmoves, euros, all that.
And I wouldn't even sayit's so much pressure, more
so like stress or strain.
It's like an unknown territory.
Kinda I'm sure youlift a little bit.
So like the first time youstepped in the weight room.
Didn't it hurt?
Oh, it hurt.
It hurt.
It hurt.
It hurt, right?
And then you go back the nextday and you know you're still
in pain, but you lift again.
(25:03):
You lift again, andit doesn't get easier.
You just get more used to it.
It just becomes a habit.
It becomes.
So what are some key habitsor strategies that athletes
used to build confidenceand also build resilience?
I would say to build confidence.
It's have also havingconfidence in yourself.
If you don't have confidencein yourself, then you know
(25:23):
you're not gonna feel itto play your best ability.
So if you gain that confidencewith, doesn't matter, it
could be off the court.
On the court.
Yeah.
You have that confidence thatmakes you like a better person.
And it just growsyou as like a human.
Where, so where did youfeel like you started to
gain confidence in yourgame and who you and also
in who you are as a player?
I gainedmy confidence later on and
(25:43):
I wish, I do wish I gainedmy confidence earlier.
It's just confidence isa big motivator, I think.
Yeah.
So if you got confidence withanything you don't matter.
Sports, school.
Yeah.
Anything.
If you have that drive andthat confidence, it's just
like things are easier for you.
How do you feel likeshoot, how do you stop?
(26:06):
Letting regret or guilt fromcreeping into your game?
It's how do I stop the guilt?
It is, it's it's just,I don't focus on it.
Okay.
It's like it happens.
It happened, forget about it.
Like you could be, itdoesn't matter what it is.
It's just the guilt comes,recognize it and yeah,
forget about it and focusonto something else.
Is it aboutRecognizing it, let it go,
or is it more so just owningthat it's just who you are?
(26:31):
Like this?
Is this who youwere in that moment?
It could be.
It could be that.
Okay.
It could regret comesin many different ways.
It, yeah.
Come any time.
And it's definitely in thatmoment something happened.
Yeah.
And it's just you gotta focusyourself back in and realize
you can reflect from it too.
Yeah.
So it could be a positive atthe same time that you realize
that, that you could fix it.
Yeah.
(26:51):
Stuff like that.
So you course me as somebodywho reflects a lot, how
much time do you feellike you spend reflecting?
I reflect a lot.
It doesn't matter what it is.
Basketball school, Ijust reflect on it.
If I did something bad, it'swhy did I do something bad?
Not, oh, I did it bad'cause I didn't sleep right.
Or something like that.
Yeah.
It's like I could, oh, I couldhave passed it out to this guy.
He was wide open thecorner said that spin move
and forcing a bad shot.
(27:14):
So how do you feel likean athlete's belief system
shapes their ability toperform at the highest level?
Believe is a big thing.
' cause if you believe inyou can do anything.
Because if you don't believeyou can take guys guarding in
front of you, you don't believeyou can score in them, then you
just shy off, pass the ball off.
And don't get thoselike easy layups or
easy threes as you want.
So you definitely gottajust focus on that as well.
(27:35):
Is there a moment that youremember where you didn't
believe in yourself andwhat is what in you shifted?
To where you werelike, I can do this.
It was earlier in my career.
I didn't reallybelieve in myself.
I didn't really understandwhy I was still playing that
sport or something like that.
Yeah.
And what shifted is just likemy family, she, my mom is always
there and she believes in me.
(27:55):
My dad believes in me, mygrandma, my grandpa, they
all believe in me and believethat I can go be something
or do something for 'em.
Yeah.
And that's what I want to do.
I wanna improve their wayof life and yeah, bring
'em to stuff that theywant and stuff like that.
And with.
Having the spotlight on you.
There's people that theypretend like they're there
(28:16):
for you and then they'lltalk talk behind your back,
or they'll, they're justconstantly you can't do that.
You can't do that.
What is it aboutjust succeeding?
That doesn't necessarily belike, ha, like I did this, but
more so just gives you that.
Satisfaction.
It's definitely'cause if you, I like to go,
I score on that guy, forexample, he's talking trash
(28:37):
or something like that.
So I can't shoot, can't do that.
And it gives me that likeself-confidence more.
Because it's Iknow I can do that.
Yeah.
I know I can do this.
So it's it just I growfrom there because
it's just one of those thingswhere why do you feel like
people say negative thingsto get you in your head?
Okay.
Because if, 'cause pretty muchlike mental, if I'm talking
(28:59):
trash to you saying youcan't do this, you can't do
that, you're gonna go try it.
Yeah.
And if you really can'tdo that, then you're just
gonna, it's like you're anegative factor for your team.
Yeah.
And so if someone gets in yourhead, it's pretty much they
could be in your head for that,that time or that whole game.
And it's like you don'tplay the best ability
as you know you can.
Do you think it's them trying toget in your head or do you think
it's their own limitations?
I think it's both.
(29:19):
Okay.
Because if, like I said, ifyou get someone's head, that
could be, they could just be.
Breaking down therest of the game.
It could be the bestplayer, the worst player.
You just, if I'm insomeone's head, I took that
guy out of the equation.
Yeah.
I took him out ofthe game pretty much.
And then I feel like thatcould just be someone, and if
someone's trash talking, thatcould be how their game is.
Yeah.
Like how that couldbe more confidence for
them, stuff like that.
(29:40):
Now you said as soon asyou step on that court, you
don't really hear anything.
You hear yourteammates a little bit.
So how is it that you don'tlet other people trash talk
you and it get into your head?
Because when I'mwatching that game.
Somebody could have beenlike, your mom is this.
And I don't think itwould've ever affected you.
Definitely not.
'cause it's just the game'sso high, intense and fast.
(30:01):
Yeah.
And making quick decisions.
It's all about that.
And if you slow the gamedown and just tune out the
noise, I would say yeah.
And tune out the trash talk.
Sometimes if you knowthe parents, the refs
call or whatever.
Yeah.
You tune all that out and youjust focus on yourself and
more opportunities to come.
'cause you're not worriedabout that person.
Oh, he said this aboutmy mom, or he said
this, I can't do this.
You just work harder andyou just forget about it.
(30:23):
Yeah.
So being an athlete,it's a busy life.
How do you balancethat with your, also
your personal identity?
It'sI get this, I get the things
that I need to do first.
Okay.
So if I gotta, if Igotta get this workout
in, I gotta get it in.
Oh.
It's like I'm, I won'tgo to like for friends,
that's the hangout.
I got it.
If I didn't work out forthis many hours or something.
Yeah.
I gotta get thatbefore I can even.
(30:44):
Think about, hanging outwith this or having go to a
party or something like that.
I gotta get my work done.
Yeah.
Before, because if Iskip it, then that's
gonna be a bad habit.
Yeah.
Oh, I'll put it to side, do ittomorrow, but I really
don't do it tomorrow.
Yeah.
So it's just create good habits.
So it's about, so likeprioritizing yourself first?
Yes.
Okay.
Definitely.
And how do youshow up as Elijah?
(31:09):
Whether you're in sports,whether you're outside
of sports, how do you notlet your sport identity?
Almost translate intoyour personal identity.
You feel like you havethe same identity?
It's definitely okaybecause if I feel like
you respect everybody.
Yeah.
And I respecteveryone on the court.
No matter, you're thebest player, the worst
player I respect.
No matter what I'll play,I'll have a high hand.
Even if you can't shoot.
(31:29):
And it's and then itcorrelates to like school
work, who doesn't matter,interacting with other people.
I give you that same respect.
'cause I want thatsame respect back.
Okay.
So it's like you give someonerespect and they're gonna
see that you respect them,that you care about 'em,
then they'll care about 'em.
Respect you.
So outside of your sport,what impact do you have
beyond it and how can you useyour platform effectively?
(31:52):
I would say that'sa good question.
I would say how I canuse it effectively is,
Hey, you caught me on that one.
That's a good question, isn'tit?
It definitely is.
My platform is.
I wanna be theperson I want to be.
Okay.
And I don't want to getdragged into like friends
(32:13):
or anything like that.
So like I'll do anything Iwant first kinda like what
I said, work on myself.
'cause if you work onyourself, then that builds
confidence, beliefs,basketball, like it just works.
So you build greatplatform for yourself.
Then that just correlates tosports life, stuff like that.
Like for you, I'm not sure ifyou found your purpose yet, or
(32:34):
what you wanna do in life, but.
What do you feel?
How do you want to impactpeople and impact the world?
In a sense, I would say Iwant to impact people is
like treat everyonewith kindness Really?
Okay.
Because like you could,you don't know what that
person went through.
Yeah.
You don't know what thatperson's going through
at the moment thatyou're talking to 'em.
So you treat peoplewithout that kindness.
Yeah.
Or your familywith that kindness.
(32:54):
And then it's just everything.
Again, just rollsbetter, I would say.
Yeah.
And so it's justlike bringing impact.
I like bringingimpacts to, yeah.
Things.
So there's a lot of peoplethat are like anti kindness.
Why do you feel like so manypeople are like, kindness
isn't good or kindness is bad?
Because I feellike there's a lot of anti
kindness is because it'staking time outta their day.
(33:18):
I would say a big thingis like maybe holding
the door for somebody.
Yeah.
Or holding the elevator.
Yeah.
It's like you don'treally do that.
'cause it's oh,that's too much work.
Or takes too much timeoutta my day and I gotta
focus on it's just me.
Yeah.
And how do you find thatbalance between giving but also
taking time for yourself andgiving to yourself as well?
Both of those arereally important because
you gotta also givetime to yourself to make
(33:39):
yourself a better person.
Yeah.
And if, when you give thattime to yourself, you give
that time to other people too.
Your family, yourfriends, no matter who
it is, you interact with.
So it's about fillingyour cups so you can then,
give from an overflow soyou're able to definitely,
give more to other people.
Definitely.
I get that.
So obviously I don't wantyou to be done playing
sports anytime soon.
I'd love to see you go playcollege, play professional
(34:00):
sports, baseball,basketball, whatever it is.
But how do you, how does anathlete prepare for life after
sports and what challengescome with that shift?
There's a lot ofchallenges that come
from that shift.
It's more work, I would say.
More work workload.
If you go to college.
Hours.
You gotta put enough study in.
Yeah.
And then you gotta makesure you gotta get to
the gym earlier or later.
Yeah.
So you still gotta getthat college athlete, you
(34:20):
gotta get that workout in.
Yeah.
So that could be waking upearlier, getting it done at
night or something like that.
And then getting yourschoolwork done too, because
it's gotta reflect with both.
So it's about, understandingyou might gain more
responsibility, but that doesn'ttake away from who you are.
Like what also you need todo definitely in your life.
So for you, I wouldjust kinda explain.
(34:42):
So success for me looks likeshowing up every single day,
regardless of the outside noise,regardless of what's going on
in my external life, showing up.
That's success for me.
What does long-termsuccess look like for you?
I would say definitely thesame as you showing up.
Okay.
It doesn't, I show upfor, family, friends,
basketball, and my team.
Yeah.
I just show up.
Does it?
I won't, like if I'mhaving a bad day, I'll
(35:03):
drop that bad day's timeor reflect it on later.
Okay.
And come be for that personor my family or that team.
Because a lot of people, theydefine success as, I want an
MVP, I wanna state championship.
How do you not let thoseaccolades, those championships
define you and you really createyour own definition of success?
I would say creating your owndefinition of success is like
(35:25):
not 'cause I could care lessif I made that buzzer, beater.
Yeah.
I could care less if.
I had that made the MVP?
Yeah.
Or anything like that?
It's me about if wedid it as a team.
Okay.
Because if I could goscore 25 points and that
doesn't, I really, I couldcare less about points.
Yeah.
If I'm on the floor grinding,getting rebounds assist.
Yeah.
Overall that leads to points.
That leads to leads.
(35:46):
Stuff like that.
So it's so you're more, sosuccess for you looks like just
going out there being you andall the accolades, the points,
they just, they top lawn extra.
Exactly.
Pretty much.
It's.
It's like cake's really good.
Just being cake.
But then you throwsome icing on.
It's like, allright, but it, yeah.
So how do athletesdefine their legacy, and
(36:06):
what do you personallywanna be remembered for?
I wanna be rememberedas a, a kind person.
Person that gets it doneis like there for you.
'cause I'll always be there formy family no matter where, how
far I am, where I am in college,no matter what, I'm always
gonna be there for my family.
My family was there for me.
I'm just like,it's like a return.
Yeah, because you gotta returnto anything that they did.
Good for you.
You gotta do good for them too.
Yeah, for sure.
(36:26):
I'd say the biggest thing drivesme is myself, but I'd love to
do something for my family,hook them up, whatever I can.
So for the next generationof athletes striving for
greatness, what advicewould you give to them?
Keep working.
Okay.
Make sure you have thattime to work for yourself.
Get stronger, get betterat your, any sport,
football, basketball,whatever sport you play.
Yeah.
Just to get better because.
(36:48):
You're getting better atthis, then you're getting
better at other things too.
Yeah, because it hard work.
You're going out four orfive days working out.
Yeah.
Then it's gonna lead intolike habits, like getting
stuff done, like you gottaget this homework done, or
Yeah, you gotta turn in thisassignment before the due date.
Stuff like that.
Yeah.
So before we sign off,do you have anything you
wanna say to the kingdom?
No, I just, no, it was nice.
(37:09):
Nice meeting on the podcast.
I'm glad to have you.
So that's the conclusionof episode 12 of
Royal Vision Podcast.
It's been ElijahGa, coach Matthew.
Peace out.
Love you guys.
Appreciate you.
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