Since I was three, I have been playing basketball, and for just as long my dream was always to continue to compete at the next level. In middle school, I would go to high school games and imagine being out there on that court. At public high school, I would watch my brother’s games at Kingswood Oxford and dream about playing on that court one day. Now, at Kingswood Oxford, I continue to want to play at the next level with my brothers.
As a basketball player, I can say with confidence that COVID-19 has strongly affected my future in basketball and my development during the quarantine. However, as it has become a part of my new life, I have learned to adapt and adjust. Here’s what a day looks like for me during this year’s shortened basketball season.
6:30 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. – Wake up and get ready for school
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. – Drive to school, wait for class to start
8:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. – Classes
Before the pandemic, if I had any free periods I would get into one of the gyms to do
shooting, ball-handling, or cardio so that during practice I could be more focused on team
concepts and building chemistry.
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Practice
Practice normally includes a few warm-up drills, team concepts and ironing out details on
plays or presses for half of the practice, and the other half is playing live/scrimmaging.
5:00 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. – Drive home
5:45 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. – Lift
Alternate between upper body and lower body lifts. Some exercises used in an upper
body lift are pull-ups and chin-ups, dumbbell bench press, shoulder press, and lots of
others. Some lower body exercises, mostly plyometrics, include rear foot elevated split
squats, drach jumps, and a lot of other activities focusing on mobility and vertical
training.
6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. – Dinner
I always try to lift directly before dinner so that I am able to eat a lot of protein right after
a lift because protein helps to build muscle. It’s also a lot harder for me to find the
motivation to work out after eating dinner.
7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. – Homework and watching “New Girl”
Realistically, some days I’m unable to do a second workout because of fatigue or I am
too busy, but I try to stick to this schedule so that I am able to be at peak physical
performance and to prepare myself for playing in college.
