Living his passion

    He is feeling jittery and the adrenaline rush and excitements are permeating through his mind. He surveys the crowd and prepares his mind and body one more time. Even with all the anxiety and butterflies dancing in his mind, he knows the ball, the court, this game—are all his.
 
    Standing at 6’7, with long, slender fingers that seem to possess a natural proclivity to play, senior Erik Etherly is the quintessence of a passionate and overly ambitious 18 year-old teenager, who is on the road to make his goal of becoming a NBA  [National Basketball Association] player come to life.

    Like many athletes who naturally seem to be exceptionally talented at what they do, Etherly’s skills for basketball seem to have just evolved naturally ever since he was three.

    “It was just natural ever since I started. I’ve been the leading scorer on almost every team I’ve been on. It just seemed I was made to play the game,” said Etherly.

    He is from Michigan where he first began playing the sport that would guide the rest of his life. From the start, even his mother believed he was “just made to play the game.”

    “I just always knew from the start that he’d make a great basketball player—he was always different from the other kids. His hands and fingers were so big, he was always taller than the other kids—he just looked like a basketball player,” said Lynece  Etherly.

    Etherly describes his current life as nothing but basketball.  

    “I eat, sleep, drink—live basketball. When I’m taking a break, my attitude totally changes—I just don’t feel right when I’m not playing basketball,” said Etherly.

    One of the greatest inspirations that drove Etherly to keep playing was his grandfather.

    “My grandfather always believed in me. My goal is getting to the NBA because that’s what he always wanted of me—every game I play is dedicated to him. I’m doing it for myself, but for him also because this what he always wanted,” said Etherly.

    Though Etherly has only been injured twice—broken ankles and wrist—he took these injuries as a way to motivate him further.  
 
    “I looked at it as motivation. I thought to myself, “They had to trip me because they had to find someone to stop me,” said Etherly. “That shows my passion because both of those injuries, I was supposed to be out a lot longer, but my body would just tell me, ‘There is no way you could stop playing basketball.’”

    As Etherly grew older, the nucleus of his life has became basketball, basketball and more basketball. Nonetheless, Etherly holds no remorse.

    “If you want to be good—you can do other things, but if you want to be great at something, you have to focus on just that one thing—pretty much go to school and play basketball—focus on those two things and rest my body to play more basketball.”

    “Because I played for so long, all the teams already know who I am, there is no surprise. I’m always the first person to get pointed out, people are like, “watch him, watch him…the pressure goes away—you get used to it.”

    “Pressure is always there, but it’s in all in your mind. I always try to have a strong mental game because basketball is more mental than physical, so if you let stuff like pressure get to you, you’re not going to play—you’re almost trying to will every shot in the basket, you end up doing too much,” said Etherly.

    Asides from learning about time management skills to balance school and basketball, Etherly learned that playing basketball has taught him mental and emotionall strength.

    “It teaches you to get over being tired because even when you’re tired, you still have to play, being tired—it’s just not an excuse,” said Etherly. “It teaches you how to control your emotions because you’re never going to play a perfect game—it’s just not possible—there is always something you could have done better. If you let small little things get to your head, then you start to doubt yourself and then you don’t play well.”

    Like many professions, Etherly says that showing emotions while playing basketball only leads to weakness.

    “You have to be able to control your emotions and you can’t show your emotions either. If somebody sees that you’re mentally not prepared because you’re angry or you’re pouting because you missed a basket, they’re just going to attack you the whole time and get you more emotionally wrecked,” said Etherly.

    Though taking any loss is always upsetting, Etherly has created a belief that helps him move on.

    “I’ve always had the philosophy even when you do bad,okay, shrug it off, it’s over. It’s done. There is nothing you can do to change it, just work for the next game,” said Etherly.

    Though Etherly prides himself on his overall performance, he strives to improve every game.
“I am always somewhat upset with myself because I always feel like I could have done something better—even some of my best games, I always say to myself, “I could have done this better, this better—there is always something better,” said Etherly.

    Etherly’s coach at AHS, Anthony Harper, notes that though Eric has the potential, he can make improvements.

    “Eric has definately improved from his freshman year, but there are a lot areas where he can improve at. I think if the right button is touched, he can step up and play harder,” said Harper.

    When asked about his other hobbies asides basketball, Etherly could not think of anything that he enjoys.

    Laughing, he said, “I don’t do much besides basketball. It’s always something do with basketball—practice or games.”

    One of the down points about dedicating his entire life to basketball is that it interferes with his relationships.

    “I tell them beforehand how it’s going to be—that basketball is what I am. Then when they get mad because I’m not spending enough time with them, I have to be blunt, too,” said Etherly.  

    Unlike most American teenagers, Etherly prefers not to attend parties.

    “I live on basketball.I don’t too much— I don’t go to many parties. Even when I do have time, I don’t have the energy—loud music, people—a lot of times I’m too mentally worn out.”

    His hard work and dedication have paid off two months ago when Etherly received a full scholarship to play basketball at Northeastern College.

    “The scholarship was offered to me back in the summertime—had about 15 schools offer me full basketball, but I narrowed it down Loyola in Maryland., Marist College in New York and Northeastern College,” said Eterly.
 
    “It was nerve-wracking. It wasn’t hard, but I just sat there and looked at the paper for a minute. It was in a big FedEx box with a bunch of papers inside it,” said Etherly. It’s a huge commitment. As an athlete, you really can’t live the college life because of your time commitment to basketball.

    Without a doubt, Etherly continues, “I know if I work hard enough, progress, I know I’ll make it to the NBA.”