When I went off to college to play basketball I wish there was a manual of do’s and don’t. I wish that someone would have sat down and told me to enjoy it, soak in the experience and live for the moment. There were too many seasons that went by where I was ready for the season to be over and definitely didn’t appreciate the experience at the moment. Now that I sit back and look at the journey, the once in a lifetime moment is something that should not be taken for granted.

So for anyone who is getting ready to start athletics whether you’re a freshman in high school or college just remember a few things. The upperclassmen, they have been in your shoes if they tell you to do something it's for your own good. Don’t get an attitude with them, it will only make your life on the team that much harder. They were a freshman at one point, they do get where you are at and what you are going through. So, my advice come in keep your head down, and work your butt off. No one can fault a player who works like a maniac and doesn’t make any waves. I have seen freshman after freshman come in trying to act like they know it all, and will be the all-star on the team. You may be, but stay humble and hungry. Let your play speak for itself.

Cherish those long and torturous road trips, those are where you will make the memories that last beyond a lifetime. There are jokes, and games, stories and hotel memories that you will think fondly of well past your playing career. These road trips are where you become more than teammates and friends those teammates become your family. You will see your family go through makeups and breakups, some highs and lows but after it all you will be there for each other no matter what. Love your teammates unconditionally, but understand that there will be times when you can’t stand each other. Its natural, you are stuck together more than you are stuck with your family during the season.

Relish the moments where you are so sore you contemplate sleeping in the locker room, believe me it will cross your time a two (not to mention you will probably end up sleeping in the locker room more than you would like to admit.) That smelly locker room will be a place that you will miss. Those moments post practice, pre game, and anytime in between are something else, love it and never take it for granted. Enjoy those suicides, 120 wind sprints, triangles, or laps around the field as crazy as it sounds, you will miss them. That sore feeling that you get from an intense practice has yet to be replicated by going to the gym for a workout.

But most importantly, live for the moment. You will mess up time and again, get yelled at by the coach, and question whether or not you are cut out to play in college or high school. You are good enough, believe me you are good enough. Don’t doubt who you are, why you are there, or what you are going through. Your time playing athletics is one giant story, a process. Take every up and down with a grain of salt and grow from your incidents. You made it onto the team in the first place so obviously the coach sees something in you that is good enough. Believe what got you to the point you are at, believe in your skills, and believe in yourself. Do not change how you play just because it is working for someone else. That is their game, you play yours.

Do not take your opportunity for granted, plenty of people are out there who would do anything for the opportunity that you are given. There is this quote that I love, and it always knocked some sense into me, “wherever you go, ho with all your heart.” Don’t halfway commit to this experience do it with your whole heart, and you will never regret anything that happens.