Friday, May 22, 2009

Think about it...

Today I read about Allonzo Trier -- a 13 Yr old basketball player.

Apparently he has what it takes.

The skill yes, but more importantly -- the drive.

He spends a minimum of 4 hrs a day practicing. He pushes himself to do more and be better. Allonzo hits the court directly after school and starts his warm up by rounding the court while moving the ball around his back and through his legs. After several minutes of this warm up, he grabs an extra ball and begins to repeat this exercise while masterfully dribbling both balls through his legs and around his back.

He's been honing these skills for several yrs. now, and his mother even works an early shift every morning in order to be home so she can help with his practice routine.

When done with the warm up he proceeds to shooting. He requires himself to make 450 shots before he can quit, and if he misses two in a row his mother's been instructed to subtract one shot from the tally.
Also, he decided that if he's going to do this it should be done right, so he won't allow for shots that bounce in or roll around the rim and then drop in, three of these in a row cause a loss in the tally as well. Altogether this can last up to 90 min or more.

Once that part of Allonzo's, or Zo as friends call him, daily schedule is finished he and his mother get in the car and head off to his private basketball tutoring, which lasts for about hour. There he goes through all kinds of exercises to challenge his reflexes and overall talent.

Finally this little boy leaves his tutor and heads to his team practice, this takes up the rest of his daily 4 hrs. or more.

Zo plays for a special league called Amateur Athletic Union or AAU. He flys all over for games, and does special promo things for different events. In fact, Zo has his own line of clothing, some of which is through Under Armor -- not to shabby kid.

Coming from a poor, single parent home this kid knows that he has to work hard for this dream. The world of sports has become so very competitive that he can't risk backing down or slacking off. He has to stay always ahead of the competition and always be ready to battle.

All this said -- I'd like to throw some questions out there...

-What do we, as Christians, do in our daily lives to stay "spiritually fit" and prepare for battle?
-How much personal time are we willing to invest?
-Are we truly devoted, 100%?
-And parents...are you willing to go above and beyond the norm, doing everything in your power, to ensure that your child is able to reach their full Christian potential?
-Will you sacrifice your personal schedule and comforts in order to accomplish the ultimate goal of wholeheartedly serving Christ, come what may?

...think about it.


The two links below showcase the skills of some other young players. The first is a kid named David and he's ten, while the second is an 11 yr. old named Jashaun.
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6bnH0JhuKA
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oC3aIHg95A

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