STUDENT-ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT
This month’s spotlight highlights another incredible young woman within our program, Jazleen (Jazzy) Young. Jazzy was only recently introduced to the program but has already found a home on the 5thgrade team The major themes from our conversation were humility, focus, and sacrifice.
Jazzy’s favorite subject is English and Language Arts. She enjoys the opportunity to expand her vocabulary. Like most student-athletes within our program, Jazzy has quickly picked up time management skills, even taking advantage of time during her commutes to get some extra studying in. I was most impressed with Jazzy’s desire for improvement and growth. While most of us shy away from our weaknesses, Jazzy said she enjoyed learning math because it is a weakness.
Jazzy is an only child, but she has a huge support system and community around her. Her grandparents live with her and her mom who help in a variety of ways. Jazzy is grateful for the homework help, the rides to games and practice, and the love that her grandparents bring on a daily basis. She has extended family scattered across the city and Riverside has also quickly become another pillar of support Jazzy is an only child but sees her teammates as sisters
The team came together as the season started in September and quickly gelled. Success was not instant, however. The team fell short of a championship in their first tournament, but improvement came quickly. No less than a month later, the team, along with the best teams in the Northeast, traveled to the Spooky Nook sports complex in PA. Our Hawks went undefeated on the way to a tournament championship. I asked Jazzy what changed over the course of that month; she quickly diverted the credit towards the coaches: “Coach Buck always pushes us to get better” and “Coach Mo isn’t afraid to show tough love”. I credit the team for their ability to respond positively to tough coaching. While sometimes the coaches are challenging their players, they are also instrumental to build confidence. Jazzy can hear Coach Mo and his support: “You are capable. You need to get the ball more, and when you do, just do your thing”.
The team also deserves credit for how quickly they developed chemistry. Between games, the team spends time together. They’ve spent time by the pool, in the arcade, and have had little moments before and after practice The team was subconsciously building the chemistry that has vaulted them to multiple tournament championships.
Ultimately, Jazzy was impressed with her humility. She was quick to highlight her academic weakness and her desire to improve. When asked about a strength and a weakness to her basketball game, she was once again quick to jump to her improvement areas. This type of focus and humility will certainly propel her to future success in whatever endeavor she pursues.
