It’s December 17th, and many of the students of Sunlake High School are awaiting Christmas Break, recovering from midterms and catching up on assignments, however some sporty students are preparing for the upcoming games, like Dimitri Thomas; Sophomore.

Dimitri Thomas is a Sophomore here at Sunlake, and he’s a part of the JV basketball team. What drove him to pursue his interest in basketball was, in his own words, “when I saw that Kobe passed away, I wanted to follow in his footsteps and decided to play in the sport because I really looked up to him.” He used that grief to motivate himself to go after his dream, and that is admirable.

Upon asking Dimitri what one skill he had improved during this season he states, “I would say that throughout the season, my passing has gotten better, my hand eye coordination, and when to or when not to pass the ball.” And while he experienced a lot of growth in his skills as a JV basketball player, it didn’t come without its challenges. Dimitri felt that his biggest challenge that season would be to overcome his attitude towards his coach, team, and the game in general, and he feels that it is still something he needs to improve on. Another challenge he has, and many other athletic students, is the balance between sport and school; though he has a good balance between the two, “I would say when my grades slip, I tend to prioritize my schoolwork over basketball practice, or I skip practice all together to finish all of my homework first.”

Every person sets a goal for themselves, whether it’d be vague or specific, minimal or large, and Dimitri Thomas’ goal for the next upcoming game is to get a “double, double in a game” which is essentially, in his own words, when someone scares ten points, and assists ten times. That’s incredibly impressive, isn’t it?

Another goal for our JV Basketball player, Dimitri, is to make a career out of this sport, and he’s working to achieve it.