Freshman Edison Castro has been playing basketball for nearly his entire life 

“[I started playing basketball when I was] maybe around seven or eight,” Castro said. “My uncle and a lot of my family members play basketball, and they’re very involved into sports, and they pushed me into playing basketball.” 

His relatives and family members played a big role in his interest in basketball. They gave him inspiration and motivation, and they made his desire of playing basketball to eagerly grow.  

“At first I didn’t really like it [because] I was interested in other sports,” Castro said. “I was interested in baseball, football and soccer,” 

The beginning of his journey with basketball didn’t start out in the best possible way. 

“I wasn’t always tall. I was usually really small and slow, [and] I was chunky. I wasn’t really athletic at all,” Castro said. 

The obstacles he faced in the beginning of his journey were mainly physical ones, but he was able to cross these obstacles through hard work, determination and lots of practice. 

“I just started working more and working harder through the years, and [I]  strived for basketball to get better,” Castro said. 

Quarantine has impacted many people in different ways. Many people disliked it due to lack of socialization, but Castro really benefited from quarantine as he got more time to play basketball and develop his skills. 

“I got more time to shoot around in my backyard and go outside more. Maybe not [interacting] with people and [getting] games with people [was the worst part]. Other than that, I got more time to practice on my own in my backyard, [and] it impacted me in a very positive way,” Castro said. 

Even though Castro loved basketball and greatly admired it more than any other sport, it never distracted him from completing school work or school assignments such as homework. 

“[Basketball didn’t affect my studies or schooling] at all. Studies were always my priority,” Castro said. 

Basketball for Castro was not only a hobby, but  it also changed him from the inside and from the outside as well. Castro gained a lot of positive physical changes from playing basketball as he played it for most of his life. 

“[Playing basketball] for sure made me lose weight. It made me somewhat athletic,” Castro said. 

He also gained positive mental changes from playing basketball. 

“[Basketball brought me] more peace for sure. It made me more calm as it got my mind off a lot of things [and]  it made me more happy,” Castro said. 

Basketball not only changed Castro mentally and physically, [but] it changed his personality as well. 

“[Basketball made me] more competitive since there are a lot of very good athletes at our school,” Castro said. 

According to Castro, basketball now isn’t just an ordinary game you play to have fun but also a way to compete with other players. 

“It used to be for fun, but now it’s not. I don’t like losing,” Castro said. 

Castro recommends basketball for everyone, and he believes it can have lots of positive impacts on you. However, he also strongly advises to play other sports if you’re not interested in basketball because it’s a strong sport that you have to keep up with. 

“I would recommend it to anybody because it’s just a good sport, but if you don’t like it then don’t be forced to play it because there [are] plenty of other sports to play. Basketball is something that you have to spend a lot of time on and work hard, so if you’re not interested, it’s not worth spending your time if you’re not going to enjoy it,” Castro said. 

Castro believes basketball is a good sport due to its teamwork and the perfect intensity of basketball. He thinks it’s not too physically easy or not too physically hard. 

“As a real sport, it takes teamwork, and it’s not physical as football or soccer. I think it’s more calm,” Castro said.