Colorado Bound Soon!

It's been quite a while since I've gotten the chance to just sit and write to update everyone on how the basketball trip planning is going, so I finally have some time today!

Right now, we are getting close to the end of the school year so we have been extremely busy. Sometimes it seems like there's not enough time in a day to do everything, but it's been a huge blessing being able to continue moving forward with the trip! Thank you to everyone who is helping make this possible! We are so excited and very grateful!

It's exciting to say that the boys are officially heading to Colorado! We were able to fundraise enough for the camps and travel costs, thanks to the tremendous generosity of all of you! We still have about $1500 to raise for other expenses such as food and travel around Colorado but hopefully we'll be able to push towards that in the coming week! If you know of anyone who would still be willing to donate, please feel free to let them know!

The boys have been spending quite a bit of time together in the last month, which has been great to see. They all watched the Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat game the other night together, have been playing basketball, and were able to play a few games with our priest Father Mark before he was recently reassigned to another parish in the states. He was such a great mentor for all the boys in everything and the boys all admired him so much. It was a lot of fun getting to play with him that last week!

As for the visas, all the boys were able to get them! Even the two boys who already had them traveled with us that day to the appointments and sat outside with me for almost 3 hours waiting. We played a few games of connect the dots, ate some oreos, and just chatted about what we would do in Colorado if all the boys got their visas. It was amazing seeing the support they all had for eachother, and I have no doubt that this will continue forward, not only in basketball and in their trip, but in life.

Please pray for us as we push forward in these last few weeks before the trip and know that we are very grateful for all your support and encouragement! We are really excited to go to Colorado, and if any of you would like to meet up with the boys at any time in the trip, just send me an email and hopefully you can all meet them!

Player #4 - Darwin Quetzal - Senior

My name is Darwin Quetzal. I live in a small town by the name of Benque Biejo del Carmen in the country of Belize. I'm currently attending our lady of Mount Carmel High School and have been part of the school's basketball team since I entered First Form (9^thgrade) 3 years ago. I really enjoy the sport of basketball which I call "LIFE."

When I was smaller, the only sport I played was soccer, but as I grew older, I decided to change a little and tried basketball at the age of 13. I had more or less a better understanding of the game and my basketball IQ grew as I practiced and dedicated my time to the sport. My past coaches always used to tell me that I had talent and that if I keep working hard, I may one day be one of the best but all I needed was dedication and sacrifice. From there on, I knew that my passion for the game had increased because there was nothing else I wanted to do but play and play. Many people talked and told me that I had to be crazy to be all alone in a court shooting jump shots, but I didn’t listen and said " one day you will see what this is all for"

If we were to go to the states and attend the basketball camps in Colorado, it would mean a lot. It would be an amazing experience learning more and more about the sport especially from coaches who really know the sport better than we do, since learning and practice are two keys to success.

Basketball means the world to me – it means i get to wake up in the mornings and smell the fresh air, look out the window and say "another great day to shoot some hoops". For me, basketball is more than a game. It’s about life and hard work. It’s not just about winning games and scoring the most points or being recognized as the best on the team. It takes all of us to make one team and win as one, and I couldn’t be more thankful for my brothers on my high school team who are always there no matter what. Thank you and may God bless you.

(Miss Lucia)

Darwin has had a rough year off the court, and is one of our best players. With everything going on, I thought he might not stay with the team, but at one point, all his best friends on the team got him back on the court with them and it made the world of difference. It’s such a positive and encouraging place to be for him and for them and I am so grateful he is still playing with them in all the town tournaments. He’s probably our best layup man on the team and is extremely quick. You can always count on him to make the fast break and get the layup. If you can, please donate to help Darwin and the boys get to Colorado! One and a half more weeks until our fundraising goal deadline! Know we are praying for all of you who have helped in any way!

Player #3 - Charles Ponce - Next Year Senior!

Well first of all, my name is Charles Ponce. I live in the safe town of Benque Viejo Del Carmen, Belize. I am currently attending 3rd form at Mount Carmel High School. I chose this school because I knew it would bring me closer to God and it would make my faith stronger. I am very grateful to be able to attend this school.

When I was young, my favorite sport was soccer. Then my parents told me to try something new and that's when basketball came into my mind. For my last 3 years of Primary School (Middle School), I tried basketball and fell in love with the game. From that time, I have never stopped playing basketball and never will. Basketball is my life because that's what I do for living and I love playing every moment I can. I can't imagine myself without basketball; it's more than a sport to me.

During the Christmas holidays, I played on a basketball team from town in the town tournaments. It is the same group of guys that are trying to go to the States. Our team made the semifinals of the Christmas Competition which is a great achievement for all of us because compared to the other teams, we are undersized and much younger. With our high school basketball team and the same group of boys, we took 2nd place in the Regionals tournament. Even though we are undersized, we are like family and we never gave up and never will. We have been blessed to have a team like the one we have and for this, I couldn’t be more thankful.

The trip to the US would impact not only me but also my teammates. It would mean a lot to us and we're trying our best to accomplish it. From the things and skills that we may learn from those basketball camps, we would be able to open our own camps for others here in Belize and host tournaments and games. I pray and hope that everything goes well and that it may be a success. Thank you for listening to my story and may God bless you all.

(From Me)

Charles is our team captain and one of the best leaders I have ever seen. He has only been playing basketball for about 5 years and has quickly become one of the best in Belize. Even though we live in a small town and our team is small, he was asked to try out for the Belize National Selection Team. He made the Belize Team who went to a Lebron James Camp in Ohio, however, he was not able to play because of an injury. His dream is to play college ball at any level and you can see his determination and dedication every day because he’s always at the court in town playing with older guys and showing younger guys how to play. They all look up to him, even the older ones. The way he builds up his teammates every day is so inspiring and I have never seen such a natural leader. He is my class president and everyone looks up to him not only on the court but in the classroom. This boy will do great things one day.

   

A Few Pictures of the Team! Enjoy!

My first year in Belize

The boys during their freshman year

Charles, Darwin, and Julio - 2nd place at Regionals this year

Darwin, Julio, and Jamil - Juniors National Tournament last year

2nd Place at the Juniors National Tournament last year

Basketball team last year, plus a few that wanted in the picture, haha

Some of the boys with my cousin Val when she came to visit

Regional game this year

Regional Championship Game vs. Comprehensive

Player #2! - Nestor Kuylen

My name is Nestor Kuylen. I am from Benque Viejo in Belize. I am attending Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School like to play football and basketball. At first I only played football but the age of 14 began playing basketball, and by 15, I had a better understanding of the game. I started to put more dedication in to the practices and started to play better because of our coaches. They were the ones that were behind us and encouraging us in practice and in every game. If we were to attend to the basketball camps, it would mean a lot for me and an amazing experience. For a team it takes all of us to make the team and to win as a team, so it would be great to go as a group together. God bless.

(From Me)

Nestor will be a junior next year. He is an amazing soccer player but has been playing basketball with us the past two years. He is a left hander which is a big plus when we're playing games and he is an amazing runner. He took 4th and the National Track tournament this year and came in 2nd for our first ever cross country race here in Belize. He is such a respectful and joyful young man, despite many circumstances, and there is not a day that goes by that he doesn’t come to the teacher’s lounge to say hi and make sure my day is going well and just to give a smile or a joke. There is a sticky note on my desk that he left for me when I happened to not be in the teacher's lounge one day. He is truly like my brother and I could not be more blessed to know this great young man

A blog from Julio! Player # 1

My name is Julio Sabido and I am from Belize and live in a small town named Benque Viejo del Carmen. Basketball means a lot to me. It is my favorite sport and it all started with my friend who told me to go with him for school tryouts. When I first arrived I saw people having fun and I said to myself, if they are having fun playing basketball why shouldn’t I? I started playing basketball from that day and have loved it ever since. Since that day, basketball is always on my mind. As every athlete goes, I have been through good and bad moments. Bad moments I call when I lose a game but whenever I lose a game I just put my head up because in my town, there are always a lot of people trying to get your esteem down. Good moments I call when I get to play with my teammates and best friends who are like my brothers. We have grown up since we were small together.

I play basketball with my high school team and two other teams from town for town tournaments. From town, I play with an under 16 team and a senior team. My high school team is the team which I love the playing with the most though because as I mentioned, we have grown up together since we were little and truly play as a team. We know our roles and where each other are at all times, and because of this, we have become a great team together. My high school teammates are amazing and I love playing with them. We consider each other family and have been through good and bad times together, but every day we go to the court we try to improve our work. This year we reached to Regionals and I am so proud of my teammates because even though we lost in the Regional Championship game, everyone was proud of us: our school, our coaches, and everyone from town, even coaches from other teams in Belize. It was the first time our school made it to Regionals in ten years. My high school coach Miss Lucia has taught me to grow as a young man with respect and every day that passes, I just give thanks to the Lord that he put her on my life.

It would mean a lot to me if we could go to the two basketball camps in Colorado. I could learn more about the game and would eventually want to teach the youths in my town of Benque how to play the game from the skills we could learn. The trip would impact me a lot because I have never been to the States but to go there for basketball camps would be a great achievement for me. For my future, it would help because I could tell the youths that with hard work, your goals can be achieved. I would like to leave you with a quote from one of my basketball idols: "Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” Thank you and God bless.

(From me)

Julio brings so much heart to the team. He is always there when anyone needs him and organizes the team to play in many of the tournaments. Whenever we need to gather or play, I just let him know and he lets the whole team know within minutes. He is a very reliable young man and his love for the sport is incredible. There isn’t a day that goes by that he’s not telling me about how every team in the NBA is doing but more importantly, how the Nuggets are doing in comparison to the Lakers. He’s a huge Lakers fan but I’d like to think he thinks the Nuggets will do great this year because he tells me “miss, did you see the nuggets won?” then follows with “the Lakers aren’t doing so well..., we still have our bet right?” Both teams are now in the playoffs so our best still stands! haha. Please support Julio!