Expert: Bret Temple - 7/1/2008

Question
Hey, whats up? My name is Ryan and I am a boy who just turned thirteen like two months ago and I don't feel I could become an NBA superstar or at least an NBA player. I feel this because all my friends and family feel that I started too late and I'm too short (5 foot 2 at the moment) and I haven't played in any sort of league yet. They want me to be a doctor and I'm not interested in that. But my coach told me that I could play the game of basketball and where I play is very competitive. It is in Coney Island, New York where NBA players Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair came out of and I'm going to have a trainer who plays for Italy. My friends and family still don't think so because they say I'm not black. Please help me.

Answer
HI Ryan,

I applaud your desire to become a professional athlete, and the fact that although your parents and family are trying to serve your best interest by advising you against it, sometimes the desire to do something with hard work can in fact help you achieve your goals. The chances of becoming a professional athlete is small for anyone. I'm sure at 13 you haven't hit your growth spurt yet, and unless you come from a very short family, i'm sure you will have plenty of time to grow. And there are many professional athletes that took up their respecitive sport late in life. They all didn't necessarily start playing at an early age. And as far as being black, even though African Americans have been the dominate race in the sport of basketball, there are many European and white players that play just as well. My advice, is to work as hard as you can, but make sure you get an education and have a back up plan in case basketball doesn't work out. I wish you alot of luck and success.