Four teens from a basketball development program named "Future Shock" - have dreams of playing pro basketball at an elite international level. Two of them are attending high school in the US, while another will be joining them, and the fourth has high hopes that he'll be next.
Yesterday, our team visited them at the Civic Center where they told us more about how they first got into the sport and what the Future Shock program and its founder, the basketball legend Pulu Lightburn, have done for them.
Courtney Menzies has this story:
Four young men from Belize are hoping that their hoop dreams of playing basketball on international courts one day come true. And while three of them are off to different colleges in the US - and the fourth is attending school right here in Belize - they all have one thing in common - they got their start with Future Shock.
And they also come from different backgrounds. 14-year-old James Saldano, a student at Wesley College, has grown up surrounded by gangs. His brother recently turned himself into the police while his father, Edward Saldano Sr, was killed back in March of this month. But the young Saldano says the gang life isn't for him.
James Saldano - Wesley College
"From I was young, I used to watch NBA and I saw how wonderful the players they played and I just said that's my dream and I wanted to start play basketball until I met my coach and he taught me to play the game and that's how I became and I just start keep on working and keep on getting the ball and doing my pushups so I could get better. Because of the gang violence and in the street and my brothers but people always want mess with me and thing but I don't really pree gang I just want make my ma proud. My ma always tell me to be the one to make her proud and go to school and so that's my dream and I just keep on trying and do what I need to do to make my mom proud."
Now Saldano dreams of joining the NBA, and the other three men share in that dream. They've made one step in a journey of many thousand miles, by being accepted into US colleges. But no matter how far they've gone, they haven't forgotten where they came from.
Alexander Ariola - University of New Brunswick
"My life in basketball started around the age of 7. I started in the Bulldogs camp with coaches, Darwin "Puppy" Leslie, Roscoe Rhys, Ras Brown, you know those three coaches and then later on I went to SJC where Mr Pulu coached me. In my senior year I ended up winning the most valuable player for the season and with that season performance I was granted a scholarship to Berkley's Collage. Pulu's camp has had many major influences on my game. He's one of the many coaches here that really focuses on the development of his players and so for a guy like me that is about 6'5", here in Belize, most tall guys wouldn't have certain skill sets but Pulu implemented skill sets which allows every one of us from shortest to tallest to be able to dribble the ball, shoot the ball."
Nisani Mendez - Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
"I started playing basketball at like 11. I used to play everyday at Hilltop Basketball court in Belmopan. I fell in love with the sport and then I started playing with Coach Aldo for Belmopan Trojans and then I moved over to Pulu Lightburn for Future Shock when I was like 15 and then during the year of COVID I got my scholarship to Rabun Gap School. Pulu played a big role in my life. I come from a single parent household so Pulu is a major aspect when I used to come to Belize City. And he'd teach me like detailed parts of the game and how to improve my game and that's how I grew, I got bigger, I became better. So when I went over to the states, some of the stuff they introduce, I already knew, so I played better in the states. And I'd say my goal is to become a D1 basketball player in the upcoming years, that's what I want to achieve."
Shane Pratt - Received Numerous Offers
"My basketball started with I was 11 years old with Coach Puppy, Coach Brown, and Coach Roscoe from the Bulldogs. They teach me the same. I worked with them and I went for one Ahmadiyya season and I met Pulu Lightburn and he worked with me with the other three guys very well. He taught me the game and now I am one of the good players, I just have to learn my shooting and my dribbling and I will be ready for whatever. I hope my future, I can go the furthest I can, make my family proud and my country, and where I live, Lake I, there's violence and stuff around. I want to go back there and make it be sports and love and put together everyone... make everyone go together and have a happy life."
