Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. But clearly this doesn’t apply to one of Varsity Girls basketball lead scorers, Jazmine Fontilla. With taking advantage of every good shot given to her, in Jazmine’s very first season as an ACHS Wolf, she scored 264 points (avg. 11.5 per game), 13 three-pointers, 144 rebounds, 44 assists, 26 blocks, and 59 steals! All in a span of just 23 games AS A FRESHMAN! Now that’s some jaw dropping stats, for all those recruiters out there. But how does she do it? Well, let’s all take a shot at this one and uncover the secrets on how to become a talented student-athlete like, Jazmine Fontilla.
This basketball journey of Jazmine’s started just 8 years ago after joining her school’s “little league” team in the second grade for fun. However, she soon later fell in love with the sport. *Fast forward a few years* In the fourth grade she decided to join one of the local AAU basketball teams where she has earned countless rewards including multiple MVP awards, medals from local and non local turnments/showcase, athlete of the year in 8th grade, and recognition for maintaining a high GPA as a student-athlete. Now, due to our pandemic circumstances, she has committed herself to 1 on 1 training and practicing as much as she can on her own time to prepare for her next basketball season. *fingers crossed it’s soon*
However her talents don’t stop there. With only 24 hours in a day you may be wondering how she fits all the training, practices, and workouts in her daily routine? So, let’s take a run throughout what the life of Jazmine Fontilla looks like. All you student-athletes reading this, now is the time to start taking notes. Everyday Jazmine starts off her day by waking up and attending her AM cohort classes and finishing any school work that needs to be done before eating lunch. Once the school portion of her day is out of the way, she immediately starts on tasks to complete for the small business she takes part in.
Which you should all go support because their clothes are super cute for an affordable price, follow them on instagram RIGHT NOW @jncwardrobe. I kid you not, I have received so many compliments from people about how much they love the sweater I bought from her small business, that I have lost count! So support small and order some clothes from @jncwardrobe!
Okay, back to her daily life. Next on her tasks for the day is finishing any chores or if they are already done she completes a small workout. Then, before getting ready for her practice or training of the day, because the grind don’t stop, she eats a small healthy snack. After getting home from a long productive day she eats dinner and completes her night routine before going to bed and getting a good night's rest. Wow. I got tired from just writing about how busy her days are, I don’t know if I could ever be that productive in just 24 HOURS!
The trick Jazmine has picked up over the years on how to be such an amazing student-athlete is *drumroll please* NOT PROCRASTINATING! Who would’ve guessed that, not me because I procrastinate on everything! But on a serious note, Jazmine is right. Having good time management and learning to organize your time wisely will be the key to success through middle school, high school, college, and even our lives after. With learning to manage a busy schedule with school, sports, and social life at such a young age Jazmine explained she has learned so much from the journey. Not only did she meet wonderful people she can now call her family, but she found it has been a great way to cope with stress, stay out of unnecessary “teenage trouble”, and overall, just stay busy with something she loves to do.
This leads me to her biggest piece of advice for anyone out there who might need to hear this.
“Please just never give up. It's something basic and cliche but giving up will not get you anywhere. You have to work your hardest in the sport that you love. You can never think that you've worked enough to the point where you're minimizing your effort that you put into your sport. Understand that when you're not putting in the work, MANY people are. Work for what you want to accomplish, don't give up, and you'll find yourself very successful. :)”
Over the years of playing basketball Jazmine and her family have put in a lot of time, energy, money, and effort to get her in the position she is now. Although it was tiring, stressful, and tough at times she found the will to push through any obstacles thrown at her. Now, her hard work has truly paid off because she is currently already in contact with college coaches.
So, take it from one of very own ACHS student-athletes, Jazmine Fontilla. Times are different and challenging right now, but all of your hard work and dedication will pay off in the end. Thank you so much Jazmine for letting us get to know the secrets behind how to be successful on and off the court! You have accomplished so much already and we will all be here to cheer you on through the rest of your basketball career. Keep up the hard work and continue being an amazing role model for all the other student-athletes out there, GO WOLVES!
Great read!