Gage Lindsley, a freshman, plays for the boys’ junior varsity basketball team and plans to stick with basketball for the next three years of high school. He also finds interest in music, track, and volleyball. In middle school, he participated in track, basketball, and volleyball all three years at Secrist. His biggest inspiration is Kobe Bryant, and his favorite basketball team is the Phoenix Suns.
Although Gage enjoys various sports, he is most passionate about basketball. He’s been playing basketball since fourth grade, where he started at the YMCA and then moved on to club basketball soon after. He had the honor of being team captain for his club team and middle school team for two years. Gage shared that his favorite basketball memory was making his first in-game dunk. He says he felt himself progressing after his seventh-grade year, with the help of his coaches. For him, the most challenging part of basketball has always been team chemistry, but he overcomes this challenge with good communication and patience.
Right now, Gage rotates between playing guard and forward. He prefers playing guard because he likes to be in control, describing himself as a leader. His goals for this season are to beat Salpointe and get redemption for earlier losses in the season. His goals for the future are to play basketball for the University of Arizona and make it to the NBA. Gage says, “The best piece of advice a coach has given me is to keep working and be on that grind.”
Staying motivated can be difficult when balancing both sports and school, but he reminds himself every day that “Great things come from hard work.” He balances school and sports with good self-discipline and motivation from his number one supporter: his mom. He appreciates that his mom shows up to all his games and pushes him to work harder every day. With the help and encouragement from his friends and family, Gage feels like he can accomplish anything.
Although he feels supported by his family and friends, Gage says, “Something I wish I was told before going into high school basketball is that high school basketball is way different from club because it’s more working together as a team, which is something I’m still trying to improve on.” Gage strives to improve himself every day and says he knows that one day, his hard work will pay off.
