Basketball Transfer Relishes Pressure

Regarded by his peers as a leader on the basketball team, senior Will Hicks has been playing the sport since he was 5 years old, when his dad would throw the ball around with him in the backyard each day.

“That’s partly how I fell in love with playing, because I liked practicing with my dad,” Hicks said.

He played Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) basketball when he was younger, and continued his basketball career at Orinda Intermediate School (OIS). “As I was playing for OIS, I played travel ball, where we traveled to Tennessee and Florida for state games,” Hicks explained.

Hicks continues to play travel ball during the high school off-season.

According to Hicks, incorporating basketball practices and games and workouts into an already-packed schedule has taught him to be a more responsible person.

His favorite thing about the game is the amount of pressure it brings: “I continue to play and I love it because I think it teaches you more than just playing basketball, learning how to dribble and shoot. I think it teaches you about skills you can use in day-to-day life, working with others, being a leader, being a teammate, being on time to practice,” he said.

“I play point guard, and that’s the person that handles the ball and gets the team organized and sets up the plays and usually has the most assists,” Hicks said.

Hicks is especially “good at organizing and thinking about plays.”

Hicks’ teammate and longtime friend, senior Adam Beeri, said Hicks has grown as a person and player over the years. “He’s embraced the role of a leader and he’s very important to our team because there’s no replacement for a starting point guard. He’s always going to provide insight as to what he thinks we could do better.”

Hicks transferred to Campolindo from Miramonte before his junior year. “I like the choices I made when I switched…I just wanted a change overall,” he said.

Although the transfer had nothing to do with his basketball career, he noticed that “sports changed dramatically.” In addition to his new teammates and coaches, the season was more exciting for Hicks. “My 1st year at Campo, we went all the way to state and played in the state game for basketball, which is pretty hard to do,” Hicks said.

Like many athletes, Hicks follows a routine in preparation for his games. Before competition Hicks eats 2 bananas, jumps rope for 5 minutes, and listens to 3 of his favorite country songs just before the team runs onto the court to warm up.

“Since it brings so much pressure, it’s a mind kind of game – you have to really think about it and know the game to play well. It makes the game so much harder,” Hicks said of the sport. “Be smart all the time.”

To aspiring younger players, Hicks’ advised, “Always get in the gym, practice as much as you can. Once you get into high school and start having less time to practice, it gets a lot harder.” He also advises all athletes to focus on their grades as much as on their athletic career.

Beeri admires Hicks’ work ethic. “You can tell he puts a lot of work into not only basketball, but also strengthening,” Beeri said.

“I made it a goal to try and play in college,” Hicks explained. Colleges like Monterey Bay State, Long Beach State, and Trinity University have been scouting him. Much like other athletes, Hicks is looking for a quality education at a school where he can pursue basketball, too. “Education always comes first to me, so if I like the school’s education, that could be a choice,” Hicks said.