<Enter Title>I Am A Lifer

"Lifer" by Big Rich Nadal (osoblanco) I was about 8 to 9 years old when I shot my first hoop. Of course, I missed and got hooked immediately! When I entered the 8th grade, I made the varsity team. Being a chubby, big kid with minimal athletic skills, hoops didn't come easy for me. However true grit, heart and "big cojones" drove me to my life long obsession. For the past 40 years, basketball has been part of my life. If I'm doing "time", then consider me a "lifer".

After playing high school ball, I went and played ball in Puerto Rico. Basketball opened a lot of doors for me. I traveled, met folks and developed lasting relationships. It also kept me off the streets. As a young kid, a loner, I wanted to be part of something. Being a part of a team fulfills that need. Typical ghetto plot surrounded my youth. Drugs, gangs and violence were my demons and temptations. I flirted with baseball and boxing, but basketball had my core. When I started my career in corrections, many of my teenage friends ended locked up. Basketball was my salvation.

I played with and against some great ball players in my time. Joe "The Destroyer" Hammond, Steve Sheppard, Nate "Tiny" Archibald, "Tito Ortiz", Artie Green, Cesar Fautauzzi, Ricky Jones, and many more. Competition drove me to play in some of the best tournaments in the city. The Rucker, Tillery Park, Roller Ball Classic, Mount Vernon and countless others. I also loved ballin' in the National Hispanic Superior League. There my cultural side came into play. Playing in a Latino dominated tournament brought great pride to me. Basketball, once again, impacted on people's lives.

I have not played ball since 2004. However, I've been coaching at I. S. 192 for the past 2 years. My love affair continues. Having coached at the junior high school, high school, junior college club level and AAU, I've extended my heart to those I coach. Since I'm dealing with two chronic diseases and dialysis 3 times per week, coaching adds to my life. Watching my team come together, play hard and have fun brings me back to when I started. (My girls came out 2nd in the Rainbow League this year!) 4 decades into this run and basketball continues to run deep into my soul, No matter how we paint this portrait, I'm doing this for life. For my life and those I come in contact with... simply put, "I'm a Lifer."