ANDRE CARRERA
While my career as an NBA performance coach can be very rewarding, its not the destination that’s been most fulfilling. It’s the journey I took to get here. Follow along as I elaborate on how I made a dream become reality and where see where my purpose truly lies.
THE JOURNEY TO BECOMING AN NBA CHAMPION
DREAM
It all began with an DREAM. As a young boy, I was obsessed with basketball. I practiced all day and night, I slept with my ball, and I even painted my room orange to look like a basketball. I was a die-hard Warriors fan. No idea why, because they were horrible when I was growing up. They were so bad that they blacked out the games on TV, but none of that mattered to me. Being the fan I was, I would listen to the games on my radio and act as if I was the players as the commentators described the actions of the game.
I proclaimed to my family and friends that I would be a Warrior one day. I believed I could be one of the players the commentators talked about. When I made that decision, I dedicated my life to bringing that to fruition.
WORK
My initial intentions were to become an NBA player. I trained religiously, ate what I thought was healthy, and followed my self-created workout regimens without missing a beat. By the time I was a senior in high school, my vertical was nearing 40 inches and I was more explosive than the majority of my peers. Fortunately, that lead to a scholarship. The path to my NBA dream seems so clear and direct. That’s when things came crashing down.
FALL
Over the course of 6 years I had 9 orthopedic surgeries. The pain became so intense that I would grimace with each step I took. Through that time, I experienced great depression and helplessness. Not only were my lifelong dreams ripped away, but so was my quality of life. I couldn’t find peace with the abrupt end to the journey. I had to find a new path.
REVISE
I began to accept that my dreams of being an NBA basketball player were over. However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t find a new route to get to the NBA. At that point in time, I was relentlessly trying to resolve my aches and pains and would spend all my free time learning. That’s when I realized my true calling, and that was to work in sports medicine in the NBA!
OVERCOME
I did extensive research to find out all the pre-requisites needed to be eligible to work in NBA sports medicine. The new journey began. Since I was also hurt, I became obsessed with the academics and really dug deep to figure out what seemed insolvable. Over the next few years I kept my head in the books and obtained a masters degree in sports performance. Not to mention, I also solved the health problems and got back to playing again!
REALIZE
The injuries that seemed to be catastrophic ended up being a blessing in disguise. I may have never been good enough to make an NBA roster, but my injuries and what came from that lead me on a route where I could realize my life-long dream.