Freshman Carson Frick first came to enjoy basketball after learning how to play with the help of his father and his brother. Since then he’s credited basketball for making him more confident.

The sport has taught him “don’t be afraid to put yourself out there,” he said. “Don’t be scared to shoot. You’re going to mess up, it’s inevitable. You just [have to] learn to work through it.”

It wasn’t until the fourth grade that Frick joined his first organized basketball team, with the Cleveland Warriors youth basketball team. “When I started I wasn’t that good,” he said. “So then obviously there was that of just having to work quite a bit.” 

For Frick the transition into high school basketball was challenging. “I didn’t really know what to look for coming in… and obviously being on varsity and JV there’s more expected of you,” he said. 

A lot of the difficulty came from trying to balance high school and the two basketball teams he is a member of. “Starting off was rough… the first month or two I was going to bed way later than I would have liked,” Frick said.

Recently, he’s figured out how to handle the challenges better, and the difficulty of juggling all his responsibilities has been getting easier. “I just have to watch my time management a lot more closely than I have before,” he said. “Now that I’m kind of more in the swing of things and I know what to expect. It’s good.”

Frick gets the majority of his playing time with the JV team, but he also plays some with varsity. “I really liked being on both because then I get to have the two teams,” he said. “I [also] get to know a lot more people. 

He believes that each team has different benefits to offer. “I play a lot more with JV, so I get more experience playing,” he said. “Varsity is more like observing from the bench, and I’ve learned because I go to film and see the game plans.”

Success in the state tournament is one of Frick’s goals for the next few years. “I’ve talked with some of the other freshmen… we all say we want to try to make state, [and] possibly win by the end,” he said.

Overall, Frick has had a positive experience on the basketball team. “I’ve really enjoyed it so far,” he said.  “I guess I just look forward to the next few years.” 

When Frick is not playing basketball he likes to hang out with friends, play video games, and especially watch professional basketball. “It’s always been one of my favorite things to watch, so getting to play it is always really fun… and getting to play with my good friends is always something I look forward to.”