Have a plan and practice it every day.
Thats the advice JJ Davis got from a woman he calls Grandma. Again and again at key points in his life, she encouraged him to work hard to make his dreams come true.
The advice worked. Every time he took those words seriously, he achieved his goals. He became a professional basketball player and is now the womens basketball coach at Neosho County Community College in Chanute.
Davis shared his story with Humboldt students on Thursday as part of the schools Red Ribbon Week. The event was sponsored by the Allen County Multi-Agency Team-ACMAT.
DAVIS grew up in foster care from the age of 6. He never really knew his parents, and said they were in and out of jail multiple times.
By the time he was in fifth grade, he moved to a childrens home. He compared it to a pet store, but with children available for adoption instead of puppies and kittens.
Thats when he met the woman he would call Grandma, who is now age 98 and someone he speaks to every day.
But at Grandmas two-bedroom house, he shared a room with seven children. He was the only white in the neighborhood. Family members, including his older brothers, were involved with gangs.
I started following them. I started making really bad decisions. My habits were bad, he told Humboldt Elementary School students.
Davis spoke to both elementary and high school students, modifying his speech to fit the appropriate age group.
By the time I was a junior in high school I had been shot twice and stabbed seven times. Thats all Im going to say about that, he told the younger crowd, sparing the details. Im going to talk to you now about hopes and dreams.
Davis dreamed of becoming a professional sports player. He didnt care so much which sport. Football. Basketball. Boxing.
His brothers took him to play basketball every day. He shared his dream with Grandma.
Were going to make you work, she told him.
Every day, she woke him up at 5 a.m. so he could practice basketball and other sports.
He was successful enough to draw the attention of recruiters from major universities. Academically, though, he wasnt prepared for college.
By the time I got into high school, I couldnt read or write. I couldnt even spell my name. My real name is Jeremiah so I switched it to JJ because it was easier, he said. I took the ACT and I got a 7 on it. I didnt even get enough for spelling my name right.
