Chapter 1: What Is Your Why?
OHoops Professor
Gerrod Trytten
Have A Purpose:
That’s why I do what I do:
I have a life in the game of basketball. I invest my interest, my efforts, my energy into the game. I've found a strong passion of working, teaching, mentoring athletes at all ages. From young ones to professionals, I connect with people and want to make a positive difference in their life. On the court, I want to get them through high school and into college. Off the court, I want them to excel in the classroom, get a meaningful education that’ll support them through life. I want them to know someone cares, that people can help others. With the right structure, usually built by years of experience, I know my advice for our athletes can ultimately enhance their life, and give them more opportunities than just the game of basketball.
You can’t be intimidated, hesitant or ignorant towards new things that come about. There are reasons for everything I do, and I am open to change, open to a new look on things because I want to continue my progression in life. I have a purpose when I wake up, when I go throughout my day, and when I lay my head down at night. There’s a point to my life and I want to get that across to all my players: Have A Purpose. Wake up with an objective, with a goal… go to sleep knowing what you want to accomplish in the morning.
Two important people have kept me in my profession. One: My father, Gary Trytten. Throughout my childhood he stressed two things to me - go to college and get your education (knowing he didn’t have that opportunity and it would’ve made moving up in his company a lot easier and a lot quicker). Two: my wife, Nicole Trytten. We’ve gone through our battles, but for her to push me to continue to grow myself and our company, I couldn’t ask for anyone better. She always needs her time with me, but she is willing to travel, lend her time, help keep things organized and always supportive of what OHoops has going on.
Lastly, I don’t think I could have continued to grow in this game as much as I have without my brothers being apart of who we are and what we do. We have not only built a brand, a way of teaching the game, a way of connecting and relating to players, but we have also built the ultimate atmosphere of teamwork, communication and making sure one another comes in excited about the day. Not a day goes by that I’m mentally exhausted or physically drained that my guys don’t pick me up and check in on me. They keep me going, and that’s another major reason of WHY I Do What I Do.
OHoops Professor
Rickey Claitt
OHoops Professor
Rickey Claitt
My purpose, My reason, My why…
I feel like the biggest asset you can have in your life is having a purpose, a reason, a “WHY”, for what you do, the way you live, the way you think, and who you are. Everyday there must be some thought as to what you believe in and WHY you do what you do. Personally I have a couple of “WHY’s” that helps me be the best I can be and keep me waking up happy every morning. That’s a key component to making you successful at the end of the day; making sure your WHY is for the right reasons and you alone made those choices.
My first WHY is because I truly believe that being a husband/father/brother/son/friend/trainer/teammate is exactly what God wanted me to do. I’ve always believed in the path that he put me on and any bumpy roads that I may have had to endure I just took as a sign that I might be steering too far off of HIS path. I know everyday that he has blessed me with a superb opportunity to touch lives in multiple ways in my profession and at the end of the day I can be happy when I wake up knowing I will help make a change in someone’s life as long as I am living.
My second WHY is owed to my wife Nagila. She has been nothing but supportive of my professional career and when I was finished playing, she also continued to support my career as a professional trainer. I wake up every day happy knowing that she is right next to me and she supports me. This truly helps me focus on being a great trainer and giving my all to every player/parent/coach I come across.
My last WHY is pretty simple. I am a trainer/coach/motivator at OHoops and I love it. Every second of being in a gym and working with kids all the way up to pros from the NBA makes everyday exciting for me. I feel like I am lucky to be able to say I have done everything I have wanted to do in my life up until this point and it’s crazy to think that I could love a sport so dearly that I would be in a gym up to 12 hours a day with the OHoops crew. I now understand the value and importance of having a WHY. When you’re a role model and looked up to by your peers you have to believe in what you preach and be confident in yourself before someone else can believe in you.
OHoops Professor
Nick Trapp
My Why – I am OHoops!
It's difficult to just say exactly why I feel like I'm OHoops. It goes far beyond the obvious things that I am passionate about and things any athlete would ever want to do, such as play and be around basketball every single day, go to work dressed in basketball attire, meet NBA players and coaches, train pro athletes, travel the world, be around my best friends every single day who share the same passion. The tangible things that come with the job to me come as a plus! Going to Brazil with my best friends is something I never thought I'd EVER do - once in a lifetime experience that most people will never get an opportunity to do. Training pro players like Deshawn Stevenson and Eric Manor is something I never thought I'd be good enough to ever do, so OHoops for sure has brought out some of the best qualities in me and confidence in myself I never knew I had. There are no words for how much I appreciate that. I can honestly say I've become a man through working at OHoops, a lot of people can't say that about their careers, I can and I take pride in that. However, still that's not what makes me OHoops. My why is because I believe there is NO other profession in the world that offers the opportunity to watch a young kid transform his/her life in front of your eyes like being a basketball trainer. We as trainers literally have the ability to change kids' lives for the better; First of all on the court and secondly in their lives off the court. I think many coaches/trainers take for granted how much influence they have on a young athlete's life - it's something I think about every day, it's the reason we do what we do. When we see a Max Simmons outside of our gym and he acts as if we are the greatest thing in the world to him and looks up to each of us as much as he does, it's a feeling of knowing that WE as OHoops trainers matter. It's just like what Irwin said about: when u die, ask yourself... Did u live? Did u love? Did u matter? Well I know for a fact that I matter to so many of these kids and that's why I am OHoops.
It's difficult to just say exactly why I feel like I'm OHoops. It goes far beyond the obvious things that I am passionate about and things any athlete would ever want to do, such as play and be around basketball every single day, go to work dressed in basketball attire, meet NBA players and coaches, train pro athletes, travel the world, be around my best friends every single day who share the same passion. The tangible things that come with the job to me come as a plus! Going to Brazil with my best friends is something I never thought I'd EVER do - once in a lifetime experience that most people will never get an opportunity to do. Training pro players like Deshawn Stevenson and Eric Manor is something I never thought I'd be good enough to ever do, so OHoops for sure has brought out some of the best qualities in me and confidence in myself I never knew I had. There are no words for how much I appreciate that. I can honestly say I've become a man through working at OHoops, a lot of people can't say that about their careers, I can and I take pride in that. However, still that's not what makes me OHoops. My why is because I believe there is NO other profession in the world that offers the opportunity to watch a young kid transform his/her life in front of your eyes like being a basketball trainer. We as trainers literally have the ability to change kids' lives for the better; First of all on the court and secondly in their lives off the court. I think many coaches/trainers take for granted how much influence they have on a young athlete's life - it's something I think about every day, it's the reason we do what we do. When we see a Max Simmons outside of our gym and he acts as if we are the greatest thing in the world to him and looks up to each of us as much as he does, it's a feeling of knowing that WE as OHoops trainers matter. It's just like what Irwin said about: when u die, ask yourself... Did u live? Did u love? Did u matter? Well I know for a fact that I matter to so many of these kids and that's why I am OHoops.
