No I have never physically jumped out of a plane nor do I have a ton of interest in doing so. To me the title of this blog signifies something completely different than the actual meaning. I have close friends that have tackled this challenge and they all went through a similar routine. Fear, a little more fear, a second of courage, liberation and then relief. Seeing pictures and even videos of this experience from these brave and slightly crazy friends of mine makes me feel happy for them. Not only that their alive, but that they conquered something that most likely for some of them was one of the hardest things that they’ve ever had to do. In a second they had a decision to make. Jump or stay on the plane.
The day before didn’t matter. The drive to the jumping site didn’t matter. Nor did the class they took or the plane ride all those thousands of feet in the air. It came down to one second. Your feet are on the edge of the door and someone’s attached to your back giving you the countdown. At that moment you either go for it or you don’t. I’m positive there have been more than a couple of people that have decided to go back in the plane, not do the jump, and probably said to themselves “maybe I’ll just get a tattoo instead”.
Time makes us question ourselves. On the trip up to the jump can you imagine what’s going through someone’s head. Am I going to die? What’s wrong with me? Is this safe? Will the parachute work? If you just woke up already half way out the planes door with someone on your back saying “and 1” you wouldn’t have time to question it. By the time you realized what was going on you’d be flying through clouds, maybe even crying a little bit. You d land (hopefully safe) at that would be the end of it. Nike has made millions of dollars off three simple words, Just Do It. I’m not saying run through life without thinking about your decisions, all I’m saying is that sometimes it’s as easy as just going for it.
“Second guessing your dreams can make your dreams become secondary”
A lot of people that I meet are shocked that I never wanted to be a basketball coach. I love coaching so much that it’s hard for some to imagine me not growing up as a little kid diagramming plays and yelling at my action figures to play defense. I never had an interest in it. I respected my coaches as a player and I thought that it must be a hard job to do but that was the extent of my thoughts about actually coaching the game of basketball. I always thought that I’d be playing professional basketball somewhere. There was no “back up” plan, because in my mind I didn’t need one.
When I got injured and was going through rehab I still had the same vision. Getting back in shape, running again, playing at a high level, and then eventually playing professionally. At that time my long time girlfriend Melissa (who is my wife now) lived in Seattle. I would go out to visit her from time to time and she’d come to New Jersey to do the same. The summer after my injury I was pretty much all healed up, I participated in a couple of pro camps and felt pretty good. I was also in the process of looking for another sports agent to help me get a job overseas. The day before I was going to leave for Seattle the athletic director at my first coaching job (Sussex County College) asked me if I’d be interested in being the men’s head basketball coach at the school. He asked me this a couple of times in the past joking around and I always gave him the same answer, “no thank you I’m still training to play overseas.”
At this time I was around twenty seven years old and in basketball years that’s not very young. When I arrived to Seattle me and Melissa were driving somewhere and we started talking about the coaching position. She talked about how great a coach I would be and how it is such a good opportunity for me. The conversation lasted about an hour and finally with a lump in my throat I told her that I’m going to take the position. Everything that she was saying was right. It was what I needed to do. I didn’t care that I never coached a game before in my life or that I had zero experience. I was going to be the head coach of this program and do my best to make it work.
I told myself during that conversation I’m going to do something that I’ve never done before in my life. If I would of sat back and thought about all the things that could possibly go wrong (and a lot did that first season) I might not of taken the job. Through coaching I have met hundreds of people, a lot of them that are like family to me and my wife. None of these relationships would of happened if I decided not to go for it. I can’t imagine my life without the great people that are in it right now, and a lot of them are there because of my involvement with basketball.
“The door is always open its up to you to go through it”
The great thing (if there is any) about jumping out a plane is once you do it’s done. There’s no turning back, whatever is meant to happen will happen. Some decisions (especially the ones we feel are right) should be handled that way. Go for it and if it’s not the right move at least you get to try it again.
