Jared Crosby '20 Recruiting Profile

Walking into an empty gym with my spalding basketball and JordanRetro 10s, trying to clear my mind and escape from reality. I heard the echo of the ball bouncing in the gym; it made me forget the dark thoughts. Growing up in a small town full of gang violence and murder has always had dark thoughts running through my mind like “Am I next?” or “Could that have been me?”. However, sports have always masked those dark thoughts and brought me better days. As the youngest of three, it always feels like the pressure is on me. In elementary school, I wouldn’t really take school seriously but now that I have matured, I see that I have to step up to actually be something in this world. As a young African American man, it's not as easy as it sounds but I will not give up. I have to carry a legacy and make it out of my city and be something great for my family. I’ve heard other famous athletes talk about how they used sports as a key to make it out of their city and it has always encouraged me to do better. I push myself because I want to do the same thing for my family. 

I grew up in a struggling home and there are some things that I could never forget like my family struggle and knowing that I can’t help. This has always affected me which is why I work hard each and everyday to make it.  Knowing that there are demands that my family needs and knowing that they need me adds fuel to my fire and keeps me going. I also just want to give back to my family for always giving me the things I wanted. My family is my why. They are why I need to be successful. This is why I need to get out of Plainfield.  I can't fail or come up short. I refuse to let myself or my family down. With all this weighing me down, I want to go to college, get a 4 year bachelor's degree and fend for myself and my family.