Damilola Olayiwola '21 Recruiting Profile

My name is OLAYIWOLA DAMILOLA OLAOTAN, I'm from Ondo state, Nigeria. I was born in Gombe state and schooled in lagos and Ondo state.

    My name is Olayiwola Damilola Olaotan. I'm from Ondo state, Nigeria. Throughout life, everyone has found something of interest or something they enjoy doing during their leisure time. It's like an escape from work, studies, and more. That is what a hobby is. Hobbies give us time to unwind and just enjoy ourselves. For me, my hobby used to be football but not anymore because it was changing me, not just me but the way people around me see me. I've been playing football ever since I was a kid and it was something I always loved doing but it made me less feminine and changed my mindset. But the moment I found an interest in basketball, I fell in love with the sport; not because of what people were saying about me playing football, but because it fits my stature and my gender; don't get me wrong, am not saying people who play football are less feminine or don't care about themselves, all I am saying is that Basketball makes me feel comfortable, and I've also grown to love it and it has taught me a lot this past few months. I have also grown a true passion for it now and playing it has made a major impact in my life.

I started playing football when I was 9. At that time my uncle played it and I would always watch him and his friends play. Then I started developing an interest in football. During my childhood, I always wished to play for my country, I always told myself that if things don't go as planned, I'll start playing football for a living; but the more I grew, the more my plans changed. I started representing my school for the FEDCO games- it's a competition between all the unity colleges in Nigeria-and that was how my football career started at a very early stage. I was the vice-captain of my school's football team, I played the main forward that's the striker. There was a particular match we played at a stadium two years ago, that match was the worst match I have ever played. When we started the match I noticed the referees were behaving a little off and as a vice-captain, I had to look out for my teammates since the captain didn't play that day. While we were playing, the referees weren't paying attention to the fouls the other team was committing, which is very wrong instead of talking to them, we continued playing but they fouled us more. after we played we lost hope because we were leading us by two goals. Then we found out that the referees were bribed by the other team and they also bribed the head of sports of our school. Glory be to God, we were able to score an additional two which made us have a draw, so they decided that we should play penalty. I was the first to play, of course, I scored; not bragging but I practice a lot. then the referee blew his whistle again that we didn't play on time so they canceled one of our goals, which gave the other team the advantage. After that match, I stopped playing football.

After some years I started having an interest in basketball, I started watching NBA leagues, watching some clips, and making it my number one sport even if I couldn't play it. During that period, I graduated from high school. Then my mum talked to me about considering playing basketball, not as a hobby but as a career and yes, I have my main career. My future occupation is to be a cosmetic surgeon. Ever since I started thinking about playing in the WNBA league, it would be an honor to do that because that's my dream. I started playing basketball a few months, and I've discovered that this is the sport I would succeed in because I have gained a lot from it, psychologically, physically, and emotionally. Anytime am down I pick the ball and do some drills. So basketball is like my life, it's another way I can get loose or calm myself down when I feel tense and it was easy for me to learn it because I'm determined, and I'm a sportsperson. Not every sportsperson is determined to learn something, not that they don't want to, but because they're not consistent with it.