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Interview: Álvaro Hernández

Author: Pedro Martínez

Basketball is a non-contact team sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of five players each. Basketball began with its invention in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith as a less injury-prone sport than football. The game became established fairly quickly and grew very popular as the 20th century progressed, first in America and then throughout the world. Álvaro Ignacio Hernández García is a student who is on the CETYS High School basketball team; he is 17 years old and plays basketball in this school located in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. We interviewed him, and here are his answers: Where were you born? I was born here in the city of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico What do you study at the moment? I am currently attending the sixth semester in high school here at CETYS University at Campus Mexicali.

What do you plan to study or dedicate to in the future? Currently planned to study in CETYS, I am seeing if in industrial engineering or mechanical engineering, I still do not decide in which career to choose. One of my plans is, if I study industrial engineering, it would be to finish the carrier and then to do a mastery in structure in the CETYS and I pretend to make my own company on construction of houses or public places more than nothing. If I study mechanical engineering, I will probably do a specialty, I think right there in CETYS and I plan to have several workshops. Besides studying these two specialties, I would like to leave for exchange, I would like to go to Germany, I would also like to go to know United States for the part of Seattle, Boston and Washington.

For you, what is basketball? For me basketball more than anything I consider it as a door that opens other doors, because when playing basketball they offer you scholarships in different parts and you get better education, also since you have that scholarship you still play basketball in all the universities or in the university that you want to go, and you maintain a scholarship and you make that your parents pay less by the university and you do not have to stress them to pay certain tuitions.

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Interview: Álvaro Hernández Have you won championships in your sports career? Name them.

Competitions I won several but at municipal and state level, in municipal I have won all the interprepas I have had, there have been three, I have also won one called municipal league that is made in Ciudad Deportiva, I have won one called UNINVITAVER which is organized in UABC is in summer time, at the state level I have won interprepas , national and state level also gave me once cup in Tijuana called champagnat which is in honor of a person who founded a school and in that school the tournament is held. At national level I have not won in the first place, I have been in competitions and I have been runner-up and in third place but I have not won any, those that I have been runner-up are two National Olympics, on third one interprepa and another second place was in a competition called ADEMEBA. Do you spend a lot of time in basketball? How much and why? Or why not?

I currently spend 2 hours each day, 10 a week plus 2 a day in physical work that would be in the gym, which would be 20 hours a week.

What benefits can basketball bring? Health and physically In this point of health and the physical, before I was a very chubby person, in fact when I started playing basketball I had some problems of being overweight, but when I went to a doctor with a nutritionist and put me on a diet and with exercise that I do in basketball and with the diet I could lose weight, at this moment I can say that I am a thin person I do not have any health problems and also basketball helps me to have condition and to avoid addictions like alcohol and drugs because I stay very busy training.

What is the most difficult thing about basketball?

The hardest thing in basketball is not something that I would call difficult but rather circumstantial, because there are times that you have to go to play to other parts like Ensenada or Tijuana or you can go to play a national, anywhere in Mexico and that limits you a lot because sometimes you miss outings, parties or important things that you would like to do but at the moment you can’t, to go to play, but also training restricts you a little in going out and going out with your friends or your girlfriend.

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Author: Pedro Martínez

Interview: Álvaro Hernández

Author: Pedro Martínez

What attitudes or disciplines do you acquire in basketball? In the attitudes and disciplines as I said, it take away from drugs like alcohol, tobacco things like that because you have to maintain a good physique to be able to continue at a high level, besides that brings you values such as companionship, solidarity, respect and also teaches you the value of never giving up, because when you are playing basketball you never know who will win or how far the game ends and if you don’t give up you can go up or win a game that is already lost. In addition to this I feel that basketball has helped me in the aspect of security because when I started to play basketball I have become a safer person of my own, it helps me make important decisions, has made me a more mature person and I think I started to grow as a person If you had to change something about basketball, what would it be and why?

I believe that the duration of tournaments, as I said before, to the tournaments that I have been, have been quite long for example in the municipal stage for 3 days in the regional stage lasting 4 to 5 days and in the national stage during 5 to 8 days, I think that the tournament can be played with the same intensity in less amount of days, because those days you can lose them in school, with your friends or with a relationship that you have, I consider that if the organizers do the tournaments at the same time, I think you have a chance to do more things.

Does a person's weight influence the sport? Explain why Referring to this sport the weight is very important, because it is a sport called sport burst, it is called like that because all the time you have to be running, if you are not a person who has good condition and is not thin, it would be difficult to be able to run one way and turn the whole game without stopping and obviously if you have a greater weight you will tire faster than a person who does not have weight comparing an obese person, in addition to this, in basketball you are more athletic than in other sports, usually almost all athletes who play this sport have a good physical or are thin.

What kind of training do you have to get better performance and better in sports? Which are?

The exercises that I do are training from Monday to Friday from 6 to 8 in the afternoon, 2 hours a day and in addition to this I go with a physical trainer called Hector Vildosola, currently the coach of CETYS University, he puts me do gym exercises, lifting weights, exercises with league, things of agility and this has really helped me, since I have become faster and agile, besides I have gained more condition.

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Interview: Álvaro Hernández What are the most important rules of basketball? Basketball rules and points, I say that only punctuality in training and attendance can be considered, because if you go constantly to train and arrive on time, obviously all the exercise you do becomes a better athlete and each time you are improving a little every time, another important rule would be, respect because you are in a sport that you need to work as a team and if there is no respect in the team, obviously it can’t be a good team, other rules can be always give more than the coach asks you, this means that if the coach asks you to give 40 laps you give 50 laps.

In addition you always have to give an extra effort if you can give or do extra things and not only stay with pure basketball training but also you can go to the gym or do other exercises. Álvaro Hernández in his short life as a student with only 17 years of age has dedicated much time and effort to basketball which has led to his career as an athlete is successful and progressive.

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Author: Pedro Martínez