I’ve been tasked with writing a “Monday Motivation” blog and could think of no other person that embodies the word “motivation” more than my IT Carlow teammate, Kazuhiko Yokoyama (a.k.a. Kaz, Kaz-o, or Kaz Money).
I remember meeting Kaz on my first day in Carlow back in September. Kojack, my head coach, had just picked up Courtney and me from Dublin Airport to drive us directly to my first scrimmage to meet and play with my new IT Carlow teammates. We stopped for a chocolate bar and Lucozade sports drink at a local shop, pulled over to take a picture in front of the Carlow town sign, and made one final stop to pick up our Japanese point guard at the College before heading to the gym for the game.
From the moment I met him, I could immediately tell that Kaz was going to be a great teammate for the year. Despite his broken English, his two most defining characteristics were clear from the start: his kindness and passion for basketball. He had a big smile on his face and greeted Courtney and me with a handshake and bow before offering us some of his Japanese candy. Kaz, who is not part of a program like SCL or was even recruited to come play for IT Carlow, proceeded to tell Courtney and me how he ended up in Carlow, Ireland. Writing this blog today, I have come to find out that this story was just the tip of the iceberg in getting to know him.
So, here is a little background on my man Kaz and how he ended up both in Ireland and at IT Carlow, specifically. Kaz, 23, graduated from four years of University back in Japan with a “dream to play basketball overseas” (his own words). Despite not playing consistent minutes for all four years at University (I’d like to have a conversation with his coach about that!), he had to pave his own path and take initiative to make his dream of playing overseas a reality. From what I understand, Kaz simply connected with Kojack on Facebook last year and expressed his desire to come watch a game. He proceeded to pay his own way to fly from Japan to Ireland (a trip totaling over 24 hours of travel time) to watch 1(!) IT Carlow basketball game before flying back home. One year later, he finds himself as part of that team.
Kaz is not only the kindest guy I’ve ever met, but his work ethic and belief in himself is unmatched. If he wants something, he goes and gets it! He has shown this repeatedly even in the brief time that I’ve known him. He wanted to play basketball overseas, so he took the initiative to reach out to Kojack, and now finds himself playing for IT Carlow. In Carlow, he wanted to make a steady income, so he applied for a work visa and several jobs before landing a part-time job at one of the hotels in town. He wanted to move out of his host family’s home to save some money, so he saved up enough and recently moved into his own apartment where he pays his own monthly rent. He arrived in Ireland with very broken English and a goal to improve his ability to speak the language and has done just that. He spends much of his down time learning English (i.e. watching shows with English subtitles, writing down and looking up words he does not know) in addition to the constant exposure he gets in his daily interactions at work and with teammates. Kaz, if you’re reading this, I’d stick to those resources and not pick up any more lingo from Armand (our Latvian teammate). Although he’s very hard on himself, I can say that his English has improved drastically to the point where he understands pretty much everything, and we can carry conversations seamlessly.
Lastly, and probably most importantly to him (along with the English), Kaz wants to improve his basketball game, and he sure puts in the time to do that. Last Saturday, I asked him how often he gets up in the morning to go to the gym and shoot before work. He says he tries to go every morning but some mornings, he is too tired. So, I followed up and asked him how many times he went to the gym early in the past week. He responded, “Oh, every day. Every day. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.” All I could do was shake my head and smile, knowing he does all five days most weeks. Furthermore, as I mentioned in a previous blog, I had the opportunity to travel over Christmas break and spend a week plus in Prague, Vienna, and Munich enjoying my time off with some of the other Scholars. I didn’t touch a basketball during those 8 days. Meanwhile, Kaz booked his own flight to Belgium to go workout with a coach he had met via Instagram for four days. As it stands now, I believe he is planning to travel back after the season trying to land his next gig to play overseas.
Back to life and basketball in Carlow, Kaz shows up to every practice and game wide-eyed and ready to go. Unfortunately, due to Basketball Ireland rules, Kaz and I are not allowed to play at the same time in our National League games. Teams are only allowed to have one non-Irish/non-European player on the floor at a time. However, we have been able to play together on the college team, which has been a blessing. In the time I’ve spent as Kaz’s teammate, a couple highlights come to mind: his 30-point game in a college game vs. DBS (dude shot lights out!), the 8-second backcourt violation he forced in our game last Saturday playing one-on-one defense, and his ankle-breaking crossovers (see Instagram). His work ethic and passion for basketball is contagious. He plays the game with so much intensity and heart that it lifts up the energy of the entire team. It is honestly refreshing to watch Kaz play. In fact, one of the local youth teams in Carlow implemented a full court press that they call “Kaz Mode”, which is a testament to the type of player and defender he is.
Even though he probably doesn’t realize it, Kaz has been an inspiration to all the people he has met here in Ireland, especially his teammates (I think I can speak for everyone on this). His “can-do” attitude, kindness, selflessness, and work ethic make him a joy to be around and someone we should all strive to be in some way or another. Personally, I consider myself lucky to have crossed paths with Kaz and look forward to what life has in store for him! He is a constant reminder of believing in yourself and going after the things in life you are most passionate about, regardless of what others think of you or limits they place on you. He’s earned everything that he’s gotten, and there’s nothing stopping any of you readers out there from doing the same. How’s that for some Monday Motivation?!
Keep doing you, Kaz!
If you’d like to get more insight into the type of guy, player, and worker Kaz is, toss him a follow on IG: kaz_money5
