It’s A Small World After All
Grovetown, Georgia is where I am from. Unless you went to school in or around there, are from a military family, or already know someone who is from there, chances are it’s not a place that you’ve been to or heard of. Because of this, I just tell people I am from Augusta, which is the bigger city next door, so they have a better idea of where I come from. For people who haven’t even been to the United States, or aren’t familiar with Georgia, I have to tell them I live a couple hours from Atlanta to give them a good idea. Anyway, I said all that to say this….
There was a new club opening up not too far from where I stay here in Ireland so myself, a couple of my teammates, my coach, and Jason all went to help them run the first session. There were a lot of kids there so we all had a part in making sure the night went successful. After a few drills and some pictures, we stood around for a little bit talking to each other. Jason, who is a huge name in the basketball world in Ireland, asked me where I was from. I said oh I’m from Georgia (It’s easier than explaining what I just explained in the first paragraph). He said oh really what part? I said Augusta at first but then I said well, I am really from Grovetown but nobody knows where that is. He said “oh no kidding! I went to school at Augusta State!” I was in disbelief. Not only did he know exactly where I was from, but he went to school there himself.
We ended up talking about the team he played for, and turns out my mom was finishing her teaching degree at the same time he was playing there. I was in my sophomore year of high school, and the team he was a part of ended up making it to the championship game that year. I even asked my friend if he knew who Jason was and he said he remembered. There is also a girl who currently plays for the high school I went to (where my mom is now an assistant coach) whose dad is the coach at Augusta State so her father coached him and she remembered him as well. I always knew the world was a small place and people were connected in a number of different ways. My father was in the military and my sister’s best friend from Germany ended up moving around the corner from us In Georgia, but this completely blew my mind. Sport really does make the world seem even smaller, and it’s amazing how often you see how you and someone else are connected because of it. It never ceases to amaze me.
