Elijah Pollard has been a dominant figure on the basketball court during the 2022-2023 season.

Elijah is a senior at Geary High School and controls the court as a small forward. Basketball is not the only sport that Elijah plays; he demonstrates his strong athletic abilities in football, baseball, track and field, and cross country as well.

“From a young age I always had a ball in my hand, ” Pollard says. “Whether I was playing catch by myself or dribbling a ball up the street. My elementary and middle school coach played a big role in why I started to play basketball. He taught me the fundamentals of the game, and how to be obedient. Ever since then my love for basketball and my competitive spirit has only grown.”

 It is clear that Elijah was born to be an athlete. When asked what he enjoys most about playing basketball, Elijah is quick to highlight the joy that he finds in playing a sport he loves:

“There’s just something about the sound of the ball hitting the net, and the way my shoes squeak against the court that I love. The court makes me feel at home. I could be having the worst day and for the 32 minutes of play I’m at peace.”

Basketball pushes Elijah to grow in many ways. When asked what the most important lesson he has learned from playing basketball is, Pollard can’t pick just one.

“Basketball has taught me the importance of discipline, how to face adversity, and just believing in myself. It’s taught me how to deal with success and failure,” Elijah says. “One of my favorite quotes is ‘the key to success is failure’ by Micheal Jordan. Everyone fails. It’s what you learn from the losses that is more important. the ‘get back’ is sweeter to me.”

Above all, Elijah has learned that in athletics, “It takes hard work to be successful in anything you do, and the more consistently you do something the easier it becomes.”