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Life is not a Straight Line

For basketball coach Assane Sene, life is a rollercoaster! He thinks life is not a straight line, everyone could never know what the future would be.        

Assane Sene is a basketball coach at The Darrow School. He is 213 centimeters tall, just like most of the professional basketball players. He started playing basketball when he was 15. He was playing soccer before and he was not bad at it. Everyone told him to play basketball because he is tall, and after he saw his favorite basketball player on TV, he started loving this sport. He moved to the U.S. to play basketball in high school in 2006, he worked very hard and got the chance to become a professional player. He played overseas in 2012 and was liked by basketball fans, but one thing that he has never thought about was becoming a teacher. 

Assane Sene was born in Saint Louis, Senegal. College basketball players from Africa are like other people: they have a dream. But to achieve this dream can be harder for most of them. Assane Sene was a very special kid: he is very tall, and his mom died when he was fourteen. He was in a very bad position but he still worked hard. At a very young age, he had a chance to play in Spain, but his father didn’t agree with that because he wanted him to work on his academics, his father thought that he should work on basketball and academics at the same time. At high school in Connecticut he kept improving his basketball skill and continued his education. His hard work was shown by the games he won. He played very well in college and became a professional player in Asean Basketball League. His first game was in Dubai, where he started. He has been playing basketball overseas since 2012 and he was a very famous player at that time.

He hoped to become a professional basketball player after his college days, in the States or overseas, but his real goal is to be a coach, one that follows in the footsteps of Basketball Without Borders and a program that helps kids who don’t have the opportunity to play basketball: SEEDS, because he was taught by them before. He wanted to stay in the sports industry and never thought about being a teacher, but because of being a coach in a boarding school, he also became a teacher. He came to Darrow because he could have the chance to coach a basketball team and also teach here although he is young. For a young coach to teach, he is very good at it and I know that because he taught me before. He will always make sure that the students get the information they need and help them get better. He is very happy that his job can help kids achieve their full potential because he was that kind of kid. He wants to tell the young people now, don’t just focus on one thing, like basketball: if you want to get in the NBA, you need to go to college, so you should also work on your academics. He always tells his students that it’s not only what you do on the basketball court, it’s also important what you do in the classroom, how you treat people, your morals. "Better an empty purse than an empty head." Don’t just do what you like, or you would be a boxer that only knows how to use your right hand.

Assane Sene said: “ Life is a rollercoaster. Life is not all roses, sometimes you have a hard time, sometimes you have a good time. When I have a hard time, I will keep pushing myself, I wouldn’t give up, because good things will happen to you after you have a hard time.”  The successful religious teacher John Piper who also did his best to give students the information they needed shared that, “Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback.” Assane Sene uses his interesting basketball trip to show this is right, and he gets the beautiful flower on the steep road by his hard work and a kind heart.