One on One with a real life "Shooting Star"

Reel Scene Sports Media had the opportunity to sit down and speak with Our lady of Lourdes High School Men's Varsity Basketball and Edge Athletics Shooting Guard Jake D'auria, a perimeter sharp shooter that loves the game of basketball and has high hopes for the future. Jake is an intelligent, humble yet confident young man whose aura/energy screams "I'm up for the challenge and am ready to take on the world!".

Jake is going into his Senior year at OLL and has his mind set on a successful season. Successful to him means winning a State Title. Although he realizes the work and discipline it will take to get there, he is ready, willing and able to make whatever sacrifices is necessary to do so. While last season's condensed schedule did not meet the expectations that his team hoped for, Jake is excited for the upcoming season and is confident that the OLL Men's Varsity Team will be "making some noise" in their conference.

Jake continues to work in the off season stating that he works out at least 6 days per week. Parts of his workouts includes weight training, running, and shooting. We were very impressed to learn that he gets at least 500 shots up per day! No wonder he's considered a sharp shooter in his own right. Jake considers his training and repetitive shooting drills to be the primary reason for his success thus far. Remember the old adage, "Practice makes perfect"? well... there you go. Jakes OLL Coach James Santoro describes Jake as a smart, energetic player that can shoot the lights out on any given night. According to Coach Santoro, Jake welcomes "the moment" and has proved time after time that he has "ice in his veins"! whenever it came down to high pressure situations.

Jake draws his inspiration from his Father who he also says is his role model. He credited his Dad for being a strong resilient man that has gone through a lot in life yet was able to navigate his way to a happy and fulfilling life. Jake values these characteristics in his father and works every day to emulate his fighting yet loving spirit.

Some of Jake's accomplishments up until now include winning a National Championship with his AAU Team and winning several MVP awards at various basketball camps that he has attended. While he is happy about those accomplishments, it was clear that he has a hunger for more! Specifically, winning a State Title in his upcoming Senior year at OLL. Stay tuned... Jake was also very excited to announce that he has already received scholarship offers from Utica College, Washington & Jefferson College, and Keene State College. All great schools that will be lucky to get this kid onboard.

While being a student athlete does present its challenges, Jake has fortunately seemed to find a balance between books and basketballs. His favorite subject in school right now is science and biology because of his curiosity of the human body and all of its many dynamic functionalities. He expressed the importance of school work and stated that he works just in hard in class as he does on the court.

Some fun facts about Jake:

Favorite NBA Player- Steph Curry.
Favorite College Team- Syracuse.

Favorite NBA Team- NY Knicks.

NBA player you pattern your game after- Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors)

Jake chalks his success up to having a great support system around him and good old fashioned hard work. His advice to his peers and kids that have aspiration to play basketball at a higher level was to "get in the gym as much as humanly possible". When asked where he sees himself in the near future, his response was "winning a state title at OLL. His ultimate goal is to do well at whatever career he chooses after college and to be a great father.

Keep your eyes peeled for this "Shooting Star" folks, they don't happen often! Good luck to you Jake...