Fort Bragg teen receives basketball camp scholarship

by Dawn Elizabeth Pandoliano
Paraglide

Pedro Reyes lives and breathes basketball. Just 12 years old, Pedro already has played basketball for three years. He discovered the sport at the urging of his mother, Sgt. Kandice Reyes, Company A, Womack Army Medical Center. As the single mother to three boys ages, 6, 10 and 12, she believes they need to play sports and be active.

“I just thought he (Pedro) needed a hobby,” Reyes said. “Something to keep him from going astray.”

That hobby turned into a passion and, for 12-year-old Pedro, lead to winning one of the coveted 27 scholarships to the 2009 Roy Williams Basketball Camp. In a very touching essay about what basketball means to him, Pedro quotes a letter his mom once wrote him.

“Your determination, independence and self reliance is a prelude to the self strength and courage that every parent desires.”

Pedro, who plays basketball for Albritton Junior High as well as the Fort Bragg Youth Services Team, points to his mom as a big influence.

“My mother has always tried to make me a better upshot … in an effort to make available all the opportunities that my heart desires,” said Pedro in his essay.

Reyes said she is very proud of her son and is excited that Pedro will get a chance to attend the basketball camp.

“It will be a way for him to learn new skills to adapt to different things and give him a way to overcome adversity,” said Reyes.

As the eldest of three brothers, Pedro hopes he can show that working hard at what you want to do will lead to success.

“Practice makes perfect,” Pedro said.

Each year, North Carolina’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives select 27 young men across North Carolina to receive a Roy Williams Basketball Camp Scholarship. Contestants were to write a short essay on one of two topics provided and mail it in with their parental consent forms. Judging was based on originality and accuracy, as well as scholastic and extracurricular activities.