Willy Aybar proves success takes more than just talent

 

 

By: Lya Zhang

Staff Writer

Willy Aybar, point guard for the Men’s Basketball team, began loving basketball when he was a child and has grown into a memorable player for the Viking’s.

“[As a point guard, I’m] the glue of the team that keeps everything together,” Aybar said. He is not the captain, but he sees himself as a leader on the team.’’

“[I have] to make my team better, not focus on myself as the big star to shine, but make me better and the players around me better,” he said.

Statistically, he averaged 10.6 points a game, 4.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds.

Aybar always loved playing basketball and started to play for fun when he was 7 years old. He began taking it seriously in 7th grade.

He played during middle school and high school, but also outside of school with AAU teams and in summer programs. “[I was on a team] where they had the best talent from the area and travel all around to play different teams,” he said.

Aybar tried all kinds of sports like football and baseball, but basketball was the sport he wanted to give everything for.

“Basketball is 100 percent my passion,” he said. “It has taught me everything I know.”

Aybar said he had a good coach in high school, but he said, “I was immature, and I had a lot of things to learn.”

In fact, he almost did not want to play basketball anymore because he did not get along with his coach and teammates, but he worked through that and learned to overcome that.

“When it is not clicking with a coach, I know [now] how to react or how to handle it rather than arguing,” Aybar said. “Just saying OK is sometimes the answer.”

According to Aybar, the coaches are not just coaching about basketball, but also how to be a man and how to work with different people. He believes that playing any sport is great because it teaches life lessons.

“I try to give my everything to lead as an example so that everybody that is behind me can’t tell me I am taking a playoff because I am not,” Aybar said. “I try to show them that everybody should go far because I am not the biggest, I am not the strongest, and I am probably not always going to be the fastest,” he said. “I don’t really have too many advantages so going hard is all I got.”

As much as he loves basketball, he doesn’t intend to play professionally. While he is in college, he is working towards an associate degree in entrepreneurship.

“When I was a kid I had the dream to got to the NBA until I was 12 years old because I realized what life is,” Aybar stated. “Basketball takes all of my time, and I allow to take the time now while I still have time to give,” he said. “Later on, I might not.”

To him, he doesn’t care about the amount of money he could make. He just wants to be successful.

“[Success is] having a family and people around him that gives him positive energy and good vibes,” he said.