Robert DayRobert Day

Looking back on my elementary years, there seems to be a couple things that really contributed to the foundation that allowed me the success I have. One was growing up in a family where we were forced to be outside. Mix that with three brothers all within a couple years in age (one being a twin). There was no lack of opportunity to compete physically and mentally. Who could finish homework the fastest, eat the most, run the fasted, who was strongest, who could jump or climb the highest, even who could fart the loudest or make our mom laugh the hardest. The last thing was having a mom who showed crazy patience and love, and a dad who challenged us to do hard things and made us step out of our comfort zone a lot. I believe experiences gave me confidence, patience, and grit to succeed.

From there I was extremely lucky to have my first three basketball coaches be amazing men who inspired and challenged me to be better. The first being Keith Robinson (ex-NFL linebacker) in 4th/5th grade. He had a calmness and way with words that stuck with me. The second was my PE teacher and middle school basketball coach Lou Bain. Being a middle school teacher, he knew how to deal with us. He was intense but never lost his cool. The third was my first AAU coach, Jonny Davis, who was the assistant coach of the Trail Blazers and went on to be a head coach the 76ers. He was soft spoken and taught me how to approach the game with more intentionality than I ever had. Until then it was watching the NBA and emulating your favorite players. On top of these coaches, we always had competitive teams which helped keep me sharp.
My first introduction to high school basketball was watching the Oregon/Washington game and watching Jason Franklin, Earl Clark, Matt Santangelo, and Mike Doleac compete. This was in 7th grade and it set the hook even deeper and inspired me to apply to Benson High School. Those four years at Benson gave me some memories I’ll never forget. Playing twice against Jefferson at the Child Center in front of a packed crowd of 5000+, competing in the Memorial Coliseum for state titles, and most importantly it was the time where I met my wife and started our journey that I’m so proud to still be on today.
I’m thankful and grateful for the impact my coaches had on me. Coach Emery defined my path to playing time on extremely talented team where I was the youngest player. Coach Waiwaiole kept the energy light and believed in me out loud. Coach Berry who created an environment to exercise mental toughness and unintentionally gave me a perspective that has been powerful in my life – a perspective on how I can only control what I can, and that negative experiences don’t guarantee negative outcomes. I’m also thankful for my teammates, classmates, and administration for the impact they had on me and helped create all the memories and experiences I still carry with me today!
A special thank you to my wife and mother of our awesome kids. We started dating in high school and you always encouraged me to be my best, chase my dream, be a professional, and to be a lighthouse to the Kingdom to all I encounter.
Thank you to the PIL for playing a special part in this journey and thank you to Gabe Sandy and Leon McKenzie who planted the seed and helped make this day happen!