The people that we surround ourselves with can play a big role in who we are and who we will become. As he reflects back, Zyire Allen says that there are definitely people like that in his life.
“My mom and my grandma are big influences in my life,” he said. “They always made a way for something; whatever I needed, they always tried their best to get it for me. But i’m also influenced by the things that go on around the world, if I see someone make a mistake or make the wrong decision in certain situations, I try my best to avoid putting myself in that position and vice versa, if I see someone make the right decision I would consider that action and try to apply it somewhere else.”
Allen is a senior at Enid High School, where he plays football and basketball. He is also a member of the Black Heritage Union and a co-op PE volunteer.
Becoming a successful athlete takes more than just showing up and competing. You have to prepare, both physically and mentally, in order to be at your best.
“It takes a lot of work,” Allen said. “It’s not easy but you have to be determined and disciplined, because motivation is here today and gone tomorrow, it never stays around, so you have to build up the consistency of your work to be able to find that motivation, cause once you get it going and start seeing results that’s when you’ll want to keep going at it and putting in the work.”
Wearing the Enid uniform when he competes is not something that Zyire takes lightly.
“It means a lot,” he said. “I know eyes are watching at all times and I know the little ones are watching for sure because they all come up and talk to me anytime I see them. So I am just trying to lead by example.”
In the classroom, Allen says that it takes just as much work to be successful. But it is helpful to have good teachers that are about more than just the lessons.
“My favorite teacher is my fifth grade teacher, Mr.Artman,” Allen said. “He was just a cool and fun guy, always had us laughing or telling stories. He also helped me with my first March Madness bracket so that kinda stuck with me too just because I love basketball.”
