The Rookie Playbook: Part 4 Nate

I’m thrilled to be able to share my journey throughout university basketball and now a little about professional basketball! There is a quote from Socrates that I discovered this year which I like; “Smart people learn from everything and everyone, average people from their experiences, stupid people already have all the answers” I was somewhere between stupid and average heading into University. So don’t be like me, I hope whoever is reading this can learn something and apply it early!

My journey started at Mount Royal University. It was my only offer out of high school which I felt a little discouraged by. I had goals to go to the big schools like UofC, UBC, UofA, and Victoria, so it didn’t feel like a huge accomplishment at the time and I wasn’t overly proud to share it with people. At that time I was pretty insecure and cared a lot about what people thought of me online. I wanted to have an awesome commitment post to one of those big schools to show people how great I was! Totally mega insecure posing like a super confident guy.

Going to MRU ended up being the best possible thing for me, a total blessing in disguise. We weren’t a very good team in my first year and I was able to eventually work up close to 20 minutes per game. That wouldn’t have happened if I would have had it my way and gone to my “dream schools.” Not being recruited by these other schools put a chip on my shoulder and I felt like I needed to prove myself to them and show that they made a mistake. This might’ve added fuel to the fire but ultimately is not a great mindset to have because again, I cared so much about the validation and approval from others. Success was determined by stat lines and recognition. I ended up on the all rookie team, and couldn’t have been more excited to share that post on Instagram and show people…insecure poser. I’m not saying don’t be excited when you get recognition from others or have posts made about you, it’s great and it’s cool to see, but for me it started to become such a motivating factor and I wish I got away from it sooner. I feel like now I’ve reached a point of security within myself to not care as much about the opinions of others, but it took many many years! I would love if someone reached out to chat about it because I could go on forever about this.

After the rookie season finished I still remember my first workout in the gym, it was tricep day. I was not a huge fan of these new team workouts that I was being exposed to: exercises that improve athleticism, stability, strength, and help prevent injury. What is tricep day?!?! Going back to the Socrates quote, I was someone who thought I had all the answers. The sooner you realize that you don’t have all the answers, and instead, embrace a learning approach, and use your trainers, coaches, etc… the journey will be much better for you! Ask questions, don’t just think your way is the right way. Over COVID I actually got massive because I was working out like a body builder and just eating anything and everything, I put on like 20 lbs and not really the good kind…it was great if I wanted to be a bouncer or something but not great for basketball. I was fuelled on frozen butter chickens, Big Macs, and bicep curls. Thank goodness I was able to get out of that phase and listen to one of my friends who became a strength trainer before my 2nd season (3rd year) at MRU.

When I had returned after the COVID year, the player that was starting over me had mentioned that he touched a basketball one time over the summer. Honestly, that was music to my ears. I was an extremely hard worker (even if sometimes it wasn’t the smartest work as mentioned prior), and I showed up prepared for that training camp! You’ll never deserve minutes or moments or anything really if it’s not worked for, DON’T be someone looking for handouts or hating on other teammates saying that you’re better than them. If you feel that way then prove it. And once you finally get the opportunity you’ve been after, you better know that there’s someone just like you who’s looking to come after the spot you have. The most respectful thing you can do is never let up, to show up on time, elevate the team culture, and practice/play your tail off! Iron sharpens iron so carry a deep respect for your fellow teammates who are competing with you and against you each and every day.

As I have said I am all for the hard work, but also finding the balance for other things and other people in your life is extremely important. I struggled with this early on and always felt guilty when I wasn’t doing something that was “getting me better,” but relationships, friends, family, and adventure is what my soul craves and basketball cannot give me all of those things all the time! Find time to do what you love and be with who you love outside of basketball - it will help you on the court as well trust me!

I ended up transferring to U of C which was a moment where I had to put my pride aside. The head coach didn’t want me out of high school, he rejected me and said he was after “national level” players. It was extremely tough for me to let go of that part of my ego and also leave so many of my best friends but it’s a decision that I would never take back. My best friends from MRU stayed my best friends and I made some amazing new ones at U of C. Red-shirting had its fair share of challenges but again I truly feel like it’s a blessing in disguise if you go about it properly. That year allowed me to grow some relationships with the guys, understand how the program is ran and get to know the coaches better, and also just improve my own game!

Going into the first year of playing was full of challenges. I wanted to be the leader of the team and the voice of the team because we definitely lacked that. Although, there were guys that were there longer than I was, and honestly I didn’t have the respect of all of them. I also had no idea how to truly be a leader, I would see Kobe Bryant videos and watched the Last Dance on Michael Jordan but those guys had so much positional power that not many other players have. I never fully figured it out in my time there but I learned so much from trying and failing and trying again. My advice would be to try and build genuine relationships, this will be much easier to do with some teammates and extremely difficult with others…but getting to know someone can go a long way. Be vulnerable, say how you feel in a respectful and truthful way. Your words carry much more weight when there is trust in the relationship and you’ve shown that you actually care enough about the person to get to know them.

The worst thing you can do is know something going on with the team is not right and do nothing about it, at that point you’re just as toxic as the problem that you’re too afraid to fix. Your true friends will always be your true friends, and you’ll be able to get close by breaking the walls down and holding each other to a standard and helping them out. Other teammates might turn away from you, talk bad about you, try and drag others down with them, but there is peace of mind knowing that you tried and also knowing who is with you and who isn’t. This took me till my last month of my basketball career in university to be able to accomplish, and it was the most fun and greatest success I’ve ever had with a team. I  won a lot of awards, was the USPORT player of the year, and won a championship with the Dinos.

Those were all great memories and accomplishments that I am very proud of and that brought joy to me. They are nothing in comparison to the joy of the overall journey - the challenges overcome, the hours in the gym, the time spent with teammates in the hotels, the locker room chats, seeing family after the game, and the practice shenanigans. Embrace the challenges and be grateful for them. Try your best to soak in every moment and never lose sight of who you are. Lastly, you are going to fall short of your expectations, and you’re gonna fall down. I had some REAL BAD games - one of my worst came in the national final when the most eyes were on me! So many nights where I am just screaming in my pillow, frustrated with the culture, frustrated with my performance, with school, with teammates. It’s not a walk in the park and it will test you mentally and physically. You’ll fall down time and time again but the only thing that matters is that you keep getting up, however that may look! Continually getting back up in University taught me the greatest life lessons that I haven’t gotten anywhere else…enjoy the journey my friends.

Nate Petrone