What’s up basketball world, my name is Tyus Battle and I am a 6’4 8th grader from Edison, New Jersey. I attend Holy Savior Academy in South Plainfield. I enjoy many things. Of course basketball is at the top of my list, however I also like reading, playing video games, and hanging out with family and friends.
Being close to my family has always been important to me. Whether it is talking to my step-mom, playing with my baby sister GiGi, watching television and movies with my little brother, Khalif and mom Daniella or just going to the gym with my dad.
In my basketball life, this past season I played in two different AAU programs, I played 13U, 14U, 16U for Team Final and 17U for the New Jersey Demons. I played my first 3 years under my dad for Team Battle but my dad decided it was best for the growth of the kids in the program going into high school to join, Nike sponsored team, Team Final, coach by dad and headed up by Rob Brown.
Our Team Battle teams were very good! We were ranked 3rd in the country at 11U and a disappointing 5th when we were 12U. I say disappointing about the 5th place finish because I feel that was our most talented team during our 3 year run but we lost to a great Houston Defenders team by 1 point after being ahead most of the game.
The crazy thing about Team Battle is that we came out of nowhere. We worked ourselves to the top of our region and to the final 3 teams in the country. I had a lot of ups and downs playing with Team Battle but it was always fun and my coaches and teammates help to make it a great experience.
Playing with Team Final is cool, too. I especially like being sponsored by Nike. I didn’t really play a lot of basketball last year at the 7th grade level because we had a lot of team challenges and I got injured at the beginning of the year. When I came back we played tournaments with who was left on the team and all we did was beat who ever we played. I was really proud of how guys like Darius Gillion, Darius Roundtree, Sa’eed Nelson and all the guy’s on the team who hung in there and finished the year by winning another state championship.
As for the New Jersey Demons it’s a little different, it is not my primary team but it helps make me a better by playing against bigger and stronger kids. I’m not going to lie we are not the most talented team but we are determined to get better and compete with better teams in the region. I’m the starting point guard for the Demons. I have a great coach named Rich Leary of Hoops America, who I also workout with during the week, when I am not in the gym with my dad. Coach Leary has helped me a lot with my game and he is a different voice than my dad who definitely yells a little more. Playing with 17U kids is a bigger challenge than playing at the other age groups but it helps me with my defense, quickness, and strength, which is really important for me as I prepare to play in high school next season.
It’s getting late so I'm going to wrap things up. Before I go I would like to thank Mr. Melton for giving me the opportunity to write the weekly diary this year. Also I will be playing a tournament with the Demons on September 24, 25th at Rebounds in Neptune, NJ. This is Tyus Battle signing off. Peace!
