Jaylen Moody '22 Recruiting Profile

My parents always taught me that education is the most important thing a person can have. Why? Because it can never be taken away from you. Throughout the rest of my high school career I aim to get a GPA of 3.6 or higher while passing my ACT and SAT and eventually graduate. In college my goal is to study Aerospace Engineering because since I was 9 years old, building, putting things together and the complexity of aircrafts have always intrigued me. Education plays a big role into the type of person I am as it helps me on the basketball court as well. One of the skills I possess is the ability to learn and understand things very easily and adjust to it such as observing a player’s go to move when defending them or being able to adapt quickly to any situation on the court. I am a very straightforward person. I am fun, curious and always open to learning new aspects of the game.

My love for sports sparked when about 7 years old after my dad took me to sporting events, while our family was stationed in Germany.  Attending events like football matches, Globetrotters visits to the base and American football team clinics, was my first introduction to sports.  My parents taught me to be positive and confident in everything I do and sports opened my eyes to many possibilities. While they were all interesting, basketball and soccer caught my attention because they are both very unique sports that require a lot of individual and team work ethics. Attention to the smallest detail such as which finger you release the ball of to shoot or how to kick the ball higher with a particular foot positioning can make a big difference for you and your team. Seeing the emotion and drive on the court or field to win every game was very exciting. When asking my parents to sign up me up for basketball and soccer club, I began learning and improving my footwork, athleticism and how to be a good teammate. This was very exciting for me because it gave me the ability to start meeting new friends and building trust and comradery with people of different cultures.  Playing soccer for 2 years at the ground level allowed my transition to basketball a lot less difficult than was expected. I was told that my foot work was great but my shooting and handle were just beginning.  Just as I was getting started, our family got re-assigned to the US.  This was a very difficult transition because I did not know where to start and how difficult it was to adjust to living in US. Being a military family my dad deployed multiple times. Yes it was hard, but it taught me how leadership and being a team player works. Growing up my parents taught my brother and I to always be respectful, humble, commitment and sacrifice “never think yourself better than anyone”.  Respect has to be earned and not given.

Obstacles are always going to show up whether you expect it or not but how you deal with them is what sets you apart from the competition. Playing basketball has taught me that there is more to just putting up points on the board or stats, it taught me the importance of persistence, self-drive, constant effort, relentless attitude, how to work with teammates, and  do your job as a teammate. Most of all it has taught me to LEAD and FOLLOW.