Blake Herber selected for State MYSA Rising Stars team
By Cheryl Nymann, Editor
There is a 6th grade boy who lives and breathes basketball. What does he do in his spare time? Play basketball. What does he do when he is with his friends? Play basketball. What does he do on summer vacation? Play basketball.Anyway you look at it, Blake Herber and basketball are synonomous. “I love basketball,” he told me in our interview. His dad, Jason Herber said, “Blake just lives the game and has been playing year round despite his mom and me always asking if he wants to take a break; he says no and is upset when he has weekends off. He has worked very hard on his game and just loves to play.” His mom also realizes Blakes’ love for the sport and said, “Blake loves playing basketball and enjoys every minute playing with his PEM team and all the other kids he has had the opportunity to play with.” He obviously has a hoop at home, but the team playing began at the YMCA when he was in 1st or 2nd grade. He goes to all of the open gyms that he possibly can to get time on the court, is on a traveling team - the PEM Dawgs organized 3 years ago - that just recently took 2nd place in the MYAS State tournament (This team is not a school sponsored team, and plays 10-12 tourneys a year and their current record is 22-3). All of that hard work landed him a nomination and a spot on the MYAS (Minnesota Youth Athletic Services) team of Rising Stars Showcase. The 2015 MYAS Rising Stars Showcase featured the top players from each team in grades 5-8 that participated in the top two divisions of the 2015 MYAS Grade State Basketball Championships. He was nominated by four coaches in the cities. “This is a really cool opportunity, and I thank whoever nominated me,” Blake commented and continued, “I was so excited and surprised when my mom called me after school to tell me about the nominations.”
There were four teams divided up from the 32 kids nominated statewide and they played three games in one day in Anoka this past weekend. The Magic team that Blake was a part of went 3-0 for the day. Wendy said the first game was a little ragged since nobody had played together before, second and third game were a lot better. Blake had a total of 31 points with six 3- pointers for the day.
Blake is also a humble guy for his age as he was talking about this huge accomplishment, he was sure to add, “I want to also thank my teammates and family because they are a big part of this too.” His mom also sees this modest part of her sons’ character by saying, “For any of you that know Blake and have seen him play, you know that he is an unselfish player and has great sportsmanship. As his mom, I love it when people compliment him on that.” His dad agrees “He is very honored about this and he doesn’t ever think he is as talented as he is. That’s what Wendy And I are most proud of - he’s always so polite and thankful when he gets an honor or compliment. He is a fierce competitor who wears his heart on his sleeve and doesn’t care about his own stats as long as his team wins. He would rather make a great pass then score a basket; he loves his PEM teammates and would play everyday with them if he could.” With all that said, Blake knows his parents enjoy watching him play and acknowledged the fact that they drive him everywhere to his games. Blake also enjoys playing basketball with his younger brother Brady who is a 4th grader at PEM.
Blake’s academics are also important to him. With his favorite subject as reading, he said that he gets ‘good grades’ and enjoys going to school. Blake is still a typical 6th grade boy who enjoys hanging around with his friends (playing basketball, I’m sure), and also likes to go to movies. Congratulations Blake on this great honor you received!
