From grassroots to the NBA, every athlete values their family’s support as they navigate the ups and downs of their journey, just ask San Antonio Spurs standout Jeremy Sochan.
For San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan, family has always played a pivotal role in his long-winding journey as an athlete, starting from his formative years in youth basketball in Europe to the NBA, where he has been playing for the past three years.
Both Sochan’s parents were basketball players themselves, with her mom in particular playing club basketball for Polish club Polonia Warsaw earlier in her life.
Having since transitioned to the sidelines to support Sochan, the support of his mom and his late father from before, had a profound effect on how Jeremy approaches things.
During his visit to the Philippines for the NBA Rising Stars Invitational, the 21-year-old saw the same impact for the basketball players in Manila.
“It’s a huge, huge deal,” Sochan said of the support of mothers and fathers.
“It motivates you in some type of way. Your mom, your dad brought you up and made you huge. I think it’s always important to have that on the side.”
Sochan’s father died in 2017, which placed her mother Aneta into a bigger supporting role for the Baylor alum.
When it comes to his personal experience, Sochan said that there is something extra special about having his mom as his support system. The Spurs standout personally saw that with Filipino parents as wel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum during the NBA Rising Stars Invitational Finals on Saturday.
“For me, it gives me some type of energy. Positive energy. It’s super important to have your parents and people that you’re close with come watch your sport,” Sochan said.
“It’s a cool thing,” he added.
Sochan is expected to fly out of Manila on Sunday, May 11, just in time for Mother’s Day.
Even as he now leaves the Philippines, the Polish-American raved about the whole experience, acknowledging the passion and love for the game, for the players, their families, and everyone in between.
“The past week has been great. Watching basketball is something I love. Whatever age group it is, whatever kind of competition it is, it's basketball at the end of the day,” Sochan said.
“One thing I found out on this trip is just the passion and the love and the heart that everyone has here for basketball. Wherever you're playing, coaching, watching, spectating, there's so much passion and I just truly respect that.”