Dwyane Wade

“Wade creates moments that make you forget you’re a coach”, said head coach Stan Van Gundy. My hero is Dwyane Wade. He has a tremendous personality both on and off the court.

Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. was born on January 17, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois. His parents, Dwyane Sr. and Jolinda, divorced when he was young. Dwyane learned to overcome this obstacle. His father had full custody of him, but he still saw his mom a lot. This was until his mom became strongly addicted to alcohol and drugs. This was a major obstacle that Dwyane Wade had to overcome. His sister, Tragil Wade, then had to take care of him, because Dwyane’s dad worked full time. Tragil played a major role in Dwyane’s life.

In the midst of all his problems, Dwyane’s father and step-brother taught him the fundamentals of basketball. With his family so interested in the sport, he began to love it. He wasn’t the greatest player at the time.

As Dwyane got older he kept getting better. He went to Oak Lawn High School, and started as a sophomore on the varsity team. He did very well in high school, and went to play basketball for Marquette University.

Now he is in the NBA playing for the Miami Heat, and is one of the nation’s best basketball players. He was Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 2006. He is currently number three, plays point guard, and averages 23.9 points per game. In 2007 Dwyane Wade was recognized” Most Caring Athlete” because of his firm commitment to community service.

Dwyane’s mom stopped doing drugs and alcohol just a few years ago. He is married to Siohvaughn now, and has a five year old son, named Zaire, and a child due in June.

Dwyane inspires because he was able to become a great athlete and a great person after overcoming a huge obstacle of his mom being addicted to drugs. He has taught me that when there are obstacles in the way of a dream, you have to fight past them to finally accomplish your dream. He also taught me that nothing is impossible.

“Dwyane can play with the best of them,” says former Marquette teammate, Travis Diener. Dwyane is truly a tremendous athlete and a tremendous person. He is the kind of person that lives a life that everyone should practice living.