What started Ball For Lives in the first place was the idea that basketball had the power to captivate people. So I began to take my dribbling skills and use them to spread a message. In this presentation I share my own basketball story and how I’m now using basketball to make a difference in people’s lives. The goal is to motivate the youth of our culture to think about how they could use their talents and abilities to change their world.

Use the links below to download a letter describing the assembly in detail.

• Ball for Lives in Public Schools (PDF)
• Ball for Lives in Christian Schools (PDF)

Contact Occh (occh@ballforlives.com) for pricing and availability.

Gilbert Arenas & Occh

On Friday, April 4th, I had the opportunity of meeting Washington Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas. After Spalding donated basketballs to my NYC Marathon run, I sent in one of the marathon pictures for a photo contest they were having. My photo won and the grand prize was a trip to DC to meet Agent Zero! You never know where your hard work may take you!

You can see a PDF of the article here.

The number one question I heard was, “are you going to do that the whole way?” “I’m gonna try,” I kept saying with a smile. As we went through Brooklyn, the crowds were amazing! People who had no clue who I was were cheering for me. We wrote our names on the shoulders of our shirts so people could cheer for us. However, the cheer I heard the most was, “Alright basketball guy!” The most encouraging though, was “Good job Ballforlives!”

The people of New York really are hilarious. “Way to multi-task!” was my favorite, followed by, “Go Mr. Coordination!” and, “Oh sure, way to show off!” There were a few give and goes with both runners and fans. I told Ron at mile 2 that eventually someone would come from behind and steel the ball. Sure enough, by mile six, I got stripped from behind!

Like I said, the other runners were a huge help. We picked each other up when we saw someone struggling. Miles 9-13 were tough for me, which was pretty discouraging at the time. You know what it’s like to have your legs cramping knowing that you have to run another 15 miles?? But I just kept pace with Ron, who was doing great. At about mile 15 we hit the Queensborough bridge, which is considered the hardest part of the marathon. One mile incline, one mile decline. This was where Ron began to struggle along with a lot of other people. In trying to pick up Ron, we began talking about the Lord and the reason we were running this thing in the first place. A woman overheard us and said, “Keep preaching, you’re really helping me out!” By looking out for someone else, I was encouraging others without even realizing it.

Then we came upon the best part of the marathon: 1st Ave in Manhattan! Coming down the Queensborough Bridge, we could hear their cheering getting louder and louder. Hundreds of people were waiting for us at the exit of the bridge cheering us on. That run on 1st Ave was amazing! I had officially hit my “runner’s high.” The fans had all sorts of edible delights for us (of course after running 16 miles anything would taste amazing): bananas, chocolate, oranges, lollypops, twizzlers-but my favorite was when two girls called me over with a bowl in their hands. What did I find there? Hot wings! That was the best tasting chicken wing I had ever tasted!

Unfortunately, runner’s highs only last so long, and when the fans thinned out, I crashed! I really, really wanted to stop. But then, the Lord brought help right when I needed it. Two of Ron’s friends met us and ran with us till about mile 20. They were so encouraging and it’s thanks to them that I made it out of Manhattan. When you attempt something great for God, it is amazing how He puts people in your life to help you accomplish it. He’ll never leave you on your own.

At Mile 20, right before we hit the Bronx, we stopped to stretch. Now we knew we were going to make it. No matter how hard it was going to be, we had come this far and nothing was going to stop us. We had sacrificed too much to quit now.

Let me ask you this: if you could have one song to pump you up right before you entered the home stretch of a marathon, what would it be? You got it–Rocky Soundtrack baby!! Sure enough, the Bronx was blasting “Getting Stronger,” and man did I feel like I could have run three more marathons afterwards!

Unfortunately, even Rocky highs don’t last forever, and as we made it back into Manhattan I was exhausted. But sure enough, Ron’s friends met up with us again and helped carry our burden. The last five miles was one of the toughest physical experiences of my life. Ron was keeping an amazing pace, so I just made myself stick with him. At about mile 23, I had the ultimate New York experience of the day. A kid who was about nine or ten years old asked if he could see my basketball. When I gave it to him, he started running away with it! Yes, he gave it back.

When we entered Central Park, Ron’s friends had to leave the race, and the miles seemed longer and longer. The only thing I wanted more than rest was crossing the finish line. That’s why God tells us to stop focusing on ourselves and keep our eyes on the goal. I saw my sisters at Mile 25—I have never been so happy to see them in my life! In the last mile, Ron cramped to the point where he had to stop. It didn’t matter. We could have broken every bone in our bodies and we would have found a way to finish.

There it was! As I saw Ron’s hands rise to the sky, I saw the most wonderful, warm, welcoming site I had ever seen: the finish line! What an enormous burden was shed crossing that line! My quads cramped instantaneously when I slowed down, but it didn’t matter. We had accomplished something that could never be taken away from us. We now had memories for the rest of our lives of finishing the greatest marathon in the world. So many people in life quit when the pain comes and they miss out on something so much greater than they could ever comprehend; something so much greater than themselves.

What an experience! I still can hardly believe I dribbled the New York City Marathon. It boggles my mind why people settle for so much less than greatness. Be the best ball player you can be. Be the best spouse, parent, son or daughter, and sibling you can be. Fulfill your role in the Body of Christ and attempt things so amazing that you are destined to fail if God is not in it.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, world without end.”
- Ephesians 3:19-20

May each of you enjoy the satisfaction I enjoyed that day.

Occh

38,000 runners and countless fans lining the streets through all five boroughs of New York City–I planned to dribble 26.2 miles with a basketball in the largest marathon ever assembled! I barely slept that Saturday night, and it really didn’t matter. Adrenaline is quite an amazing thing when you are put in the spotlight.

We arrived three hours early in Staten Island where the madness was to begin. Ron broke out the “Sharpie” marker to write “Ballforlives.com” on my bright yellow shirt. Hey, this was free advertising! Above the web address he wrote “13 million orphans” which I thought was the approximate number of children orphaned by AIDS worldwide. The official number is actually 15 million, which is also about how many children live in the country of Germany. It was a pretty good reminder as to what motivated me to do all this in the first place.

As he marked up my shirt, we began to get a lot of visitors asking us to write their names on their shirts, arms, etc. It was great conversing with these people who were about to attempt the same feat we were. We had never met these people, yet we had a bond with them on this day. Again, we had become a part of something much greater than ourselves, and to make it through, we were going to need each other.

Throughout the morning I felt a little embarrassed that I was carrying a basketball. Our long shorts and big T-shirts already gave away that Ron and I were not runners, and there I was with a basketball in the middle of all these serious runners. Then the Spirit said, “You want to attempt something great and hide it from people? Are you embarrassed about saving the lives of orphans in Africa?” Then Ron took the ball from me and started dribbling it. A beautiful thing about people from Jersey City is that they really don’t care too much about what people think of them. In order to attempt something great, you really can’t.

That’s the thing about going for something bigger than you: when you rise above the masses of people living mediocre lives, you’re going to look weird. Of course there will be strange looks. Of course people will doubt. You know how many times I heard “You’re crazy!” That’s when you stay close to those who believe in you and remember Who it is that you believe in. All the glory was only going to one Person on this day.

Click here to continue to Part 2

Hundreds of hours were spent in my dark, dirty basement doing ball handling drills, thousands upon of thousands of shots were made in my back yard with no one else around. There were times when I would make a thousand shots (not layups) in one day! And if I got a lucky roll, it didn’t count. Details like left handed layups and dribbling, footwork, defense, quickness drills, and free throws were practiced for hours on end. Being the only kid in the gym was a normal occurrence for me. I was willing to do whatever it took to be great. However, I eventually had to learn a very frustrating lesson that Pat Riley stated perfectly:

“Hard work doesn’t guarantee you anything, but without it you don’t stand a chance.”

Isn’t that amazing? Sometimes (really often times) the hardest working kid on the team is on the end of the bench. It’s what makes basketball the most unfair game in the world: hard work guarantees you nothing.

I had a good high school career. I scored over 1300 points, had 36 points in one game, 19 points in one quarter–but all at a small Christian school. I never achieved the dominance I dreamed of, even at such a small level of high school basketball. I made a NCAA Division III college basketball team, and was on the team all four years—but rarely played. I had to watch players who didn’t touch a ball all summer play better than me every day in practice. The same guys who were out on Friday night while I was in the gym, were the same guys I cheered on while I was on the bench. Before my senior season started, my coach asked me to be a team captain. He told me that he loved my work ethic and example of leadership. Then, he told me something that I will never forget. He told me flat out that I wouldn’t play much that season. I accepted his offer, but my heart was crushed. Why had I worked so much harder than anyone else to sit the bench all the way up to my senior year? It wasn’t my coach’s fault. I didn’t play well enough to deserve time. Was all my work in vain? When “hard work doesn’t guarantee you anything” is it worth it??

Yes, it is! More than you could ever know, it is! All I want you to understand from this first article is that I understand very well what it is to work hard and sacrifice for the game of basketball. And even though I never achieved the greatness I hoped for, I wouldn’t give back any of the hours in my basement or back yard. I wouldn’t trade any of my years playing at Baptist Bible College for anything. Don’t misunderstand Pat Riley’s statement. Hard work does pay off. It simply doesn’t guarantee you the results you may be looking for. It may, and it may not. That’s the chance you take in life when you pour your heart into anything: a sport, your family, a girl—if you put everything into it, you may get your heart broken. That’s one of the great lessons the game of basketball can teach you. But regardless of the results, I can tell you from experience that hard work is worth every second of it.

Why is it worth it? That I will explain in my next article.

Until then, keep working hard!

Occh