![Tomas Mejía, during the CISA tournament](http://thediscoverer.columbus.edu.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screen-Shot-2024-05-03-at-2.44.53-PM.png)
8th grader Tomas Mejia debuts with the high school basketball team in the inaugural CISA (Caribbean International Sport Association) tournament.
Discover the experience of Tomas Mejia in the High School CISA tournament. His remarkable performance defies age expectations. Through dedication and discipline, Mejia’s story displays the resilience and talent of young athletes on a bigger stage.
“Middle school games are way different because I know am the biggest one, but in high school that is not the case”, Tomas Mejia, 8th grade, said.
If a student wants to compete at an HS level being an MS student, they need to be prepared for everything. Faster moves, complicated plays, stronger opponents, and tough environments. Tomas Mejia emphasized the importance of absorbing knowledge from other teammates and transferring all he sees and learns into improvements for his career.
“I have been playing with other players for almost three years now, and it’s been very, very, full of good things, learning and lessons. So I’m going to keep doing it and see what I can transfer to my career,” Tomas Mejia, 8th grade, said.
When an athlete performs with high-stress levels, their performance decays significantly. Through the years of experience, Mejia has created a pre-game ritual to cope with pressure and stress. In sports, some of these rituals are done by players before important games, and Mejia isn’t the exception.
“My pregame ritual is usually to listen to music, so I can get into my zone. So it was and has always been my favorite ritual to do before games,” Tomas Mejia, 8th grade, said.
Having the nerve to play at a high level isn’t the only thing needed to succeed in the male Basketball team at TCS. Trust and respect between players are always needed for the team to function properly, it is the piece that keeps the team mechanism running. Over the years, the entrance to the team hasn’t been a struggle for Mejia, he has been received with open arms.
“I felt very welcome to the team because everyone was very nice to me, especially the older ones. And I will always be appreciative of that, I think it was one of the things that made me succeed,” Mejia shared.