Q&A with New Rochelle HS basketball players Will Sears, KJ Manigaulte and Zyon Lord
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — It’s been an exciting season for New Rochelle High School’s basketball team. We meet the team captains as they lead with authority in their pursuit of a New York State Championship! Zyon Lord, senior, Will Sears, senior, and KJ Manigaulte, senior, share their vision and commitment to the sport of basketball.
What are you most excited about for this season?
Zyon Lord: I’m most excited to succeed with my teammates, my brothers!
KJ Manigaulte: Enjoying my last year with my brothers, I really believe our goal is attainable of making some noise and bringing back something for this city!
Will Sears: For this season, my biggest focal point was trying to get stronger, faster, because I came off a big surgery, which took me out my whole junior year, so I was at a physical disadvantage. Working my way back up is important to me!
What do you do to stay in a routine, and how do you balance school and sports?
Lord: I stay consistent with my schedule, class, practice, homework, shower, and sleep.
Sears: I like to work on my body, in the morning before I go to school. I just lift weights I have at home. That’s how I get my work intake to get ready for the day. It definitely gets challenging at times with the course load and being a senior. College can be stressful, especially with basketball. I would say I really have to cut my free time. I tell my friends I have priorities right now.
Manigaulte: These last four years of being a high school student have been challenging while being on the national honor society because work does pile up. Having good time management skills helps me a lot! Outside of our team lifts, I try to get as many shots in as possible.
What do you do when you are faced with adversity?
Lord: Stay positive and keep working on my goal.
Sears: I turn to God personally. Anytime I felt alone, I just told myself God got me. I’m going to be all right.
Manigaulte: I always believe it could be worse, so I try to dig deep and focus on the task at hand.
What are your hobbies?
Lord: Video games or relaxing and watching TV.
Sears: When we aren’t playing basketball, we are eating, I think that’s how’s we all got our team bonding and team chemistry to where we want it to be. Just in my free time, I like to spend time with my dog; he’s like a little brother to me, especially since my brother is in college now.
Manigaulte: Outside of playing basketball, I like being with my friends and watching basketball!
Do you have aspirations for college basketball?
Lord: Of course!
Sears: Actually, I just want to be a student in college; I don’t really have any college aspirations as of now. I don’t know what the near future holds because my junior was taken out [due to the surgery], and that is the most important year for basketball.
Manigaulte: Right now, I’m focused on some division 3 schools, like Hamilton College and Ithaca College.
Leaving this conversation, this interviewer can’t help but feel the wholesomeness in the brotherhood of this team. The commitment they have to sharing life we each other is clearly benefiting them.
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