Sophomore continues basketball career on varsity

At a young age, most people discover what they enjoy doing. As time goes on, most discover whether or not what they want to pursue their talent and turn it into a future career. Sophomore John Tonje is no exception to this rule when it comes to basketball.

“I started playing basketball in second grade when I was about seven,” Tonje said. Though this is a relatively young age, Tonje had played other sports before and then came to the conclusion that basketball was for him.

“My dad put me in soccer and I just didn’t really like it,” Tonje said. Tonje is the first in his family to venture into the world of basketball, because everyone else in his family plays soccer. Because of this, it was not his family who introduced him to basketball but rather he began playing recreationally at the YMCA. Since then, he has played with various other clubs and teams.

“I’ve played for the North High’s freshman team, Omaha Warriors, Team Nebraska Express and McMillan Middle School,” Tonje said. This is Tonje’s first year at Central, so with a year of high school basketball experience at Omaha North, he plans on trying out for Central’s team.

“I’m trying to ball on varsity,” said Tonje. After high school, Tonje hopes to continue his basketball education in college. “I want to go to DePaul,” Tonje said. The DePaul University Blue Demons is a D1 program located in Chicago.

Though Tonje loves basketball enough to continue it after high school, there are times that prove difficult to him.

“It’s hard to keep my composure when we’re losing. I tend to give up on plays,” Tonje said. But he pulls himself together in the end for his team’s sake. It is difficult for him to maintain his cool when losing because like most athletes, he does not like to lose.

“I like to win,” Tonje said. He contributes some of the success and good fortune that he has on the court to one of his coaches from the Omaha Warriors, Coach Skip.

“He taught me the basics, everything I’ve proven I know right now.” His experiences with coaches have not always been positive though.

“They don’t invest in players,” said Tonje in reference to the coaches at Omaha North. But even through times such as those, he kept his love for the game.
Now that Tonje has grown and succeeded as a basketball player in high school, he has advice to give to younger players that plan on making it far in the game.

“Play against the best competition that you can, it will pay off.”