Christmas came early for Quitman High School 8th grader, Shane Reed. It wasn’t Santa who did the gift bearing though and it didn’t arrive on a sleigh. Instead the presents received came from NBA player Justin Holiday, who annually hosts a basketball camp at Louisiana Tech sponsored by the Boys and Girls Club of North Louisiana.
It was at the camp this past summer that Reed had the opportunity to connect with Holiday. The lanky post player for the junior high Wolverines made an impression on Holiday. During one of their conversations Reed stated that he would like to have a pair of shoes like the ones Holiday was wearing. To his surprise, Holiday said he would send him a pair.
Much to his delight and surprise, recently a package arrived that contained not only the pair of shoes that he coveted, but mutiple shoes, including a pair signed by Holiday. Also included was workout gear from Holiday’s current team, the Atlanta Hawks and additional Nike merchandise.
“Shane has a love of the game of basketball and spends all his time practicing and trying to improve his game,” said Reed’ mother, Yvonne” He has favorite basketball players and team but only one has made an impact on his heart. That is Justin Holiday.”
Shanes parents, Yvonne and Brandon, were in awe by the the way Holiday reached out to their son during the camp and now after fulfilling the pledge the NBA veteran made, monthls later .
“Words can’t describe how we felt during the moment that he was opening the box. We can never thank Justin enough for remembering the pledge he made to Shane and for the life lessons he taught at the camp.”
“Confidence, patience, dedication and hard work are just a few of the things he has learned from him,” continued Yvonne. “We and everyone who was involved with the camp, owe Justin a big thanks for being such a great role model and showing them anything is possible if they work for it.”
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