My name is Sumeer Gill and I was born in Bakersfield, CA but was raised for most of my life in Delano, CA. I grew up on a farm with a family of 8 including my grandparents and my aunt. My mother and father immigrated from India separately. My father in the 1970’s and my mother in the 1990’s when she married my father.
Growing up I was in love with the farm and helping the workers pick grapes or driving a tractor around. I was always a good student and often tried to help other students if they were struggling with some concept or problem. In the 4th grade I fell in love with basketball and really started to get interested in it. I credit my coach for the school basketball team (who was also my 4th grade teacher) for helping me improve in all aspects. At the time I was still playing baseball which was my first love. Then came 6th grade year when I had to make the toughest decision in the my life up to that point. I had to choose between baseball and basketball. It took a long time for me to make a decision and commit fully to one sport but in the end, basketball took the trophy.
From that point on I started training a couple times a week in Bakersfield with kids I would grow up and see and be friends with for years to come. I went to 3 different high schools which allowed me to be adaptable to surroundings and people. Playing basketball, I started all my 4 years on varsity, and I played well enough to get some interest from a DII school called Fresno Pacific where my head coach of my junior year was coaching. There was also a community college called Fresno City that was known for their prowess in basketball. I chose Fresno City because it gave me more options after my two years.
Unfortunately, throughout the year I sprained an ankle and played for the latter half of the year on it. In retrospect it wasn’t a smart decision because it led to me getting Achilles tendinitis and after that year when we lost in the Final Four game, I decided I had nothing left to give to basketball. I am still trying to find new passions but so far I have started getting into weightlifting and I want to join a basketball Sunday league or something just to get some running in. Hopefully in this year I will discover more new things about myself and the world!
Sumeer Gill's Blog 