StarlingВ no longer wondersВ what to do,В worriesВ what college path to follow, where it all might lead. Starling sleeps easier these nights in his dorm room on the La Lumiere campus. That investment would pay off with a scholarship offer вЂ“ one of many from collegesВ in all cornersВ ofВ the country вЂ“ to play for Notre Dame. вЂњI was like, вЂYeah, thisВ is what I want to do, so itвЂ™s time to invest in it.вЂ™вЂќ вЂњI got more serious,вЂќ he said of the game. It was mentally draining, but as I got older, I realized that it was necessary.вЂќД«yВ hisВ freshman year of high school, having also played quarterback and runningВ backВ in football before giving it upВ for hoops, StarlingВ realizedВ that whatever path in life he chose, basketball would be a part of it.В AВ big part of it. вЂњThatвЂ™s when I started loving the trainingВ and doing it more. вЂњI was young and didnвЂ™t know what gifts I had and what God had blessed me with,вЂќ Starling said. Starling realized then that he could be good at the gameВ and thatВ the game could be good to him.В InsteadВ of fighting his father about putting inВ longer hours,В he embraced it.В He missed hanging with his friends and doing stuffВ thatВ middle school kids do, but he understood that if he put in the work then, he would benefit it from it later. That normal ended in middle school with theВ additionalВ workouts. вЂњEven then, I didnвЂ™t understand how good I was,вЂќ Starling said. He played his first year of varsity atВ BakerВ High School when he was in eighth grade. When he was in first and second grade, he was playing against fifth and sixth graders. For the longest time, Starling had played older than he was when it came to the game. The more he trainedВ andВ the older he got, the more Starling realized why his father did what he did when he did. вЂњI would get mad at my dad for making meВ train harder.вЂќ вЂњKids my age, theyвЂ™re running around outside and stuff and IвЂ™m in the gym for hours with my dadВ andВ a trainer trying to stay mentally focused,вЂќ Starling said last week fromВ Marsch Gymnasium on the campus of La LumiereВ School in LaPorte, where heвЂ™sВ a senior. He didnвЂ™t want to put in extraВ timeВ doing extra work. For the first few days, really for the first few weeks, Starling pushed back. More.ДЄll of it supervised by his father,В Patrick, and a personal trainer. More sprints up and down the court and then up and down the court again.В More shots. WhenВ practice ended, Starling would watch his teammates, his friends, his guys,В pack their stuff and headВ for home.В For Starling, it was back to basketball.

Games like mad father