Athleticism runs in Vijay Singh’s blood. His father played soccer and cricket, and his mother did track and field. But at just 6-years-old Singh decided that he would not follow in either of his parent's footsteps, instead, he’d carve his own path in the game of basketball.
“I was watching the Raptors one day, and I think it was DeMar DeRozan who was playing and stuff and he had a very good shooting game. Right after that, I started to take an interest. I started throwing the basketball on my school window because I couldn’t play on the basketball net,” the now 16-year-old said.
His interest led him to play for his high school team as a shooting guard. Singh had just started school at that time, and still relished the experience of making it to the Championship semi-finals on his first try.
“It was a really good experience and stuff. It was my first year, and a lot of the grade ten players were leading us, but it was a good experience,” he said.
He shares he’s driven to do his best by the exhilaration he feels whenever he touches the court. “It’s a team sport and stuff so everybody gets a touch of the ball, and my teammates always cheer me on when I have the ball. But what I most like about the game is pretty much the hype of it, people are always excited and stuff,” he said.
And it’s an excitement his family shares too. Singh credits them for always motivating and supporting him.
“My family supports me on and off the court. Whenever I have a bad game my dad always tells me ‘don’t worry about it, there’s gonna be plenty more games. And my mom just tells me to keep my confidence up,”- Vijay Singh
After playing with P.H.A.S.E.1 in Thornhill last summer, and being inspired by founder Wayne Dawkins's own basketball journey, Singh decided to join P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy Canada.
“I think my skills have improved. Not just in my shooting, but my coaches tell me to attack a lot more because I’m always going to have somebody on me,” he said.
Ultimately, Singh said he wants to go pro, and eventually play for the Toronto Raptors- the team that first introduced him to the game.
“I’ve been working on my game for pretty much my whole life. Ever since I was very young.”
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