Dorsey junior Adegheosha Asoro has been playing basketball for over two years and decided to compete in track and field this past season. In track, he ran the 400m and he also began learning how to compete in the triple jump.
“It’s been a roller coaster because it takes a toll on your legs and that hurts,” Asoro said about the triple jump. “Learning it, your first time doing it, you get confused. I had good teammates that have been doing it for a long time, so I was able to pick it up quickly.”
The perseverance he gained from the 400m helped Asoro in the triple jump.
“The 400m, it takes a toll on your legs,” Asoro said. “Triple jump is not as physically straining … doing the triple jump is easier for me.”
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Being a member of the boy’s varsity basketball team, he has become more accountable, which made him a better leader. A proud moment playing basketball was when he dunked during a game for the first time.
Asoro noted that the Dons were battling the Morningside Monarchs when he made the dunk.
“I was really excited about that,” he said. “I could dunk way before that, but it took me some time before I got my first in-game dunk.
Being a student athlete has been tough for Asoro because he balanced competing in sports with four Advanced Placement classes during this junior year: English, Biology, African American Studies, and U.S. History.
“With persistence, I would say I’m used to it,” Asoro said. “To other people, it’s a lot of work.”
AP African American Studies is his favorite class. Through that class, Asoro learned more about the history of slavery in the United States.
The tests for the Advanced Placement classes took place around the time of the CIF City Section championships. Asoro found ways to focus on his studies while preparing for the track meet.
“I have good coaches and they believe in me, so I wasn’t really worried about how I was going to do in the prelims,” he said. “It took a burden away from me.”
Outside of academics and athletics, Asoro is a member of Students Deserve.
“They protest police being in schools,” he said. “LAUSD spends six million dollars on school police. They protest to LAUSD to diverge some of that money to problems that are needed.”
Asoro aspires to compete on the collegiate level and become a pilot.
“I plan on playing sports in college, either track or basketball. I’m also gonna study aerospace engineering,” he said. “I’ve always loved airplanes since I was a kid.”
