A crowd of teachers, parents and students wearing pink t-shirts gather on the gym bleachers. They cheer on the varsity boys basketball team during senior Bowen Xia’s first ever senior night as a frosh player on the team. Unlike a typical senior night, however, the team came together not just to honor the seniors, but also in the memory of a teammate’s mother who recently passed. Although the team lost the game, what stood out to Bowen was the camaraderie and support of the players for each other.

Bowen started playing basketball at his school in fourth grade after being introduced to the sport by his dad, and his love for the sport pushed him to join a club basketball team in fifth grade. Continuing to play both school and club basketball, Bowen’s skills as a player improved and he continued to connect with the friends he met playing basketball.

“You meet a lot of people through basketball,” Bowen said. “A lot of my teammates from outside of school, I still keep in touch with to this day. But also, I like to play a lot with my friends. It’s just a good way to bond with them and have conversations with them — while we’re playing basketball.”

In his senior year, Bowen became a captain of the varsity team, obtaining the chance to continue honing his leadership and basketball skills. He grew to understand how to bring the team together like he had seen during senior night as a frosh.

“For one, I’ve learned to interact with a lot of different types of people,” Bowen said. “Whether they’re quiet, whether they like to talk a lot, whether they don’t really listen to directions. Being a captain, I have to understand how different people respond to how you talk to them and view them.”

Bowen’s kindness allows him to be a leader on and off the court. Close friend senior Jeffrey Zhang met Bowen in sixth grade and notices how his personality sets him apart as a basketball player.

“Although he’s a really competitive athlete, he knows when to be caring and share,” Jeffrey said. “I’ve just grown to have more respect for him as we become closer. He’s understanding as well. You can talk to him about whatever, whether it’s school or outside school.”

Basketball not only taught Bowen how to be a better leader, but also the value of determination. Despite being smaller than many players on his club team, his commitment to practicing on his own helped him to improve. Because he understands the work it takes to become a good player, Bowen helps to inspire others on the team to work hard and advance their skills.

“Basketball has taught me self-accountability,” Bowen said. “If you go to practices or games, there are always coaches telling you what to do and making sure you work hard. But a lot of how you develop as a basketball player is that you have to take it upon yourself to set your own standard. This mindset has carried on to when I do schoolwork or extracurriculars.”

Varsity boys basketball coach Alfredo Alves admires how Bowen’s determination and competitiveness make him an essential part of the team. Through coaching Bowen in club and school basketball, Alves watched the development of his skills as a basketball player and a leader.

“There was a game that we played, it was a tough game and we were losing,” Alves said. “For me, at that moment, something clicked for Bowen to where he took over the game, in a sense, defensively and offensively. He scored seven points straight and got us the lead. You could just see his intensity level raised during that time and he definitely helped us win that game.”

Bowen’s determination not only helped him as a basketball player, but also spread to people around him. Close friend senior Kai Hong met Bowen in ninth grade and attests to Bowen’s determination, and notices how it inspires him to be better with time management.

“Bowen is definitely a positive influence on my life,” Kai said. “His values are very upright, righteous, and I respect a lot of traits that he has. He has helped me grow better academically as well. Sometimes when I procrastinate and I tell him I haven’t started this essay or haven’t started this research paper, he’s very real with me.”

Although Bowen stopped playing club basketball, he coaches for his old club basketball team and helps train his younger sister. Coaching taught Bowen to be more patient, helped him improve as a leader and brought him and his sister closer together.

“Basketball connected us a lot,” Bowen said. “Basketball has been one of the points that we can connect to through and engage with each other through. It’s cool to see her play the sport as well. With basketball, I’ve been able to become much closer with my sister, and I would definitely want to keep that for the rest of my life.”