Sports

Roman Perez aka da Gift has love and passion for the game of basketball

Published

4 years ago

January 20, 2021

Sports can be played for fun and recreation, but for many it can change our lives forever. For professional basketball player Roman Perez, the game of basketball has helped him succeed in his life but also impact many along his journey. On and off the court he’s a leader, and through his story he hopes to continue to motivate others to never lose hope on their dreams and goals.

Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Brooklyn, New York, his story starts in the neighborhood of Williamsburg. Falling in love with game at a young age, but not playing or practicing were some of the obstacles he faced. His community was dangerous to be around and this resulted to his parents not letting him go out to the playgrounds. Instead, he would collect basketball cards, play basketball videos games, and be creative at home with his younger brother Jay Perez.

As a kid his dreams was to prove his peers that he was a good basketball player, but the result was being mistreated in his younger years because of his lack of skills. Getting cut from 6th – 12th grade and his first year in college, only motivated Roman to continue to fight for what he wanted to accomplish. His parents trusted him in his late teen years to finally go out to the parks. He made sure to take advantage of the open opportunity to train and work hard on his skills, to improve and become better daily.

After years of this regimen, his continuation and dedication paid off when he played for his first organized team in college. Years of practicing in the parks, and playing in New York city asphalts tournaments helped him reach this goal. Transferring to his second school, his dreams were getting closer. He made the leap to play professionally, proving himself that with discipline and perseverance we can accomplish lots in our lives. He’s an active basketball player, and is currently a member of the world-famous Court Kingz basketball team where he will be using his home nickname “da Gift”.

Off the basketball court he’s the founder of the Dudo Baez foundation, which is named after his late father. The foundation provides inner city adults and youths with camps, clinics, and tournaments. It’s based in the Dominican Republic, New York and growing in different parts of the world. His goal is to give hope for those who are in need of it through the game. He’s a mentor and motivational speaker as well, leaving others with self-belief in their individual lives.

The Roman Perez story is one of never giving up and the fruit of success will be there waiting. He currently trains his daughter Leia Perez, in hopes of her personal success in her journey with the game of basketball. Lastly, his upcoming documentary “I am Victorious’, is set to release later this year on social media platforms.

Check out Roman Perez at

www.romanperez.net

And his Instagram-

www.instagram.com/romanperez4

Sports

Why Todd Graves Is Driven To Innovate Golfing Techniques and Inspire Future Athletes

Published

10 months ago

November 28, 2023

Jonathan Grilli

When you look up the history of sports and how it changed over the years, you will find several influential public figures and athletes’ names at the top of unique inventions. After all, those who play the sport, also know what could improve and popularize it. Todd Graves is one of those individuals with a passion for golf and sports innovation.

He is an innovative thought leader and business expert with nearly 50 years of experience in the golf community. He practiced golf under the training and guidance of Murray “Moe” Norman, the world-renowned PGA golfer of the 20^th Century. Norman was one of the most influential figures in the golf community with his unique techniques and innovative methods to approach the game.

His contributions and golf skills earned him the nickname of “Pipeline Moe”, mainly for his unmatched ability to hit one straight shot after another with the slightest deviation in the ball’s trajectory. As his protégé, Todd Graves vowed to be among the leading sports personalities and innovators in the golf space. He worked on the single-plane swing technique modeled by his mentor, Moe Norman over his professional career.

It is a technique that helps a golfer reduce strain on the lower back while increasing the consistency and frequency of making a solid impact with the ball. Before, it was limited in practice to highly experienced golfers with immense knowledge of kinetic movements and swinging techniques. Today, Todd Graves’ contributions have enabled the wide use and adoption of the single-plane swing method in the global golf community.

The pro golfer believes that innovation is a key component of progress and without progress, humanity could come to a standstill. Whether it is progress in the personal, professional, or sports world, every great athlete should strive for it and reach their maximum potential, according to Todd Graves. To bring new knowledge to a wider audience around the world, he recently partnered with Barry Morrow, who is a famous American screenwriter and film producer credited with co-writing the screenplay for the movie Rain Main (1988).

Graves partnered with Oscar-winning Barry Morrow to create a documentary on the life and achievements of the great pro golfer, Moe Norman. Through the documentary, Todd wishes to inspire athletes and motivate golfers to bring innovation to their gameplay. Todd Graves shares his drive for bringing innovation and catalyzing change in the sports world with aspiring athletes, pro golfers, and students.

Graves’s inspiration comes from his dedication to the advancement of sports science. He spent a better part of his career with kinesiology experts and sports scientists to discover intricate details involved in various physical activities, also including golf. He identified potential risk injuries, analyzed their occurrences, and gathered factual data with the help of scientists.

He aims to portray actual findings in his upcoming documentary and inspire young athletes to be more than participants in national and international competitions. Todd Graves stands as one of the most influential and inspirational figures in the golf community and has earned association with several famous personalities including Ben Hago, and Tiger Woods, among others.