Zach Light, Northfield Mount Hermon ’18/Colgate

Zachary Light
Northfield Mount Hermon, 2018
Residence:  Upper East Side, Manhattan
Years in Mo’ Motion:  8 (since grade 4, still checks in)
College:  Colgate University
Favorite Basketball Player of All-Time: Chris Mullin

Background: Zach Light started playing for Mo’ Motion on Mo’s first grade 5 boys team back in 2010. Throughout middle school, AAU teams and other teams in NYC tried to get Zach to play for them, but he and his family believed strongly in repetitions, fundamentals and learning the game properly. Zach made JV at Riverdale as an eighth grader, and varsity as a freshman and sophomore.  In the fall of his sophomore year after experiencing the best and worst of metro sponsored teams in AAU basketball, Zach played at a local showcase event.  At this event, John Carroll, the head of coach of Northfield Mount Herman, picked Zach out of a gym full of hoops hopefuls. NMH currently has alum playing in 19 different colleges today. “If Northfield Mount Hermon was its own state,” Carroll said, “it’d be the third most represented state in the Ivy League behind Texas and California.” Read more on NMH hoops in USA Today or go right to Zach’s Q&A.

 

On a scale of 1 to 10, how healthy is your diet?

ZL: I would say a 7.

 

What are your food weaknesses?

ZL: Chocolate cake is my weakness.

 

How many hours of sleep do you need to feel good as a student-athlete?

ZL: Nine hours of sleep per night.

 

What other fun things to you like to do in your free time?

ZL: I like to sleep, eat, and watch classic movies.

When did you know that basketball was your favorite sport?

ZL: When I was 12.

 

Why is it your favorite sport?

ZL: The speed of the game and the whole dynamic of so many moving parts make me love it.

 

What is your favorite thing to do on the basketball court?

ZL: Play defense or shoot.

Who is the person/persons who influenced you the most in your basketball career?

ZL: Probably my dad or Mo (Maureen). They have had the strongest influence on me.

What are your short or long term goals as a basketball player?

ZL: To be in a mid-high Division I collegiate program.

What are you short or long term goals as a student?

ZL: My goals are to stay consistent and always progress.

Any ideas on what you want to be when you grow up?

ZL: I’m still not sure yet.

How was your first day at Mo’ Motion like?

ZL: It was painful. All we did was run and learn how to make a one handed layup. In the end, it was a great experience though.

What is your favorite Mo’ Motion memory?

ZL: My favorite memory is of beating the Boys Club of East Harlem on a buzzer-beater by Max Peponis.

 

Describe your experience at Mo’ Motion.

ZL: Starting in fourth grade, Mo’ Motion taught me three important principles: 1) There is always room for improvement 2) You’re expected to always give it your all and 3) You leave it all on the court.

 

If you were to describe Mo to someone, what would you say?

ZL: Maureen is one of the toughest people I know. She knows how to motivate and make you better. She’s always pushing players in order for them to get to the next level.

 

Do you do injury prevention or mobility training exercises regularly? If yes, what exercises or sets of exercises?

ZL: Yes. Mo gave me a bunch of exercise sets when my back and hips started to hurt and I have continually done them to this day.

What do you think is the most important skill an athlete can have?

ZL: Physically – it’s quickness. Mentally – it’s a sense of urgency.

 

What is your favorite athletic quote?  

ZL: “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up” – Jimmy Valvano

 

Check out the photos of Zach from the Motion Archives.  Next month’s Mo’ Motion spotlight will be of Autumn Truesdale, who grew up in Harlem, attended The Chapin School and then transferred to Berkshire.