Where Are They Now: Xavier Norris
Q: How has it been for you & your family over the last year living in Eagle Butte on the reservation?
A: For myself & my family it’s been a journey but we’re still going strong together.
Q: Are you and your sisters still active in sports?
A: I’m still active with basketball and my siblings Ivy, Lisa, Xzander, Edward, and Xan are on a hiatus from cross country & others sports this summer working instead.
Q: What are your thoughts about CRYP and the impact it has had on you & others?
A: My thoughts on CRYP is that it’s one of the best places to go to on Cheyenne River. The Center helps build one’s confidence and it did just that for me and showed me different aspects of life aside from sports. The impact it has had on me has been great. I had a place to go, a place to be active and have fun. I made memories there as a kid that i still remember today as a 21 year old. It kept me off the streets and helped me from going down the wrong path.
Q: How did you feel about joining the Hero Effect crew as a PA for the CRYP Episode? What did you learn?
A: At first i felt very nervous about joining the crew but everyone on the crew made me feel like family and after it was all done I felt like I knew everyone for years. I learned a lot about photography and the whole process of how they make videos which is something that caught my interest.
Q: How did you get back to playing basketball? What are your plans with basketball?
A: I always kept playing basketball, doing what I could when there wasn’t a gym open. I took advice from my dad that there are no excuses to wanting to be the best. My plans are to finish my 2nd year of junior college strong then see what schools offer me a scholarship. I will also tryout at either South Dakota State or the University of South Dakota to try to get in as a walk on.
Q: What are you doing now? Where are you at in school?
A: Now I’m working 2 jobs in Eagle Butte to help my family out and to also take my siblings to Minnesota for the Valley fair. I’m at United Tribes Technical college in Bismarck, ND for Business management.
Q: What are your future goals and what do you hope to do after college?
A: My future goals for myself are to go as far as I can in basketball playing the sport I love and trying to play professionally anywhere. I also want to become a certified trainer in weight lifting and use basketball drills to help with the training. I plan to open up my own gym kind of like a Rec. center where kids and adults can go to to exercise. A small facility located around the reservation in South Dakota where athletes, kids or adults can exercise and work on enhancing their individual skills in different sports.