Tommy Waszaj (pictured with his Club America teammates, #11) is well known in central New Jersey as being a member of the long-range shooting Waszaj family. Tommy carried the family reputation well as he scored over 1000 points in his TCS career…many from behind the 3 point arc. Tommy continued his career collegiately, first at Nyack College and than a 3-year all conference career at NCAA division III, Baptist Bible College.
One would think that Tommy’s basketball heritage and success could’ve been predicted, but that’s not the case. Tommy was an under-sized jv player and didn’t score his first varsity points until his 11th grade year in high school. The ‘late-bloomer’ status makes Tommy’s basketball career look more like a shooting star than a guaranteed prodigy.
The star continues to streak across the sky for Tommy Wasjaz as he was offered an opportunity to go Pilar, Paraguay to play for the professional basketball team, Club America. Tommy is participating in month-long tournaments for 2 months as part of Club America’s off-season team in attempt to be offered a season contract. Tommy was quoted as feeling great about his teammates and the competitive experience. He also says his biggest obstacle to basketball success might be learning how to speak spanish at break-neck speeds. “I thought I knew a decent amount of Spanish, but I’m in an atmosphere where everyone speaks it so fast….” Tommy also feels like he is growing more off the court than on it, “God has definitely been watching over me & growing me. Playing internationally is so much more than just basketball. It’s been an incredible growing experience for me.”
For Tommy, as for everyone in life, this story is not so much about the conclusion as it is about the journey. It appears that this shooting star is making use of every moment of that journey.