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It was a home game against Riverside\u2019s rivals from Nashville. Riverside was down by two points with mere seconds left on the clock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy buddy, Eli, passed me the ball, and with about 10 seconds left, I hit the game-winning shot,\u201d Eldridge said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was the perfect way to kick off his high school basketball career as a freshman, but that didn\u2019t mean he didn\u2019t face setbacks. Until the ninth grade, Eldridge had several coaches from different leagues and levels. But he started playing under coach Troy Slone in high school.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I got to high school, it was completely different,\u201d Eldridge said. \u201cYou know, everyone is bigger, everyone is better, and it’s just a hard transition, but having him the whole time, we formed a really close bond. We still keep in touch, and he’s just a really great guy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slone taught Eldridge a lot about the game. He taught him a lot about winning. But more importantly, he taught him the importance of learning from the losses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe really made an impact on my life,\u201d Eldridge said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Slone wasn\u2019t the only one in Eldridge\u2019s corner. Whether he was playing in Nashville, Huntsville, or Chattanooga, whether winning or losing, Eldridge\u2019s \u201cpapa,\u201d Dan Mills, would be in the stands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe played basketball way back in the day,\u201d Eldridge said. \u201cI knew he would always be there, and he would encourage me. I always wanted to play well when he was sitting there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with support from coaches and family, being a student-athlete isn\u2019t easy. Away games kept Eldridge out of town until midnight or later. Keeping up with schoolwork was challenging, and he felt a lot of pressure to lead his team. Luckily, for Eldrige, he was never in it alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli Wright, who helped him make that legendary play during his freshman year, was by his side, on and off the court, for seven years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe became really close,\u201d Eldridge said. \u201cI guess you could say we were kind of a dynamic duo.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The two of them were team leaders together first in middle school. It stayed that way through their final season when they served as co-captains of the varsity team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had a lot of pressure on us,\u201d Eldridge said. \u201cTrying to lead the team together and keep everything positive, keeping everybody working hard and motivated was a challenge.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n They made a great pair. In their senior year, Eldridge made the all-conference first team, and Wright made the all-tournament first team. They played through some very successful seasons, but no win beat the friendships they made along the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI played with some of the most amazing guys,\u201d Eldridge said. \u201cI loved playing at home, but the way trips made it \u2014 riding on the bus with everybody and cutting up \u2014 you know, those memories are gonna last forever. The team atmosphere was more like a family, really.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it came time to leave Riverside, Eldridge had the opportunity to walk on at Freed Hardeman University but decided not to. It was too big of a commitment for a college student without any scholarship money. He was ready to move on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you sign up to play, they own you,\u201d he said .\u201dI still love basketball more than anything in the world, but it was my time to quit. I just went to college to get my degree and to have fun.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, Eldridge works as a relationship officer at the First National Bank in Pulaski. He gives out loans and helps customers. And he\u2019s having a lot of fun doing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At first glance, a bank and a basketball court couldn\u2019t be more distinct. One is designed to celebrate athleticism, host friendly competition, and hone players\u2019 sportsmanship and skill. The other is a place to deposit checks, apply for a loan, or open a savings account. But both are vibrant arenas for togetherness, self-betterment, and discipline. Eldridge has mastered them both. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two lessons he says that basketball taught him that he carries with him today: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFailure is gonna happen. I lost a lot of games over the years, and I think that really prepares you for life because not everything’s gonna always go your way. You’re gonna fail, but, you know, always coming back and always working harder is what’s gonna get you through it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSecond is to rely on others. You have to rely on your team to win and to succeed. The people I work with now, they’re like my teammates. I have to work with a lot of different people to make it happen. I learned from an early age that you can’t do it by yourself. You gotta rely on a lot of other people.\u201d GN <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FROM INSPIRATIONAL NBA athletes and talented teammates to dedicated family members and compassionate coaches, former Riverside Christian basketball player Will Eldridge had a slam-dunk support system.\u00a0 His dad and two older brothers were athletes, so he started playing sports before he could remember. They\u2019d pass the time by throwing a football around in the backyard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":20195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/fayetteville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/08\/3-1-1024x683.png\")
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