By Kyle Adams

On March 13, Valley Central High School shut its doors due to the coronavirus. Che Conde-Rodriguez has not set foot in a classroom since then, although he now has his diploma.

Next fall he plans on starting college at SUNY Orange, where he will play basketball and major in business administration.

“I plan to go there to start college, just to save money. After my two years there I plan on going on to a four-year school to continue my basketball journey and education. I want to focus on marketing,” Rodriguez said.

He has a few career paths that he’s interested in. One way or another, Che hopes to still be involved in sports

“It would be cool to play basketball overseas, anywhere professionally. I’m going to look into that, but if it doesn’t work out then I’ll start looking for internships in the city,” he said.
While Rodriguez hopes to be able to pay off his college expenses by playing basketball, he has strong entrepreneurial goals for the future.
“I’ve always wanted to stay in sports and be around sports. I guess owning a team or some type of sports company would be my dream.”
After growing up playing baseball, and a brief stint on the lacrosse field while in middle school, basketball proved to be the right sport for Che.
“Originally I was a baseball player because of my dad, who’s a baseball fanatic, but it was just kind of slow for me. I wanted a more fast-paced game where you’re always on your feet and doing something. I like to be able to make my own moves and craft my game.”

He credits playing travel basketball and the Valley Central junior varsity coaches for much of his improvement over the years.

Unfortunately the Vikings were not able to accomplish their goal of making the sectional tournament this year.

“We all thought we were a lot better than what was displayed. We knew games like where we would be outmatched, that would be tough and we did the best we could with what we had.”
He continued, speaking about what he’s been up to since school closed.

“I’ve been working a lot on my own, working on my craft. I’m just outside with my hoop and myself trying to get better. I’m doing drills that I’ve learned over the years, running every morning and hopefully we’ll be back in the gym soon.”

The Vikings senior captain has been a leader off the court as well. Traditionally Rodriguez would be going to senior events and getting ready to walk in graduation.

2020 is not a traditional year.

Rodriguez has spent the last few weeks participating in Black Lives Matter protests with his brother, Desi, and his parents.
“It’s sad to see people losing their lives because of the color of their skin and police brutality. It’s a shame that people of color might not feel safe just by going outside. We deserve the same rights that everyone else does. It wasn’t really talked about at all in school, so Philando Castile was the eye-opening moment for me, as well as getting called things when I was growing up.”
He continued.

“Growing up as a person of color, I faced adversity. People would look at me differently, bully me and call me names. Being out here and being able to show my support for everything this movement is about, for justice for all of us and to show that we are the same, it means a lot.”