Perseverance - The story of Dinma

Coach David Heeb
Dec 28, 2016
3 min read

"That which does not kill me only makes me stronger."

This is one of my favorite quotes because it is so true. Life is going to punch you right in the face. People are going to let you down. You're going to get your feelings hurt. It's what you do AFTER the heartbreak, AFTER the letdown, and AFTER the setback that is going to define you as a person.

When I coached basketball, I would get so focused (obsessed) that when the season ended, I didn't know how to fill my free time. During the season, we had games or practice six days a week. A typical practice was 2-3 hours long, and that wasn't counting getting to school early for free throw practice, the weight lifting routine we had, etc, etc, etc... so when the season was over, and that routine was gone, I had to find a way to fill my free time.

To keep myself from going crazy, I found a new hobby at the end of every season. One year I learned to play the guitar. The next year I decided I wanted to learn to BBQ really well, made my own BBQ sauce from scratch, etc. The next year I wanted to learn how to make my yard look better, bought a sprinkler and some fertilizer and grass seed. These were all things I was TERRIBLE AT LOL!!! I'm not saying I got better at any of them, but they helped me pass the time.

One off-season I tried to learn to draw. I would take a picture in the newspaper of one of my players and make a sketch about his character trait. I made one about CJ Hadley, who was a fierce competitor, and the captions said "RELENTLESS" and gave the definition of relentless. I made one for Dom Johnson, who had overcome incredible personal struggles at home, and it said "PERSEVERANCE," and in the caption it said "That which does not kill me only makes me stronger." I thought this pictured summed Dom up as a person and as a player.

When Dom went to college at Illinois State University in Bloomington, IL, he took this sketch with him. It was framed up. It looked nice, and Dom hung it in his room. At the time, I was coaching college basketball at Robert Morris University in Springfield, IL, which is about an hour south of Bloomington. I got to go see a lot of Dom's games and practices. I got to know a few of the guys on his team.

One day I was at practice, and when practice ended this 6'8 power forward walked up to me and asked, "Are you Coach Heeb, Dom's high school coach?" I said yes. He introduced himself as Dinma, and he thanked me for the picture. He said it meant a great deal to him. I had no idea what Dinma was talking about. It was the first time I'd met him! But I said "you're welcome."

Later I asked Dom what the heck he was talking about. He explained to me that Dinma Odiakosa was from Nigeria. This was his first year in America. Dinma had gotten really, really homesick and was having a hard time in school. Dom, who is one of the greatest teammates I've ever coached or been around, decided to give Dinma the picture. He explained to Dinma that somebody (me) had given it to him as a reminder that no matter how hard things get, if you can make it to the other side of the struggle, you're going to be stronger for it.

So that silly sketch that I made not only ended up being a constant reminder of strength for Dom, but it also ended up giving strength to a boy from Nigeria when he needed it most. THE MORAL OF THE STORY... you never know how what you're doing right now is going to impact other people, for better or for worse. In this life, we're not all going to get rich or drive a fancy car, but we can help each other. That's what life should be about, people helping people.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!