By: Joshua Santiago
Lakeland, FL — Ever since he was a kid, Erickson Bans had a love for staying active and being physical, such as doing one of his favorite activities, slap-boxing! Bans’ love for moving all the time has led to a future of playing the game he loves: basketball.
While many kids may have grown up inside playing video games or watching television, Bans found fun while being outside and constantly moving. “This is gonna sound a little crazy, but as a kid I used to slap-box,” Bans explained. For those who do not know of this very interesting activity, slap-boxing practically consists of the same premise as normal boxing, but instead of using fists, open hands are used to inflict hits.
Along with slap-boxing, Bans also found entertainment in playing sports and recreational activities, such as basketball, football, tag, and dodgeball, to name a few. He mentioned how these were some of his favorite past times growing up. Of course, he would not be alone, as he would usually play these games with his close friends.
Some of the aforementioned activities and/or sports, like basketball, grew in Bans’ life. Basketball has become a very important piece of his life, but just like any other athlete, there are other parts of his life that don’t necessarily have to do with basketball.
“This is kind of like my hidden talent, but I’m a good boxer,” Bans says. He went on to explain just how boxing has played a key role in helping him play basketball. He works with his trainer on taking his boxing skills to the extreme and this, in turn, helps him mentally prepare himself for both practice and games. As boxing remains an activity that Bans does in his free time to help him stay sharp on the court, golf is an activity that he has recently gotten into, more so for leisure.
Bans currently plays basketball at Florida Southern College. Last year, his playing time had to stop, however, after he suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for quite some time. During the recovery process, he had to use crutches and had a brace on his injured knee. With that being said, Bans obviously had to face several different challenges on his road to recovery from his season-ending knee injury.
“I mean, at first, it was just accepting the fact, you know, that my year was over and I had to start my journey of recovery,” Bans said. There were other factors that he mentioned could also help speed or slow the recovery of the knee injury. Bans said that he has always been a motivated person, and that during this process of healing, he was determined to come back stronger than before. He would also mention that he would give it his all at physical therapy sessions and that one of the biggest challenges of all was the mental battle. “My biggest thing was just staying determined, taking every day for what it is, and trying to get better and improve as an individual person,” Bans said in the last steps of recovery.
On the court, Bans has had some incredible highlights and moments in his career. Off the court, he wants to have just as much, if not more, incredible moments, just in this game of life. “When all is said and done, I want to be remembered as a good and genuine person…the kid who always came in smiling, always had good energy, and just overall a good person,” Bans explained. He would also mention that everyone wants to reach that goal of being a good person, but it all comes down to a person’s perspective on what that is.
Starting off as a kid who would slap-box with his friends to becoming a college basketball player, Bans has constantly been on the move. He is currently working back from the injury to return for the upcoming season.
Photo Credits: https://fscmocs.com/facilities/george-w-jenkins-field-house/33