Hmong SNC Spotlight- Aubrey Luvan

Hmong SNC Spotlight – September 2021 #2

Our September Spotlight #2 is a Junior at Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School. She is an outstanding libero on the HS Varsity team and is a special talent on the basketball court. The point guard for Team Iowa Elite 16U…. AUBREY LUVAN!!!…

As a kid, Aubrey’s father, Diamond was into competitive Taekwondo and basketball, so he wanted to give his kids the same opportunity. Therefore, he bought an outdoor hoop in the backyard, and started to teach Aubrey how to play basketball. Aubrey was a quick learner. She quickly pick up the fundamentals of basketball and fell in love with it. When she turn 8, her dad introduce her to AAU basketball, and she’s been playing ever since. Last season, Aubrey played on Team Iowa 16U Elite, that was coach by her dad. Although, she lack size, Aubrey was a floor general on the court and is deadly from the behind the arcs. The video above show some of her highlights from the Prep Girl Hoops Final.

Aubrey is also an outstanding libero in volleyball. Last season, she had the opportunity to play at Nationals in Vegas. Aubrey is quick on her feet and is able to read the hitter pretty well. Aubrey is currently playing on the varsity team so if you want to go support her, they will be playing a non-conference game against Dubuque Senior High School on September 21, 2021. 

I had the chance to interview with Aubrey and her parents….

Aubrey…

1. Who is your biggest supporter?

My biggest supporters are my parents because they are the reason why I get the opportunity to travel and play basketball. 

2. What is your future plans/ goals?

My goal for the future is to play basketball for college, no matter what level it is. As long as I get to play the sport that I love and to get a good education, that’s all that matters.

3. What is one thing sports have teach you?

One thing that sports has taught me is to play every game like it’s your last. You only live once so you have to make good use of it. Life is going to fly by and the only way to make it the fullest is to live everyday like it’s your last.

Aubrey’s Parents…

1. Do you guy travel to tournaments with your daughter? If so, What are the benefits and cons?

I coach her AAU team, so yes, we usually travel to every tournament as a family. We enjoy the travels and spending time with each other during travels. We consider it as our mini vacations, we got close to many families on the team, and consider them as our basketball families. Only cons there was, is you spending a lot of PTO for work and travel can get a little expensive. At the end we would do it all over again. 

2. What do you want your child to get out of their sports experience?

We do this not for the Wins, or the clout. We do this to better ourselves, not just as a basketball player, but as a person. You learn how to lose and get better. You learn how to battle back from behind and give it your all. You learn how to be discipline and go to every practice even if you’re tired. You learn that others are better than you and you should work harder to get to that level. You learn how to pick people up if they need help. Most importantly you learn how to work with people that strive for the same goals. 

3. How do you react when your child has a weak performance? Great performance?

After weaker performance games, we let her think about it on her own. After a day, we revisit the situation on film and try to learn from it and see then different options she could have done. After a good performance we are all happy to talk about the success she had and even watch the film almost instantly. 

4. What motivates you to sacrifice so much so that your child can play sports?

Well, first and foremost we enjoy it. Our whole family enjoys it, so I don’t see it as a sacrifice. Our youngest daughter enjoys it, she has been traveling with us since she was 4 years old, it’s a joy for her to be around all the older girls and to hang out with everyone. We have a lot of fun on and off the court. The basketball families you build relationships with are very supportive. This is how I also grew up as a kid, traveling to competitive Taekwondo and basketball tournaments was a big part of my childhood. Its great to see that my family is enjoying this more than my family did as a kid. Although it is a lot different now than in the 90s. Time flies by and one day I know we will miss it a lot. So, we are ok with building good memories now, as this part of our lives won’t last forever. 

5. 5 years down the road, what do you want your daughter to remember and value from their youth sports experience?

We want her to remember how we did this together as a family. We want her to know that we have unconditional support for her no matter what she does, even beyond basketball or sports. I want her to value all her teammates and coaches she encountered. All the hard work she put in over the years that gotten her to this point. One day sports for her will be over and that she knows how to be ready for the next competition that arrives in her life. 

6. What do you have to say to other parents who don’t want their kids in sports or is afraid of putting their kid in AAU or clubs? 

I don’t want to mislead any parents because with anything else there are some struggles in AAU ball, but I do believe the PROS out weights the CONS by a huge margin. You will be getting more out of it than just AAU ball, you will get the experience, memories and friendships that last forever. We are blessed to have another daughter coming up playing and the plan is to do it all over again. Many people don’t know but Aubrey also plays competitive club volleyball and is the starting libero for her Varsity High School team. This past summer she got the opportunity to play at Nationals in Vegas. This was kind of a surprise to us, and we did not figure this into our budget, so yes, we struggled with the how, but like anything else, as a family we made it work. There has been a lot of support for Aubrey from when she was little kid, her aunts, uncles, grandma and grandpa got her things she needed, from new sneakers to flights for traveling. I just wanted to point that out, that she’s had a lot of support from our family and want to thank them all.

It’s great to see that Aubrey have the support of everyone around her. It’s just like what Aubrey said, “Sports has taught me to play every game like it’s your last.” We never know when our career will end, so we should treat every game like our last game. If we give it everything we have, no matter the outcome, we will be satisfied. As Aubrey finish her volleyball season, we look for to seeing her on the basketball court, and showcasing her skills. Hmong SNC want to say, good luck to Aubrey this season. Hopefully soon, we’ll find out where you will be playing after high school.