Giving back: Former GCU hoops player inspires Diné youth

FORT DEFIANCE

Former Grand Canyon University men’s basketball player Jason Amador shared his experience with some area youth last week.

Amador welcomed roughly 40 kids to his three-day camp, which was held at the Bee Hółdzil Fighting Scouts Events Center in Fort Defiance.

“One of the biggest things that I was taught by my grandparents and parents was to give back,” Amador said. “I told myself that if I ever got into a position like I am today, I was going to give back.”

By staying true to his word, the Colorado River Indian Tribe member has reached out to different reservations and communities to conduct speaking engagements and camps. He connected with Window Rock boys basketball coach Ashley Mitchell to set up last week’s camp.

“This is a beautiful facility, a beautiful arena,” Amador said. “It’s like a college arena, so it was super fun to come out here. With the help from coach Mitchell, we ended up making an amazing camp and she really helped me out a lot.

“She did a lot of things that were behind the scenes,” he added. “This wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for her, so I owe my hat off to her.”

Joining the two coaches were Central Arizona College assistant coach Jesus “Jay” Hernandez, who previously served as Amador’s assistant coach while he attended the University of Saint Katherine in California.

The camp was geared for kids from kindergarten to eighth grade. The participants worked on fundamentals, which included a session on footwork.

“The experience was good,” said Marissa Mitchell, a 10-year-old camper who made the trip from Sanders, Arizona. “I got to learn new things with my footwork. We worked on doing quick feet and hopping over the lines.”

Hunters Point, Arizona participant Layron Peterson left the three-day camp motivated.

“It was fun,” Peterson said while adding that footwork and ball control is what he learned the most.

“They coaches are really talented and they’re good at communication,” he said. “The bring people together.”

“It was cool that I got to see a Division I player,” Mitchell added.

With family ties on the Navajo Nation, the former Parker High standout was pleased with how the kids were engaged in what he had to offer.

“These kids have been super great; they were full of energy, and they had a lot of fun,” Amador said. “The biggest thing for me is I want to make sure these kids take away something that is bigger than basketball, you know, like applying the skills they learned from school and the chores they do at home.”

Amador acknowledged that his journey to become a Division I player at GCU didn’t come easy. Despite receiving a ton of accolades in high school, which included being tabbed Player of the Year in Arizona’s 2A West Conference in back-to-back years and being nominated as a McDonald’s All-American his senior season, Amador was not on any college program’s radar.

“Unfortunately, I had no offers coming out of high school,” Amador said. “I didn’t know about the recruiting process, and I didn’t know how to reach out to college coaches.”

Nonetheless, Amador started sending out film to some prospective college programs after his senior season but to no avail.

“It was way too late,” Amador said. “By then college coaches know who they want by their junior and sophomore years. The colleges that I reached out to were saying their rosters were full.”

A day after graduating from high school, Amador went to a tryout camp at California State University-San Marcos and following a good showing he was picked up by the University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos, California.

While there, he started experiencing hip pain on both sides and his MRI revealed that he needed surgery to repair torn ligaments and tendons.

“No one wants to have double hip surgery at age 20,” Amador said. “I now have two screws in my body. I was out for a year-and-half. I had to learn how to walk again, and I had to learn how to jump again, and it sucked.”

After going through rehab and treatment to get back on the court, Amador was sidelined again. This time he fractured his finger.

“Literally, the first five minutes I came back to practice, I broke my finger,” Amador said. “In that moment, I thought all hope was lost. I could not find a light at the end of the tunnel.

“That was a tough time for me, mentally,” he added. “You know, every time I tried to get back on the court, I felt like something was trying to teach me a lesson, like to be patient, and be relaxed.”

Besides dealing with injuries, Amador had to find a new college team to play for as the University of Saint Katherine closed its doors in April 2024.

Despite that, Amador was better equipped to go through the recruiting process this time around. With some connections, he sought out several college coaches, but he had his eye on attending GCU.

He reached out to several coaches within the GCU program, but he did not get a response. Amador then emailed GCU athletic director Jamie Boggs and the following day she reached out to the CRIT native informing him that she will contact the coaches.

“She’s from San Diego and she heard about my story,” Amador said. “And going to GCU was the best time of my life. At the University of Saint Katherine, we didn’t have that many resources at all. We took vans and we had $10 limits on food.

“At GCU we had unlimited food,” he added. “We had a private chef that cooked for us every single day, so we had breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Gear-wise, they give as much gear as you want. I think I ended up with nine pairs of team shoes.”

Despite all the hardships he endured, Amador says he learned how to handle adversity.

“For me, going through all that adversity, I always told myself it was going to pay back, you know, that my time was coming,” he said. “The blessings were going to come, so I stuck with it, and I applied myself every single day in the classroom and on the basketball court.

“You know, life is full of highs and lows and adversity is going to come,” he added. “It’s just knowing to never give up and stay the course.”

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