|
 WARM2Kids: When you were growing up who were your mentors and why did you look up to them?
Walter McCarty: Pretty much my mom. I really didn’t have any athletes and I wasn’t really a sports guy growing up. I liked to play sports, but I really didn’t know too much information about it. As far as my mom, she worked a day job and did whatever she had to do; being a waitress or whatever she had to do at night. You know, working two jobs…I looked up to that and that is how I developed my work ethic, from my mom.
WARM: Your foundation is the “I Love Music Foundation”. When did you first find your love for music?
WM: Oh, I always grew up singing in the church. My great-great aunt always had me and my brothers, sisters and cousins all singing in the church choir. We had to sing in the choir so we wouldn’t act up; sitting out in the pews while she was up in the choir so, they made us sing and we just always did it. I’ve always loved music and it just became a passion over the years and that’s how I first got interested in music – in the church.
WARM: Wonderful. What about basketball, how did you first start playing?
WM: Pretty much it was just something to do. To go outside and play with your friends and that was it – “Let’s go play basketball!” From then I took a liking to it and I was actually horrible for the first three or four years that I played, but I stuck with it and kept playing and practicing and eventually became a pretty good ball player. Just hanging out with my friends and staying out of trouble. I was trying to do something positive and something that kept me from getting in trouble and that was it.
WARM: What was it that made you keep playing, even though you said that you weren’t that good? Sometimes people give up so easily. What was it that made you stick with it and want to get better?
WM: I was in the sixth grade and I was playing on the seventh grade team. I was awful and I knew that the only reason I made the team was because of my height. I was the only sixth grader on the seventh grade team, but I never played. There was a time when my mom was taking me to the game and we were running late and she was just going to drop me off and park the car. I said, “You know mom you can just drop me off because I’m not going to play and I’ll call you when the game is over.” She told me, “You know what? I’m still coming to this game. You just go in there, warm up and be with the team and just keep your head up. Your time is going to come, be patient.” She didn’t care whether I was going to play or not, just that I’d stick with it.
Over the years I just stuck with it and kept getting better and better. Once I started getting into games, there was a player that was pretty good and he was the popular guy that everyone loved and everyone wanted to hang out with him. My only goal was to be able to beat him one-on-one and to be a better basketball player than him. By the end of my eighth grade year, I was dominating him. (Laughs)We are still friends to this day and he doesn’t know that my only goal was to beat him.
WARM: Throughout our lives, many of us face setbacks. What was one of the biggest setbacks that you faced and how did you overcome it?
WM: I think one of the biggest setbacks was in high school, you have to be in the college prep and get ready for college. That was one of the things that I would say is my fault. I should have known and I should have never let it happen, but I was in the general courses and I wasn’t in college prep so I had to lose a year of eligibility in college. I lost my freshman year. It didn’t upset me too much, you know, it was a mistake that was made. So, I just had to live with it and I came back, stuck with it and graduated on time.
For a guy who didn’t really qualify in college, after taking core classes in high school and having to sit out for proposition 48*, I was still able to graduate on time and with a national championship. So, it worked out even better.
WARM: You’ve been able to be successful both personally and professionally in your basketball career. What do you think are some of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned that have helped you to get where you are today?
WM: Number one is being disciplined because you always have to be on time. You have to make sure you do the right thing because someone is always watching – so you have to be responsible. You have to be mentally tough, you know, and those are all the things that must happen no matter where you are. On and off the court, those are life lessons.
That’s the biggest thing for me. I learned how to be patient, be disciplined and be responsible, how to be mature and just the social aspect of it; being able to communicate with people as far as the corporate offices. I think there are a lot of people who never become a social person and never connect with people. I think that’s probably a great lesson.
WARM: You worked a lot with today’s youth and the teens out in the community. What advice would you give to them, since it seems like it’s harder today more than ever growing up?
WM: Get as much education as you can because it is something that will always stick with you and it’s something that you can get for free – especially in high school. So, just stick with it and don’t limit yourself. Don’t just say, “I’m going to be a basketball player or a professional athlete.” Don’t sell yourself short and try to get the knowledge so that you can be anything that you want to be. Just in case absolutes don’t work out.
Be very disciplined and just be sure that whatever mistakes you make – be accountable for them. If you think about that as the basis of all of your decisions, hopefully, nine out of ten times you’re going to make the right decision.
WARM: What is your definition of a Role Model?
WM: For me a Role Model doesn’t have to be someone who is in the spotlight all the time or someone who makes a lot of money. I think everyone is a role model because people are always watching people and a lot of kids get in trouble because they are watching somebody do something and they do the same thing. Nine out of ten times that person isn’t a professional athlete; they may not even be a parent. It could be a parent, but the important thing is just to respect yourself and respect others. If you do that you shouldn’t have any problems. If you respect yourself and others and other people’s property then you should be able to do well.
WARM: Why did you start the “I Love Music Foundation”?
WM: The I Love Music Foundation was started because I do have a passion for music and I wanted to do something different from what other athletes are doing. I just didn’t want to do something where it had to be about basketball. Not everybody can play basketball, but I think there’s a lot more people that listen to music and that are involved in music more than they are in basketball.
I remember in high school, all through high school and growing up, I always wanted a keyboard or a guitar or some sort of musical instrument, but we never could afford one. We would do group lessons or something like that, but we didn’t have the time and couldn’t afford a keyboard. My senior year, my mom finally got me a keyboard. It was for Christmas and to go away to college or whatever. From then on, I just started picking it up and I want to give other kids that opportunity to get instruments, take lessons and get voice lessons and do a lot of different things that they’re interested in.
It just so happens that the kids that are involved in music actually test higher in school and on tests. I thought that was a great way to be able to give back and create programs because there are a lot of programs that have been cut in the schools and hopefully this helps keep those programs alive.
WARM: Definitely, it’s a much needed effort.
WM: That’s why we need to get out there and vote.
WARM: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
WM: If I could have one superpower, oh I don’t know. I guess, even though we are all equal, I guess I would make everybody more equal. Nobody would have more money or bigger houses and everybody would be able to live a good life and enjoy it.
* NCAA regulation that requires certain academic achievement levels in high school before a college freshman can compete in sports; controversial because it typically affects minority athletes and poorer schools.
|