$824,000
Beyond The Hardwood

When people tell me I’m crazy, I tell them thank you. I believe my uniqueness reflects the creativity of the Creator. I guess you could say I’m a Dreaming Extremist. What is life without dreams? And why not go all in on those dreams? Who cares how farfetched a dream might be? A dream is a dream. Dreams are from the heart, and God cares about our hearts. 

 

When I got the idea in 2014 YEAR to dribble a basketball from coast to coast—from Los Angeles to New York City—and map my very nonlinear cross-country route based around college basketball gymnasiums and basketball monuments, my only question was, “When do I start?” I completed the 2,500-mile journey in four months. What kept me going? Paying tribute. The impetus for the journey was Kobe and Gigi Bryant’s tragic helicopter accident, and now I was going to take my own mamba mentality into cross-country dribbling and pay tribute to others. Every day I would think of a loved one who passed away, or a friend’s loved one who had gone before them, or the Bryant family, and I’d dribble for them that day. Every daylong dribble for me was its own prayer. As goes the great quote from Chariots of Fire, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” It’s crazy what your mind and body can do when you commit your journey to paying tribute—to loving always. 

 

In 2018, I embarked on a different journey. Whereas for my cross-country dribble I had a team of drivers to accompany me, this time I wanted to make a cross-country journey solo. So, I hopped on my ElliptiGo bike and went the opposite direction, this time from New York City to Los Angeles. I’d drive my motor home out thirty miles along my route, then do an out-and-back bike ride on my ElliptiGo. I completed the journey in 4 months. 

 

Since then I’ve dribbled in hundreds of marathons and done some minor weeklong dribbling routes around the country, but now, in 2024, I find myself restless to embark on another cross-country dribble. On May 1, 2024, at the age of 58, I’ll begin my dribble from Orlando, Florida to Anaheim, California. I cannot wait to ride and dribble and pray—to pay tribute to those who showed us the way and show others how much I love them through my own love language of dribbling. Join me for the journey! 

 

Love always! Aloha!

 

Coop