Kansas State University Athletics
SE: Sneed’s Trip to Belize a Beneficial, Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity
Sep 04, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
It took some convincing to get Xavier Sneed on the boat. It took even more to get him off of it. It wasn't the Caribbean Sea itself that Sneed was hesitant to enter; it was the sharks swimming in it that had him cautious to get wet.
Granted, these were nurse sharks that are usually harmless to humans. Still, they were sharks.
"That was a first for me," Sneed said of swimming with sharks in his 10-day, five-game tour of Belize through Sports Reach from August 11-18. "They kind of egged me to get on and get off the boat, but they were nursing sharks so it was really cool… a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Sneed's team, which included eight other college players from across the country, went 5-0 on its tour of Belize, a small country of about 400,000 people on the eastern coast of Central America.
"It was a great opportunity to meet those people and just gel quickly. It was a great bunch of guys, I played pretty well and it was a really fun experience," Sneed said. "It was great playing against some pros over there, especially some different competition just to help improve my game. Looking ahead at this coming season, I was just trying to get a feel for the game again since it's been so long since we've been out. It was really good for me."
The tour took Sneed to Belize City — the country's capital — Maruba, San Ignacio and Xunantunich. Along the way, he was able to go cave tubing in the Caves Branch Archaeological Site, see historical Mayan ruins and enjoy snorkeling in the Caribbean.
"It was an amazing experience, personally. Going overseas again and just going to a new environment is pretty special," he said. "It was all pretty great. Belize is such a beautiful country. I really (recommend) many people go there."
His favorite part? Snorkeling.
"It felt unreal, like I was in a TV, seeing some of the things you'd watch on the Nature Channel," Sneed said. "It was great."
Because Sports Reach is a faith-based organization, much like Athletes in Action, the trip also consisted of giving back to the community and building a strong spiritual base.
"Giving back to the little kids around there, who aren't as privileged as we are, was special," Sneed said. "Spiritually, I definitely feel I grew in just a week. Thanks to Sports Reach for that. Just being around guys who had some of the same struggles I did growing up, it really made me feel more comfortable spiritually."
On the court, Sneed said he focused on "tightening up" his ball handling in order to become more comfortable playing on the perimeter for K-State. Off the floor, he also feels much more at ease with managing the complete workload placed on a Division I student-athlete.
"After a year, I'm a lot more comfortable," he said.
The St. Louis, Missouri, native appeared in all 35 games of K-State's run to the NCAA Tournament last season, averaging 7.1 points on 42.9 percent shooting. His production took a hit down the stretch, however, as he hit the proverbial freshman wall. In the final 13 games of the season, Sneed scored in double figures only once, a feat he accomplished 11 times before then.
"It's really time management," he said. "That's what it was."
To avoid such a wall this season, Sneed has built a much stronger time management plan to handle all of his responsibilities. For example, he now carries a detailed planner with him wherever he goes, a new process but one he said has "really helped" him already.
"I even talked to most of my advisors this year, changing classes around so that I can have a better traveling experience, have more tutors on the road and things like that, and also have time to still get back in the gym on my off time," said the sophomore, studying business administration. "I learned how to use time management a lot better than what I did last year, so I feel like I'm always on time and getting everything in. Also, I'm still getting extra time in the gym, so everything's coming around for me right now."
Granted, these were nurse sharks that are usually harmless to humans. Still, they were sharks.
"That was a first for me," Sneed said of swimming with sharks in his 10-day, five-game tour of Belize through Sports Reach from August 11-18. "They kind of egged me to get on and get off the boat, but they were nursing sharks so it was really cool… a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Sneed's team, which included eight other college players from across the country, went 5-0 on its tour of Belize, a small country of about 400,000 people on the eastern coast of Central America.
"It was a great opportunity to meet those people and just gel quickly. It was a great bunch of guys, I played pretty well and it was a really fun experience," Sneed said. "It was great playing against some pros over there, especially some different competition just to help improve my game. Looking ahead at this coming season, I was just trying to get a feel for the game again since it's been so long since we've been out. It was really good for me."
The tour took Sneed to Belize City — the country's capital — Maruba, San Ignacio and Xunantunich. Along the way, he was able to go cave tubing in the Caves Branch Archaeological Site, see historical Mayan ruins and enjoy snorkeling in the Caribbean.
"It was an amazing experience, personally. Going overseas again and just going to a new environment is pretty special," he said. "It was all pretty great. Belize is such a beautiful country. I really (recommend) many people go there."
His favorite part? Snorkeling.
"It felt unreal, like I was in a TV, seeing some of the things you'd watch on the Nature Channel," Sneed said. "It was great."
Because Sports Reach is a faith-based organization, much like Athletes in Action, the trip also consisted of giving back to the community and building a strong spiritual base.
"Giving back to the little kids around there, who aren't as privileged as we are, was special," Sneed said. "Spiritually, I definitely feel I grew in just a week. Thanks to Sports Reach for that. Just being around guys who had some of the same struggles I did growing up, it really made me feel more comfortable spiritually."
On the court, Sneed said he focused on "tightening up" his ball handling in order to become more comfortable playing on the perimeter for K-State. Off the floor, he also feels much more at ease with managing the complete workload placed on a Division I student-athlete.
"After a year, I'm a lot more comfortable," he said.
The St. Louis, Missouri, native appeared in all 35 games of K-State's run to the NCAA Tournament last season, averaging 7.1 points on 42.9 percent shooting. His production took a hit down the stretch, however, as he hit the proverbial freshman wall. In the final 13 games of the season, Sneed scored in double figures only once, a feat he accomplished 11 times before then.
"It's really time management," he said. "That's what it was."
To avoid such a wall this season, Sneed has built a much stronger time management plan to handle all of his responsibilities. For example, he now carries a detailed planner with him wherever he goes, a new process but one he said has "really helped" him already.
"I even talked to most of my advisors this year, changing classes around so that I can have a better traveling experience, have more tutors on the road and things like that, and also have time to still get back in the gym on my off time," said the sophomore, studying business administration. "I learned how to use time management a lot better than what I did last year, so I feel like I'm always on time and getting everything in. Also, I'm still getting extra time in the gym, so everything's coming around for me right now."
Players Mentioned
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