LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Chris Vazquez is a senior at Lock Haven and a member of the men's basketball program. Vazquez has learned a lot in his four years at Lock Haven and has taken on a coaching role towards the younger players on the roster. 

 

"All four years have been good," Vazquez said. " I started here as a freshman not knowing much, then over the next couple years I started learning more, and now I can help the freshman. If the doors open in the future, I would love to coach. That would be something I would look forward to." 

 

In the summer of 2023, Vazquez had the opportunity to play basketball overseas in Brazil. 

 

"Two summers ago, I got the opportunity to go over there. We showed the film to my coach over there and he was interested. And it was a great experience. I had a great season down there over the summer. The culture there is so different, compared to here, basketball-wise." 

 

Vazquez started playing basketball early on in his life in Puerto Rico, where he grew up for over 15 years. 

 

"I started having an interest in basketball there, and then came here to pursue basketball and ended up being recruited by Lock Haven." 

 

Vazquez said leaving his hometown in Puerto Rico was difficult but is lucky to be surrounded by a great group of teammates and coaches at The Haven. 

 

In four years at The Haven, Vazquez has built a deep relationship with Head Coach Mike Nestor and Associate Head Coach Brian Oleksiak  

 

"They're [my teammates] like family," Vazquez mentioned. "With basketball, I feel like your bond with your teammates is so big that after four years, they're like family at that point, especially, like me being away from home. Having the friends that I made here has been important to me. And it's helped me get through the whole change of environment." 

 

You can catch the men's basketball team in action on Friday, Dec. 6 when they host Clarion in a PSAC East/West crossover match at 5 p.m. 

 

This student-athlete spotlight was written by KC Wallace, a student-intern with the Lock Haven Athletic Communications and Marketing Department. Wallace, who also is a writer for the Express Newspaper, will graduate in December from Commonwealth University – Lock Haven.