The start of Richie

My name is Richard Bates but I like to be called Richie. I was born in Arlington, Virginia on October 25, 1999. I was raised in Alexandria, Virginia. My mother and father were both born and raised in Alexandria. I have 2 siblings on my father’s side but none on my mom side. My brother goes to T.C. Williams and is a year younger than me, and my sister is older than me and she attended VCU and graduated last year.I was raised in a single family home where I received help from aunts, uncles, godparents, etc.. My early activities started when I was around 5-6 years old where I loved playing soccer, basketball, and football.

My early school experience started when I was 4 years old where I attended pre-school. I attended Douglas MacArthur Elementary School from grades K-5. I had some different types of feelings for school, some days I liked it and some days to me felt tiring. I’ve had different groups of friends back then. There were the sport team friends, there were school friends, and neighborhood friends. My favorite activities were sports and those basically made me feel good about myself, and if I was having a bad day sports will cheer my mood up. My favorite experiences events in elementary school was when the school went on a Winkler field trip. Winkler is like a nature resort where you learn, discover, and do fun activities. The people who had the most impact on my development was my family but mostly my 2 godparents and my mother, because everything I would do would be for them, like I will work and try hard for them, do good in school and sports for them, and just do my best in everything I do. I also went to California summer at the end of 5th grade.

My middle school years I attended George Washington Middle School from grades 6 - half of 8th grade, then I transferred to Francis. C. Hammond Middle School for the rest of 8th grade. My special field trips in Middle School were going to the Museums in Washington, D.C. My favorite family vacation would have to be going on a Cruise ship to Puerto Rico and Mexico. My close friends were in most of my classes and also on my sports team and we had a good bond. I’ve always thought and wanted to be either a sports coach or a sports commentator because I really loved sports since a young age.

My life at T.C.W. hasn’t been the best but it has been pretty decent. My favorite courses throughout the years have been gym, history and math. My favorite teachers have been Mrs. Lambowman, Mr. Geter, and Mrs. Z. I’ve accomplished 5 years of football in the T.C. Williams program. I’ve been close with most of my friends since middle school and we’ve just kept growing our bond. My family has always been there to have my back and haven’t left my side. I was the freshman basketball manger in 9th grade where the team went 23-1. My relationship with my mom hasn’t been the best but it’s been strong enough where I can tell her anything and she’s always been there for me.  Some mistakes I’ve made i’ll never make again because i’ve learned from my consequences.

After I graduate i’ll attend a 2 year community college for football, then i’ll transfer to another college and finish 2 or more years to play football as well and studying sports broadcasting. I’m applying for colleges and also making up my SOL’s that I haven’t passed. Some problems I may have is not getting accepted into some of the colleges that I really wanted to go to. My life goals are to become a sports broadcaster and if that doesn’t work then i’ll try to become a sports coach, mostly basketball, football, or baseball because I know most about those sports.