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01/16/2024 11:27 AMCade Ensinger underwent a maturation process during his time at Valley Regional into a leader and First Team all-league competitor. Yet now as a Warrior of a different ilk, the growth has not stunted with him, becoming quite a solid student-athlete and self-actualized man.
Cade, who was a senior captain and point guard for the Valley Regional boys’ basketball team, earned First Team All-Shoreline honors for the 2019-2020 campaign, prior to graduating as part of the Class of 2020. For his Valley tenure, he played basketball for four years, with three in a starting role, while being a two-time all-conference selection, team MVP, and a senior campaign All-State Team honoree.
Now a senior and Health Sciences major at Eastern Connecticut State University, Cade is averaging 5.5 points, 1.1 assists, and 1.6 rebounds per game for the Warriors.
“I have just been working hard every day no matter what,” says Cade. “Life brings a lot of ups and downs, but I make sure to just keep grinding no matter what. The game is a lot faster than high school, and the guys are a lot bigger. It is a big jump from playing in a small conference like the Shoreline.”
In addition to the pace of play and the tale of the tape for the college hoops scene, Cade notes that it did take some adjusting to getting settled in all around. The added layer of COVID still being highly prevalent his freshman year did not seem to hinder him, though, as he kept getting in reps with his teammates and friends wherever.
“I was able to develop quickly and get used to the game,” Cade says. “As far as academics, there is a lot of support on campus from my professors, and I am actually doing better academically than I did in high school. My first year was during COVID here, so we did not play as much on campus as usual as a team, but we all got together as much as we could to play.”
At the point position, Cade explains that the heat is certainly on while under the spotlight. An athlete can have the fear and apprehension of riding the bench after one miscue, yet he has used that pressure to grow his mental game.
“There is a lot of pressure on guards at the college level,” says Cade. “They are expected to make all the plays and not have any turnovers. There is that worry of making a mistake and being taken out of the game because of it. Yet I think it is good to have that pressure, because it feels amazing when you do good under pressure.”
Conversely for those moments when it falls apart under pressure, Cade digs deep and garners a sense of perspective, and knows that the bounce of a ball is not a matter of life and death.
“I was not as mentally strong in the beginning of college,” Cade says. “But hearing advice from others and maturing naturally helped me. Some sports psychology classes I took helped, too. My mentality as a player has become so much better. I realized life is bigger than basketball, and I cannot let a bad performance get to my head.”
ECSU men’s basketball Head Coach Bill Geitner praises Cade for being an exemplary template to his contemporaries. He adds that Cade is a master tactician and student of the floor–almost instantly applying a new lesson learned to his skill set.
“Cade is a tremendous role model on and off the court,” says Geitner. “Cade has become a leader by constantly demonstrating hard work and attention to details. Cade worked extremely hard on his game, and he is now taking advantage of his opportunities.”
Harkening back to his days as a Warrior on and off the court in high school, Cade expresses some regret about not truly embracing things in the moment. Turning that into a positive, he wants the current crop of players at Valley to show their gratitude by relishing in every second.
“My time with Valley basketball was great there. I made a lot of friends, and we always worked hard with the same goals in mind,” says Cade. “I know I enjoyed my time playing there more than college, and so I would tell the kids there now to just take advantage of every moment, because I took it for granted.”
Whether at Valley or at Eastern, Cade concludes that there are certainly peaks and valleys in any walk of life. From his vantage point, the more you recognize that and embrace the setbacks rather than hold angst over them, the better off you are as a person.
“One very important thing I have learned is that life is bigger than a moment in a game or practice, or a good or bad season,” Cade says. “It is all about how you look at those ups and downs in life to determine your success. You just have to keep trying, and maintain a positive outlook.”