LOWER AFTON, Tenn. (WJHL) – At 6-foot-10, Chuckey Doak senior Christian Derry is pretty easy to pick out from the crowd.
“I was always just a little bit taller than the other guy,” he smiled.
This is one of the reasons why he became interested in basketball at such a young age.
“I played for Doak – the Dwarves – when I came to Doak from East View,” he said.
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He quickly learned what was best about playing in front of fans: getting them on their feet.
“There's nothing like running across the court after you've just made a big play and hearing the crowd scream,” he explained.
He did plenty of that during his time with the Black Knights, helping the team win two District 1-2A championships as an underclassman. As a junior, he was selected to the Class 2A all-state squad.
He averaged 23.1 points, 12.4 rebounds and 4.8 blocks per game as a Class 2A Mr. Basketball candidate last season as a senior.
“I have developed a lot as a player and have gotten better with the hours in the gym,” he said. “Hours during and after training. It's not just the two hours of practice that makes you better. It’s the hours you put in after training – shooting, drills and footwork.”
Hours in the gym – and the support of his basketball brothers – have taken him far.
“I love my teammates more than anything – they are there for me. Without them I wouldn’t be where I am now as a player,” he said.
At the age of 10, the tall right-hander also found baseball.
“Picked up a ball, swung a bat – that’s all,” he admitted.
He is already in his final varsity season at Chuckey-Doak. It's not the home runs or strikeouts that bring him back to the park every year – it's the people.
“This brotherhood again,” he said. “You know, some of the guys I play baseball with, I don’t play other sports with.”
With basketball and baseball, Derry gets a chance for a break in the offseason. But when it comes to his work showing cattle, there is no off season.
“That’s 365 days a year,” he said.
Just like in track and field, there is no shortcut to competing at a high level.
“The cows have to form quite a bond with you,” he said. “They need to know who you are.”
Derry has competed in local shows from Greene County to Lebanon and even won a few awards in his time. He also took center stage at the Junior National Show in Grand Island, Nebraska.
But for him, it's still about the relationships he builds along the way.
“You look for your show friends – there are always people to help you.”
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