He played basketball, his idol was Ginobili and he changed his body in an incredible way

The fault is Manu Ginobili. Bahiense has left its mark on a whole generation of athletes. Not only in Argentina, but also in Chile. This is how he says it Sammis Reyes, a 25-year-old boy who makes history: he is the first Chilean to reach the NFL, the thirteenth if we count only the South Americans.

But it’s Ginobili’s fault. While Manu won gold in Athens 2004 and added rings in the NBA, on the other side of the Cordillera, this super athlete who now measures 1.96 meters and weighs 120 kilos, was a thin man who ran towards the hoop and tried to overturn it by imitating the “eurostep”, the small step that our Gino patented in the unforgettable San Antonio Spurs.

“For me, Manu Ginobili is an idol. From an early age, knowing that he was on the other side of the Cordillera was a great inspiration. The Chileans have never had a player in the NBA. You have. had several. For us, watching Argentina was like saying: “ They are doing something good there, you have to imitate what they are doing. This curiosity to know what Ginobili was doing, what his philosophy was, I feel that it opened something in me that made me continue his career. To this day, he is an idol for me ”, assures Sammis Bugle from his home in Washington DC.

This is how Reyes joined the Chilean youth basketball team, participated in international tournaments and at 14 he was a member of a delegation that trained for two weeks at CENARD, in Buenos Aires, where he played several friendlies against Argentina. “The one I remember the most is Gabriel Deck, a very good athlete. I met him very young and you could tell he was going to do great things. He’s my age and we played in the same position, we faced each other several times“He has a smile.

In those youth matches he left such a good impression that some National League teams tried to sign him, including Atenas de Córdoba and Peñarol de Mar del Plata. If these offers had been accepted, another would have been the story of the native of Talcahuano, a town of 160,000 people overlooking the Pacific, 500 kilometers south of Santiago de Chile. But his path pointed north.

At that time, Sammis accepted a scholarship and landed in college basketball for the United States. During this time, he continued to compete with the Chilean national team and was part of the team that fought for a place in the 2019 World Cup in China. He wanted to be the first Chilean to reach the NBA but he couldn’tHis physique was so impressive that the calls he received to continue his career asked him if he played football. He never took them seriously, until one day he made his decision.

For that, he had to develop his body, change his diet and his entire workout routine. In addition, he spent ten weeks playing games with his former classmates, incorporating terms and movements typical of a sport that combines strength, dexterity and brains.

“Me tomé 365 días para cambiar mi cuerpo y aprender el deporte, los roles de cada jugador en la cancha. Tuve que ganar alrededor of 15 kilos, pasé de pesar 105 to 120 kilos. Trabajé mucho mi velocidad y aumenté mucho mi fuerza, mi muscular mass. I need to eat around 6000 calories per day to maintain this weight. This is a difficult work. We all love to eat but sometimes I don’t want to and have to eat the same way, ”says Sammis.

And he adds, in a serious tone: “A breakfast can be 1200 calories: a protein shake, a mixture of fruits, spinach, 5 eggs with extra whites, whole wheat bread, a banana. . It is a very big nutritional need “.

This year he received an invitation to test himself at the International player’s journey, an NFL program in which athletes from all over the world participate, except the United States and Canada. Those who stand out above the average (very little) are assigned to a random franchise to integrate the training teams. It is an NFL strategy to globalize the league beyond the borders of North America.

However, the Sammis thing was so shocking that Washington Futbol Team they laid eyes on him and rushed to contract him outside of the PPI program. On April 13, the Chilean posed happily as he affixed his signature to the offices of the “Anonymous Team”, which last season left behind the famous Redskins nickname to be deemed offensive and has yet to pick a new one. . “The new addition,” the WFT wrote on Twitter, with a shocking video that shows just what the Chilean is capable of.

In this way, Sammis to join select club, one of only South Americans to make it to the NFL: there are three Argentines, three Colombians, two Venezuelans, a Brazilian, a Bolivian, a Paraguayan and a Guyanese, according to the site’s online archives Professional football benchmark.

Of all, the most successful was Grammar Martin, the Argentine “kicker” who won with a Superbowl (unique for this part of the planet) kicking for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002, when he scored 12 points. “It makes me happy that there is a South American in the NFL. Physically he is a monster, he looks very strong and fast,” Gramatica told Chilean media.

In the case of Sammis, his position on the court is that of the “tight end”, a function that makes him participate more in the actions of the game, blocking, running and catching the passes that the charismatic could throw at him Ryan fitzpatrick, new quarterback for Washington. The bearded veteran FitzmagicAs they call him, he’s one of the most charismatic characters in the NFL world, he’s been through nine teams and is capable of making a genius like this.

While rare, the shift from college basketball to football has other iconic events in NFL history including Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, and Jimmy Graham. The Chilean signed a 3-year contract in exchange for nearly $ 2.5million. Now all that’s left is to be one of the 53 players who make up the squad of players, including starters and substitutes, who leap onto the grid at FedExField, the imposing WFT stadium.

“I want to play, I want to win, I did not come to do this sport for the glory or the Instagram followers. I came to do this sport because I want to be on this field and to fight it. To represent my team but also my country, young people will look and say ‘we could be thereSaid Sammis.

And he is enthusiastic: “The day I score a touchdown, I will dedicate it to my family but also to all the inhabitants of Chile, to an entire country, to these 6 or 7 year old children who watch, let them see it. and feel “that he is Chilean, he is part of us” “.

Team training start May 14. Meanwhile, Sammis trains on his own, spends hours maneuvering the ball, and studying the enormous playbook he has prepared. Ron rivera, a Latino coach who came into the franchise last year and flourished taking them to the playoffs, although he won another much bigger tournament: he beat cancer in a lymph node and finished her cancer treatment without missing a single game.