Cranberry 5-year-old doing basketball tricks
CRANBERRY TWP — Jeremiah Barjolo Jr. is only 5 years old, but his basketball skills are already drawing attention from people around the country.
Jeremiah has been playing basketball since he was 2. Not only did he pick up the fundamentals of the game quickly, he kept improving and learning new skills.
With some help from his father, he learned how to dribble two balls at once through an obstacle course. He then graduated to dribbling three and even four balls simultaneously and other tricks.
“He does certain stuff and I’m shocked by it. I can’t believe that a 5 year old can do this,” said Jeremiah Barjolo Sr., his father.
Jeremiah, who will be in kindergarten at Connoquenessing Valley Elementary this fall, plays in a youth league where he matches up against children that are in second grade.
“They’re big, but I don’t care,” he said about playing against older children.
But where he has really turned some heads is on social media.
His father posts videos and photographs almost daily on Instagram and occasionally on YouTube. Their Instagram account has collected more than 10,000 followers including Devin Harris, a point guard for the Dallas Mavericks, and Joseph Young, a point guard for the Indiana Pacers.
He also impressed some local sports professionals with his skills, including Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and safety Shamarko Thomas who have both seen him play in person.
Athletic ability seems to run in the family. Barjolo said that he and his wife, Dorothy Dohanics met at Penn State University where he played basketball and she played tennis.
Jeremiah also has a great-grandfather on his mother’s side of the family who played for the Hungarian national soccer team.
When they discovered Jeremiah had natural talent with a basketball, Barjolo, who works as a basketball trainer for a living, said he made sure to support and nurture that talent.
“I think everyone has something that they are good at. It’s just a matter of finding what it is and trying to master it,” he said.
Videos of Jeremiah can be found at www.instagram.com/jeremiahbarjolo.
