Dre Jefferson, paraprofessional, has many different titles, including father, basketball player, business owner, and HHS employee. Most students and staff aren’t aware that he also used to have another one: Limon Shark.

When Jefferson graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Stout, he stayed on campus and trained with his coaches and teammates over the summer. After going to many different camps around the country and working with different coaches, Jefferson wanted what every other basketball player wanted: to be seen.

“I ended up meeting an agent who got me linked up and put on a website called Eurobasket, [as well as] Latinbasket,” Jefferson said. “[These websites] basically create a player profile for you to put film and game photos on so [coaches] can reach out to you.”

Although he had profiles on recruiting websites, Jefferson’s opportunity to play professional basketball ultimately came from a former teammate’s connections.

“I had a college teammate from Costa Rica [who had played] for this team called the Limon Sharks since he was 16,” Jefferson said. “He saw my profile, contacted me on Facebook, and [told me] he thought I’d be a good fit to come play down there.”

Jefferson played point guard on his first tour in Costa Rica, which consisted of six games.

“How the game works is that you sign a deal for a tour, not a full season deal, and you get brought on for that series of games. You can [then] renegotiate after that series of games rather than signing a season-long contract,” Jefferson said. “Since I wasn’t a big-name player, I felt like it’d be better for me to try to play a little tour, and then try to negotiate for more money.”

Jefferson played two more tours between 2008 and 2009.

“Most teams play 26 games, or 32 depending on what [the team] does in the postseason. My first tour was six games, and my last tour I was offered, which I didn’t go on, was 10 games,” Jefferson said. “It just depends on what you hold out for.”

Although basketball in Costa Rica may not differ much from basketball in the United States, the player’s reasons for being on the court may.

“Everybody I’ve played with are guys trying to get a shot and feed their families. There are people there who are 16, people who are in their 50s, and so everybody is trying to get their shot, make it big, and earn more money. That’s their living,” Jefferson said. “Everything is extremely competitive because everybody’s fighting and scratching for every little bit.”

After finishing his last tour in Costa Rica, Jefferson came back to Minnesota with hopes of flying off to another country to play basketball again.

Jefferson graduated from college with a degree in business administration. In 2009, he accepted a job from Wells Fargo as a financial advisor.

“My plan was to take a year off and earn some money so I could try to play somewhere else. A friend of mine went on a tour in Italy and made some pretty good money, so I wanted to work and train more [before playing again],” Jefferson said. “After I did that, my fiancée got pregnant with my daughter and I decided that I’d rather be a stay-at-home dad than travel the globe.”

Not wanting to give up basketball completely, Jefferson continued playing basketball in the Ultimate Hoops league at Lifetime Fitness. In 2013, Jefferson started his own business called Twin Cities Elite Basketball Development, training athletes and teaching basketball skills. Wanting to dedicate more time to that, he decided to ditch financial advising and find a job that offered his ideal hours, 7:47 a.m. to 2:35 p.m.

Although Jefferson now works at HHS, he’ll always be grateful for his days as a Limon Shark.

“I had missed a family vacation when they went to Missouri, where my family is from, for Thanksgiving,” Jefferson said. “ I got to call, with my whole family around, and tell everybody I wasn’t there because I was playing professional basketball. That was my life-long dream, and to be able to do that and have my family be proud of me was the best.”