Swish! The basketball goes through the hoop as an intrigued young boy watches the screen in awe. Ever since he laid his eyes on the screen that displayed the Hawkeyes vs. Iowa State basketball game at the age of 7, Luke Krchak ‘21 was instantly interested in basketball. And that hasn’t changed. Krchak has participated on the seventh grade basketball team for Northwest Junior High School. But even before Krchak started to play basketball, he started a basketball card collection. “I started collecting cards about seven years ago, and I have about six or seven hundred in total,” Krchak said.
When asked about why he liked basketball, Luke Krchak said, “I don’t know. The feel of the rush and the plays. Lebron James is probably my favorite.”Besides basketball, he has also tried other sports such as soccer, but basketball still remains at the top.
But unfortunately, Luke Krchak’s participation in sports ended last year. He broke his arm during a kickball match, breaking his wrist all the way to his elbow and resulting in a trip to the ER.
He rolls up his sleeve as he starts to explain what the doctors have done to his arm. “First, they put a metal rod on the outside of my arm to hold the bone … I’ve also got a metal plate on my wrist.” He stretches his arm out to reveal the unusually long and straight bulge on the outside of his arm. He lets me touch the rod in his arm, and yes, it feels weird. “Don’t think I’m going to play kickball for a while,” said Krchak with a laugh.

Because of his injury, Luke resorts to more peaceful measures. “I think collecting in general does shape you as a person and basketball cards fueled Luke’s interest in basketball.” said Luke’s mother. He keeps the growth of his card collection by buying packs of cards at stores such as Target. “I used to buy a lot of packs, like a pack a week. But now I get another about once a month,” Krchak says with a shrug. His brother, Noah Krchak ‘19, doesn’t have a collection himself. “I think it is a way for him to participate alternately rather than playing the sport and I think it is great for him to have a collection of cards because then he is reminded of the former players who played on those teams.” said Naoh Krchak.
It’s not easy to keep up a long-time running hobby while entering your first year of high school. But homework isn’t the only barrier. Krchak is also participating in clubs such as Robotics and hopes to write for the West Side Story. Krchak hopes to do well in school and keep up his card collection.