Written by David Beery

Maintaining perspective may not be the easiest task for a 16-year-old who has earned a spot on every known list of the nation’s top 20 high school junior basketball players. Staying humble and motivated could be a challenge for a high school junior who already has received scholarship offers from the country’s top college basketball programs.

But Rolling Meadows High School junior Max Christie manages all of this. While striving for and working hard to prepare for a career as a professional athlete, Max also knows that reaching this dream and objective is far from guaranteed for any adolescent. He understands the importance of working hard in the classroom and being a team player, even as he is widely hailed as the Mustangs’ star and a prize recruit for some fortunate Division 1 university coach.

“I’ve never been around a high school student who’s more humble,” says Kevin Katovich, the Mustangs’ varsity basketball coach of Max. “He’s always looking to give credit to others and not just on the basketball court. On the first test of the year in my class, Max had the highest score. On the next test, he had the second highest score and wanted to know who had the highest so he could congratulate her. With Max, none of this is contrived; it’s all genuine.”

Max’s ability to stay well grounded is aided by a father who himself is often up in the air and a mother who helps people navigate life’s emotional difficulties. His father is an airline pilot, his mother a psychologist. Both excelled as college basketball players; both enjoy success in demanding professions that require high levels of focus, preparation and attention to detail. And Max credits both for instilling in him a work ethic that cuts across athletics and academics and an attitude that recognizes the importance of teamwork.

In a conversation with Max or in looking at his social media footprint, his parents’ influence shows. It’s easy enough - maybe too easy - to find social media feeds from young athletes that tout individual achievements or wander into rivalries, one-upmanship or other negative territory. 

“My mom and dad have talked to me about it a lot,” Max said. “That social media can be sort of a plague.” Max got his parents’ message. While his tweets are relatively few and far between, when he does tweet, his messages exemplify the positive aspect of social media; he uses it as a platform to express appreciation for opportunities or to offer gratitude for teammates.

As far as being a team leader and role model for teammates, Max takes it in stride. What kind of feedback does he offer teammates who do not share the national spotlight that he has?  

“I try to offer a few words of encouragement, to give them a little direction,” Max said. When he sees a teammate hanging his head after an on-court error, he offers a reminder that mistakes present opportunities for growth and improvement. 

Max also has demonstrated that he knows a thing or two about working through adversity and finding growth in the face of new challenges, a skill and mindset that serves any student with any career dream. “He started last season sick, lost a ton of weight and took time to get back from that,” Katovich says. “Then, as the season went on, there were different schemes teams would do, putting two guys on to defend him, three guys on him. He had to figure that out. But whether we win or lose, whether he’s playing good or bad, he’s just even keel. He’s always going to be the hardest worker and always going to be the most positive person.”

“My main goal is to play basketball professionally,” Max says. “I can’t say if I’m going to make it or not make it.”

District 214 offers a wide array of career pathways, but nowhere among them is a blueprint for becoming a professional athlete. So Max studies and makes the most of classroom opportunities, having built a 4.0 grade point average. When he’s not studying or playing basketball, Max enjoys video games. And anime, introduced to him as a youngster by his father. And, he admits with a laugh, his mom says that he sings well. 

Max’s AAU competition has taken him all over the country and beyond. He participated in a Florida tryout for USA Basketball. In June, he played in the U-16 World Championships in Brazil, where he made a point of visiting an orphanage. He was invited to a California basketball camp conducted by Golden State Warrior star Steph Curry.

All of this travel and attention could make some teens yearn for an even bigger and brighter stage. And many budding basketball stars do, in fact, transfer from their hometown high schools to attend basketball prep academies. Max’s take on that? 

“Rolling Meadows is a great place to be,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to be any other place.”