Moving can be difficult on a child, let alone moving to a foreign country on the other side of the world.

But such was life for Aaron Sayco, a 17-year-old senior and third-year varsity basketball player for Desert Ridge High School, who was born in the Philippines.

“My mom and my dad thought that me and my sister would be better off living here and just have better opportunities in life,” Sayco said. “We are the first Saycos here in America. We’re the pioneers.”

And so Sayco's parents took the leap of faith in 2006, in hope of offering a better future for their children.

Just 6-years-old when his parents emigrated from the Philippines, not much similarity or comfort could be found in the United States.

Now across the ocean, on a different hemisphere, in an unknown land, there was one constant for Sayco -- basketball.

Basketball is wildly popular in the Philippines has always been a part of Sayco's life in some way.

“In the Philippines basketball is our No. 1 sport,” he said. “So growing up and playing it outside in kindergarten, I just grew from there.”

And as Sayco grew in America, so did his interest in basketball.

“I wasn’t playing competitively, just for fun, until I hit 10-years -old,” he said. “That’s when I got more competitive. Basketball has helped me a lot mentally.”

According to varsity basketball coach Greg Ream, Sayco did not play significant time on the court in junior high school, but as luck would have it, he grew five inches heading into his freshman year at Desert Ridge.

Now Sayco is headed into his third year under Ream, who gave nothing but a glowing review of him and how he has handled the leadership role he has taken on.

“He’s been very focused because in junior high he didn’t play that much, and so he stays after every day and every year he gets better. His improvement since freshman year is awesome,” Ream said. “He definitely leads by example with how hard he works. And this year he’s starting to get on guys with his words and actions and they’re forced to follow because he does everything hard and competes.”

As a senior preparing for his final season playing at Desert Ridge, he recognizes it could very well be his final season playing at all.

“I’m undecided right now,” Sayco said. “I can go to [Chandler-Gilbert Community College] or play in the Philippines back home.”

“I think he could get into several colleges playing basketball,” Chris Rockers said, a teammate of Sayco’s going back to seventh grade. “He can do everything. He’s a good leader, and if we’re in a slump, he’s always the one to pick us up.”

While Sayco acknowledges he most likely won’t return to the Philippines and will instead opt to enroll at CGCC and follow it with a nursing program, his peers seem think he is more than capable of continuing to play if he wants to, whether it be home in the Philippines or in the United States.