Oakland basketball program teaches youth skills and strength on and off the court
Oakland basketball program teaches youth skills and strength on and off the court
Basketball practice at Elevated Legacy in Oakland is about more than just making the shot. Its about seeing the court. Time here means working on their game, but its also about figuring out who these Oakland teens are and who they want to be.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Basketball practice at Elevated Legacy in Oakland is about more than just making the shot. It's about seeing the court. Time here means working on their game, but it's also about figuring out who these Oakland teens are and who they want to be.
Teaching youth
Chris Pearson, the CEO of Elevated Legacy, started the non-profit 18 years ago to help youth from different areas come together. He says it's about discovering "what it means to be a person and how to be engaged with your community while using basketball as a framework."
Courtesy Elevated Legacy
It is a family affair. Pearson's son Kaya, went through the program and now coaches the Varsity team for the group. His youngest son Khalil is currently on the team. Coach Pearson says the group has helped reach marginalized communities in the Bay Area and it's given him the chance to use his role as a coach to have a positive impact. For him being good on the court goes hand in hand with success off. "As a coach, my philosophy is if you can't be a good person, it's really hard to be good at basketball."
The kids admit the program caught them off guard, but over time they've gotten more comfortable. Zion Estes says he's learned how "to like really listen to each other." That skills has helped him he says, "understand people on a deeper level."
Courtesy Elevated Legacy
The kids will tell you they aren't bad at basketball and of course they want to win, but Yamir Corrie says he thought it might be a one-year commitment if it was just about basketball. He says "once I found out it was a self-mastery program, I became more interested." Now he's pretty sure he'll stay on until graduation.
Khalil Pearson says time just brings them closer. After the first two weeks, "we got a lot more comfortable with each other. And really like enjoyed talking with the concepts."
Possible trip to Prague
Last summer, Coach Pearson was invited to Prague for a basketball program there that has a similar mission. His younger son Khalil said he had never seen Europe before and said the experience was impactful. His father says there are a lot of lessons to be learned from the capital of the Czech Republic that because of war and its geographical location, it has seen a lot of displacement, "and so a lot of the people indigenous to Prague have a very similar story to the folks of African descent."
The challenge now is getting the funding to get these kids to Eastern Europe. Not an easy task when you consider it's about $5,000 for each player.
Courtesy Elevated Legacy
Elevated Legacy is teaming up with Play Marin in partnership with the Marin County Cooperation team to bring a group of players in July.
The entire journey will be recorded as part of a new documentary. The kids are planning on bringing their experience back to the Bay Area and sharing what they've learned.
Pearson says they need the community to help them become a catalyst for change and impact he believes will ripple through the community.
You can find their Gofundme here.
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