Pasadena Elite Basketball (Photo – Patricia Cunliffe)
Three Pasadena Men Create a Safe Space for Pasadena Youth to Learn, to Grow and to Thrive.
By Patricia Cunliffe
The past two months have been traumatic for Angelenos in general, exponentially for those who were directly impacted by the largest fire catastrophe in Los Angeles history which leveled much of Altadena. Several Pasadena Elite Basketball families lost their homes.
On MLK weekend the players, coaches and families showed their resilience by representing Pasadena at the ACES MLK National Experience in Orange County. Pasadena Elite 5th & 6th grade teams made it to the semi-finals and the 7th grade team won the Consolation Championship. Last weekend they took the Championship in the 2nd Annual Ernest Nicolis Memorial Tournament.
Pasadena Elite is a year-round basketball program for ages 8-18. Practices are three times a week, with tournaments on intermittent weekends usually taking place in Orange County or in the San Fernando Valley; the older level teams travel as far as Las Vegas. More than just basketball – the experience instills life-long friendships, honors commitments and teaches how to function as part of a team. The players care for one another and the group is frequently referred to as the Elite Family.
“We have kids that have gone to college and come back saying things like ‘I’m a lawyer now Coach,’ ‘I’m coaching over here’ ‘I have my own program’ and ‘I’m a mentor now,’” claims Pasadena Elite Coach Rick Bigby, “We were blessed to be role models to them. It’s the best feeling in the world that they want to give back.”
Beginnings
Pasadena Elite Basketball was founded by three former City of Pasadena Parks & Recs Coaches: Anthony Massengale, Al Burns and Rick Bigby. Anthony and Rick met in Kindergarten at Pasadena Christian School and later met Al Burns at John Muir High School where they all played basketball under Coach Rocky Moore.
The impetus to create their own basketball program came from working for the City of Pasadena Parks and Recs. Because only paid registrants were allowed to play, the coaches would often find themselves paying out of pocket so that everyone who wanted to play basketball could.
When Travel Ball came on their radar in 2013, they took some of their teams to tournaments, but the City of Pasadena was not in favor.
“I have an old school belief in seasonal sports,” says Darrell Walker, Recreation Superintendent for Pasadena Parks & Recs, who developed the sports program for the City. “My role was to provide access to all sports. Travel Ball is a year-round commitment.” Walker, who retired in December after a 35-year career with the City of Pasadena, goes on to add “I wish them success with their program” to his former team members.
Basketball
Pasadena Elite began with one 6th grade team in 2015 and by 2019 had 11 teams before Covid-19 hit.
“We had to shut the whole program down for a year and a half just when we were starting to get our traction,” Coach Anthony remembers. “We are now back up to seven teams and will be adding more just as soon as the high school basketball season is over.”
Rick Bigby, who coached at John Muir High School, left Pasadena Parks & Recs in 2018. Al Burns, currently at Maranatha HS, left in 2019. Anthony Massengale remained with the City of Pasadena until 2023. Pasadena Elite now has recruited two additional coaches: David Salazar and Brian To, who coaches at Alhambra HS.
“Coach Anthony is fantastic, meaning no yelling. He gives the fundamentals, expects personal responsibility, and emphasizes coming to practice to play, not only for yourself, but for the team,” said 12-year-old William’s dad, Jaime Gomez, “Win or lose it’s always a learning experience.”
McKinley Middle School student Elgin Clowney told me “I saw Coach Al at my school one day doing grade checks. They really are serious about that!”
Another team parent said that their child’s previous experience with another program was not a good one. That parent now sees a marked difference in their child’s demeanor.
The Pasadena Elite belief is that sometimes a kid might not be good at the beginning but works really hard and just needs some coaching. That same kid, after a year or two of training and commitment, can end up being better than some who might not work as hard or might take their talent for granted.
“We take all kids and we treat them all the same,” states Coach Anthony, “We train them to be the best basketball player and obviously the best people they can be.”
Pasadena Elite Basketball (Photo – Cady Burkhart)
A Greater Purpose
Another impetus for Pasadena Elite to realize its significance was the 2017 death of 15-year-old Darius Smith.
“It’s important to add that we lost a kid – Darius Smith. Darius played basketball and football for multiple programs across the city. It was a bad situation and we all took it very personal,” shares Coach Anthony.
Darius Smith was killed on May 26, 2017 at the Gold Line Metro Station in Arcadia by an off-duty US Border Patrol and Customs Agent, an Arcadia resident who worked at the San Francisco Airport. Allegedly Darius and his friends had tried to rob the shooter; the shooter’s name was conspicuously absent from all media reports, including those published by Grassroots Law founder Shaun King, BET, The Black Youth Project and Teen Vogue.
Darius Smith’s name lives on at Pasadena Elite Basketball, where the Darius Smith Scholarship Fund was created in his honor.
This came as a surprise to Reshawna Myricks, Darius Smith’s mother, who clearly was moved, “I am honored to know that someone thought enough of my son to want to preserve his name with such a beautiful gesture.”
Coach Anthony continues, “We always felt that if we had Pasadena Elite when Darius was here then possibly things might have gone a different way. He was bright, he was talented – he could have been anything he wanted to be. He’s a huge reason why we keep doing this.”
Pasadena Elite is greater than basketball. It’s bigger than the wins and losses, bigger than the championships. It’s about keeping kids moving in a positive direction and being a positive force in their lives.
Looking Forward
Pasadena Elite’s next goal is to create an enrichment program in Pasadena with a focus on financial literacy – budgeting, money management, new AI, understanding crypto-currencies and business.
“One of the things we’ve heard is that not all our kids have the money to go to college,” shares Coach Rick. “‘If I’m not good enough and I don’t make it in basketball, how do I go to college?’ ‘What do I do if I’m not able to go to college?’”
“We don’t want kids to be discouraged because that’s not even an option for them,” Coach Rick continues. “We want to teach them about necessary vocations that they can reach–careers like contractors, firefighters, and paramedics for which you don’t necessarily need a degree. They need to know that they still can be successful in life without having to go a negative route.”
These coaches are prime examples that success in life is all about mind-set. I asked how they managed to escape the proverbial “school to prison pipeline” that Pasadena has been known for.
“I was familiar with or knew of gang activity but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I just wanted to keep disciplined and out of the way,” answered Coach Rick. “Basketball was a big thing that kept me off the streets.”
“I’d also add that early on, we both had a sense of purpose of where we wanted our lives to end up,” offers Coach Anthony. “And going to jail, going to prison, becoming a statistic, letting our family down and letting our community down was not part of the plan.”
“That’s the reason Pasadena Elite is so important: it cultivates the legacy of giving back, of mentoring, of letting the next generation know that someone cares,” clarifies Coach Rick, “Youth can be secure in knowing that Pasadena Elite is going to do everything they can do to help them achieve their goals. Hopefully they too will give back to the next generation.”
“Ball is life at Pasadena Elite. We are still one of the most competitive programs in southern California. We had ranked teams last year all through the west coast. So while we are focused on other things bigger than basketball, we excel at basketball too,” states Coach Anthony.
Pasadena Elite operates on an open-door policy. “We never want to turn away a kid. That’s one of our mantras. Money is not an issue. Situations are not an issue. Our parents are great – they don’t mind picking up other kids. The support system – the family, the village – is strong at Pasadena Elite.”
> Visit the GoFundMe page to support the Elite Basketball families who tragically lost their homes.
Patricia Cunlifee is a multifaceted artist currently in post-production on her feature documentary, The Pueblo Revolt.
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