Tasheed Carr has trained over 200 young children to play the game of basketball and the game of life.
“What I understand now is that this is my life’s purpose,” he said.
Carr trains students five or six days each week at City Athletics in West Tioga five, working with multiple students daily. He recognizes the importance of giving them a safe space to have fun and play the game they love, he said
Of the many students Carr works with, Ahmad Nowell, a 17-year-old high school basketball player from West Philadelphia, said Carr has left a lifelong impression on him.
“He’s like a father figure to me,” Nowell said. “I actually call him dad sometimes.”
Growing up without a father figure has been hard for Nowell, but Carr has been his guide when it comes to basketball, working him daily and helping him become the star he desires to be on and off the court.
Nowell said encouragement from Carr will help to take his career and his game to the next level. Nowell plays point guard for Imhotep Charter, a school located at 21st Street and West Godfrey Avenue in West Oak Lane.
“Playing at Imhotep is amazing,” Nowell said. “Got great coaches, good culture, and great teammates. We’re all great kids.”
Great kids with even greater talent. Imhotep is known for its successful basketball team, which has won nine state championships. Nowell is ranked 28th in the nation out of high school juniors nationwide.
The 6-foot tall, four-star recruit has been passionate about basketball since he was eight.
Carr and Nowell have trained together for over five years, building a strong relationship on more than just basketball. The two are together almost every day of the week, and bonding over movies, restaurants, and other activities comes easy.
Khadija Bowens, a youth mentor in Philadelphia, completes this friendship’s trinity. She knows first-hand how much they mean to each other.
“They are always with each other because I’m always with them,” she said. “Every single day they are together. If Ahmad is not in school, he’s either at the gym, at Imhotep for practice, or riding to a game.”
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