Phoenix Police Activities League (PAL) Helps Young Basketball Players Get A Shot At Club Teams And College

Press release from the City of Phoenix:

December 1, 2020

The Phoenix Police Activities League (PAL) is a police initiative offering sports and other activities to underserved youth in the community.

"I would like to play college basketball next year somewhere," Brandon, a high school senior said.

Brandon, and his teammates Anderson and Derick, all play basketball for PAL Elite, a club team under PAL that gets these guys that club sport experience at no cost to them. Their dreams of playing basketball in college may have never developed without the exposure and opportunity of PAL.

"PAL definitely jumped my whole basketball career off because it was hard trying to find a team to play for," Anderson said. "And knowing that everything's free. You have to take advantage of it, and just be grateful." PAL Elite started in 2019 and is considered a top club program in the state. To date, 10 PAL Elite players have reached top 100 rankings in Arizona, eight received college offers, and three scored scholarships to local universities and colleges.

But Officer, and coach, Carl Wunsch knows the benefits here go way beyond rankings and full-rides.

"I think one of the benefits that come from it, during this year when we had a lot of the protesting and things like that going on, the comfort that most of the players would have to come and talk to me about things," Officer Wunsch said. "We would have discussions about well, why does this happen, or why did this happen.

"Officer Wunsch said sports are a barrier breaker and PAL has been just that. When you come to the court, it is not about what you are, or where you come from, but how you play.

"On the news, it shows other cops doing this and that, and some police are actually trying, you know?" Derick said. "All of them are not bad. And the PAL police, they're all great cops."

PAL Elite is made possible in large part by funding from the Phoenix Police Foundation and their partners like Thunderbird Charities, making sure these players go to camps and tournaments, and have uniforms to play in.

"It is so meaningful to see the outcome of this program," Police Foundation President Tim Thomas said. "It's creating opportunities to go to school, to be viewed by colleges, to even understand that relationship between the Police Department and the community. Imagine just having an opportunity for an officer to run this program and be able to have the dialogue that occurs between Officer Wunsch and the kids. I mean, it just doesn't happen without opportunities like this."

If you are interested in learning more about the Phoenix Police Activities League (PAL), click here.

This press release was produced by the City of Phoenix. The views expressed here are the author’s own.