Above all, Gene Lett was a father to not just his own 11 children, but to the hundreds of kids in his West Philadelphia neighborhood.
Gene Lett was a lot of things: a basketball coach, a student, a community organizer and mentor. But above all, Lett was a father — not just to his own 11 children, but to the hundreds of kids in his West Philadelphia neighborhood to whom he committed his life’s work.
“He was like, we got to get the recreation center back, get our neighborhood back so our kids can come to the recreation center.”He got elected officials involved and invited them to the recreation center, showing them the changes he wanted to make. He would feed kids in the neighborhood, work out with the kids two or three times a week with skills and drills, locked the gates at 11 p.m.
“I was a troubled kid when I was younger. But the moment I started getting closer with him, I started playing on his basketball teams, next thing it wasn’t even just about basketball,” said Bryant Leach, who was coached by Lett as a kid and in college, and is now dean of students at Boys’ Latin Charter School.Leach was drawn to Lett like a magnet, always wanting to be around him because he was just fun to hang out with.
“He understood it was two ways: I can go on the streets, or I can get an education and play basketball and do something with my life,” said Eugene Lett Jr., Lett’s eldest son. “He had mentors, but it was really up to him to decide what he wanted to do.” What Lett always preached was that there was more to life than just basketball — but he used basketball to get the kids’ attention, encouraging them to read, write and pursue higher education.
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