positive influence is seen
Alvin Attles III said his dad has forever communicated one steadfast family rule:
“Just show up, son, he’s always told me,” Alvin said of the message from former Warriors guard and head coach Al Attles. “Just show up.”
Even during a pandemic, many of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer’s best friends and admirers — Rick Barry, Chris Mullin, Antonio Davis and Sonny Parker, among others — are scheduled to appear virtually Friday to celebrate Al Attles’ 84th birthday a day early.
Every day, every relationship, every Bay Area youth life counts is the message Alvin and his team attempts to convey through its Attles Center for Excellence ( ACE) program.
The nonprofit was started by Alvin three years ago to “provide a pathway to lifelong excellence for atrisk youth,” and cement his father’s legacy that was defined not only by the players on the 1975 NBA championship Warriors team he coached, but by their “teamwork, innovation and humbleness.”
Alvin noted that the team’s championship rings were inscribed with the word “togetherness,” a vital quality that must permeate every step for ACE and its vision to flourish.
A huge step is ACE’s Town Academy Program partnering with Latitude High School, a thirdyear charter school in the lower Fruitvale section of Oakland. The focus is on mentoring, arts, multimedia and tech nology integration, but sports will be a big part of the campus.
In fact, the Al Attles Center for Innovation and Athletics facility could be completed by 2022. Fundraising for the facility has begun and includes ACE’s Club 16 Campaign during Attles’ birthday party.
“We want to make sure that studentathletes get an education outside of dribbling a basketball or throwing a ball,” Alvin said.
But Alvin sees the benefits of competition and sports.
He played basketball at USF in the 1980s and coached the past decade at Benicia, Kennedy Richmond and De Anza Richmond.
He plans to coach boys basketball at Latitude when sports get started, likely in the next year or two. Alvin isn’t sure if the school will play under the Oakland or North Coast Section umbrella.
“Every blessing I was afforded in life was derived from basketball,” Alvin said. “It led to higher education and social learning. It taught me about winning and losing, discipline and competition, amongst many other life lessons.”
Alvin isn’t planning to compete with Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland’s largest private school, in sports anytime soon. But don’t rule Latitude out of potential small division regional or state competitions.
“Give us three years,” Alvin said. “We could take some lumps early, but just give us time to develop all phases of the school.”