Kenny Holdsman, co-founder and CEO of Philadelphia Youth Basketball (PYB), sat back in his seat and looked around the 100,000 square-foot structure he envisioned for his program and the community 10 years ago.
Holdsman’s seat was in the middle of just one of the basketball courts at the new Alan Horwitz "Sixth Man" Center, named after the Philadelphia 76ers superfan who is in the class of 2024 for the Naismith Hall of Fame as a fan ambassador.
Horwitz, a staple in the Philadelphia community not just for his love of the 76ers but as founder and chair of student housing company Campus Apartments, which was birthed in the great Pennsylvania city, was just one of the key figures Holdsman was grateful for at that moment as the grand opening of the $36 million "Sixth Man" Center got under way.
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"It wasn’t a sense of relief," Holdsman told FOX Business about his emotions during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "It was a sense of unbridled joy.
"I felt a sense of immense gratitude because the number of people I could see yesterday as I was in my seat while looking around. The number of people who had given, I don’t mean like skimmed the surface, given real time, expertise and money over long stretches. …Knowing that so many people in that room felt like their investment in PYB and in the actualizing of this center, that it was well worth it."
As Holdsman scans the room, he can see friends like Horwitz and 76ers part owner/Campus Apartment CEO David Adelman, as well as Pennsylvania state Sen. Vincent Hughes, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, and many more who donated time and money to make sure this safe "third place" was made for the Philadelphia community.
PYB has become a staple in the Philadelphia community since Holdsman and Eric Worley, the creator of the Philly Triple Threat AAU program, began the organization. And basketball wasn’t the only priority of PYB, as it aimed to build youth off the court as well.
This facility in Nicetown, a neighborhood in North Philadelphia, doesn’t just contain the basketball courts necessary to run the program’s teams, camps and more. It also helps Philadelphia youth gain access to health and wellness programs, entrepreneurial training, workforce development and much more.
When Ameen Akbar, PYB’s chief mission officer, joined the group almost three years ago, the Philadelphia-raised man knew just how special this community was.
Seeing the reactions from parents, coach-mentors and especially the youth in his programs at the "Sixth Man" Center brought "every range of emotion" possible.
"I’m still crying, smiling and laughing, which are all good emotions to show every day," Akbar said, laughing.
"Personally, being from here, I would’ve been a PYB kid growing up. It fulfilled every reason why I came to this organization. Intergenerational love and joy, crossing social, economic and racial lines. Mixtures of all identities, and it’s what the game of basketball brought to my life."
Holdsman even said Horwitz, 80, is usually a "chatter box" whenever he’s around him. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, he could tell just how impactful it was for him being someone who has made significant contributions to the Philadelphia community for decades.
"He sat back and took it all in. I’m not saying he’s measuring the value or quality of his life by the legacy he’s leaving. It’s not that in totality, but to know that his name and some of his resources are going to be a part of this building and enhance his legacy for the next 100 years, was really powerful. He was struggling to hold it together."
When you think of Philadelphia, sports comes to mind for many because of how passionate fans are for all sports. No matter people’s backgrounds, rallying behind the Eagles, 76ers, Phillies and more comes easy for Philadelphians.
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That’s why community and culture are such important pillars for PYB, with a prime example being the construction of the center carried out by Black-owned businesses, Black workers and Black apprentices.
It was a community effort to get the "Sixth Man" Center operational, and that sense of pride filled its halls and courts from day one, especially during its community celebration outside after the ribbon-cutting.
That’s where Akbar heard the immediate responses from parents, who were also showing him what social media were saying as well.
"There was a significant amount of parents that stayed that enjoyed the community presentation part, and everything that you could imagine was described," Akbar explained. "‘Wow, what I thought PYB was is a lot different than what I just experienced.’ We were on Day 2 of cam, parents meeting each other for the first time.
"Folks that probably met us for the first time and trusted their young person with us are even more organized around our mission. The reverberations on social media from all the pictures I count as community and community response. Folks saying, ‘I wish I could’ve made it. I can’t wait to put my young person in now.’ … Being in a neighborhood in the city and not having to go outside city limits sets a different tone, and we always think about communities being assets. Now, there’s a physical asset to tie to all the human being assets that have long been in communities. That marriage was just so sweet said, and we were told as such.
As Holdsman said, the PYB theory is to help young people in the community develop and learn, both on and off the court.
"The culture that we’re building and the programs that we’re locating under one roof in this center, that’s our answer to learning and development. It’s our answer to one discovering and realizing their greatness. It’s all that," he said.
Take Kasim, who will turn 17 soon, saw PYB on his Instagram and was told by an assistant principal at his school to look into it. Kasim isn’t a basketball player, so he wasn’t one to be clamoring to get on the court.
But the entrepreneur in him saw the programs that PYB offered, and he decided to take a risk, one he's thankful he took.
"I always say, I took a risk because you never know what you’re signing up for nowadays, but I’m glad I took this risk to join PYB," said Kasim, who joined PYB at 14 years old and is now heading into his junior year of high school.
PYB’s teaching of financial literacy helped Kasim’s candle business, Candlewithkazz, which he began in March 2022. He said he was struggling with anxiety then and couldn’t find candles to help soothe it at a reasonable price.
He started making his own, and family members encouraged him to build it out. When he got to PYB, the resources at his disposal quickly led to his business gaining exposure.
"I could say my business would not be where it is this fast today if it wasn’t for PYB. They have gotten me featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fox29 and a few others. They have gotten me intertwined with a few other business owners, which has helped my business as well," Kasim explained.
Whether it’s basketball, entrepreneurship, academics or simply wanting a safe space to be after school to gain new friends in the community, the "Sixth Man" Center is the epicenter of everything PYB stands for.
But of course, the mission of building a better Philadelphia for future generations doesn’t stop with the opening of the center. Phase 2 of the project involves a $20 million workforce development and economic opportunity generator with the sole focus of helping Philadelphia teenagers transition to adulthood. It also includes a skill-building training academy, community health center and much more.
Holdsman, Akbar and everyone else at PYB understands the mission ahead, but they took the necessary time to reflect on all the hard work they did and will continue to do for their community, which they believe will be stronger now with the "Sixth Man" Center helping to build the future generations to come.
"PYB is a really textured community," Holdsman said. "We had relationships in that room across generations. Young people all the way up to elders, people who had been involved with us for 10 years versus 10 weeks and everything in between. People of widely different life experiences, all pulling in the same direction."
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