‘We Teach Life Skills’: Basketball Team Develops Players On And Off The Court

For most high school basketball players, the lure of one day playing in the NBA is real, but for Team Takeover the focus is different.

“We want to see success, not just on the court, but off the court as well,” said Fredrick Montgomery, co-founder of the team.

At first glance Team Takeover is your typical AAU basketball team.

“Sixty percent of our kids come from single family homes, and that’s another reason why I really invest in them because it takes a village,” said Montgomery.

Montgomery’s investment is not just in their talent on the court.

“We teach life skills, financial literacy, how to speak in public, how to dialogue,” said Montgomery.

To help get those lessons across to the team, the coaches enlist help from the community.

“So far, we’ve had a neurosurgeon, his name is Dr. Steven Cagle, we had our first African American Sheriff Tommie Johnson,” said Montgomery.

“If y’all have dreams of being a professional athlete that’s fine, but as the old saying goes, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, make sure you’re a versatile human being,” said OKC Thunder Assistant Coach Mike Wilks.

Wilks had a special message for the team.

“Make sure that they understand that they are more than athletes, and they were created with a purpose,” said Montgomery.  

“Life isn’t all about basketball, you know you have life after basketball, you have to have a career, you have to be on point and be hard working at everything that you do,” said team member, Miller James.

More than anything else, these kids know that someone cares about them.

“They care about me a lot, like the grades I make, they want to know how I’m doing in school and like am I doing good at home,” said team member KJ Davis.

“If y’all don’t remember anything, you are more than athletes, remember that,” said Wilks.

The team does have a lot of fun, but there is one thing that is obvious, and that is the strong emphasis on discipline.