Kyle Umemba didn’t totally know what to expect in 2015 for the first edition of the Let It Fly Classic. The co-founder of the tournament hoped it would galvanize Boston’s basketball community, he hoped it would entertain and inspire the next generation.
That year, as he watched the first tournament unfold on the outdoor courts at Highland Park in Chelsea, Mass., there was no way to know what Let It Fly would become. Logistics and planning had been difficult. But then, suddenly, Umemba saw the vision. It was the first dunk. Jayln Hinton caught a body on a fast break, and the crowd erupted.
“When that happened, it was like oh (expletive), we’re here,” Umemba recalled. “We’re hooping. We just naturally screamed and we haven’t stopped screaming since. …
“It all really came together in that moment.”
It became a movement. It was pure basketball at its core. It was competition at its best, fueled by unique and unrivaled crowds. It was unbridled joy and a celebration of the game and its community. Umemba and co-founder Cesar Castro gave back, and they couldn’t have dreamed of what it’s become.
It has attracted the best of the best, including AJ Dybantsa and the late Terrence Clarke. It’s become global, with events now in six different cities around the world. On Saturday at Chelsea High School, Let It Fly will celebrate its 10-year anniversary with its signature event. It’s come a long way in a decade.
“It grew,” Umemba said. “We got local sponsors and it got bigger and bigger and bigger every year. Ten years later, we’re here.”
Umemba and Castro were both local basketball standouts, and they turned their love for the game into a mission. Umemba starred at Buckingham Browne & Nichols, while Castro starred at Chelsea High, where he is now the head coach. When Umemba returned to the area after graduating from George Washington in 2015, it became a priority for them to give back.
Umemba knew that he was afforded opportunities in his life – like playing at BB&N – that weren’t available for others. When he was younger and going to school in Chelsea, he said a teacher saw something in him that instilled a passion to give back.
“We were given these opportunities that we felt weren’t given to everybody in the community,” Umemba said. “It was like, we have to find a way to give back. It kept hitting us, let’s find a way to give back and do something to change where we grew up and where we came from, and that was Let It Fly.”
Basketball was an easy way for them to attack their mission. They were immersed in that community, able to call on the connections and relationships they created. They saw summer basketball tournaments in other cities around the country, and wondered why they couldn’t have their own. And with the changing landscape, with the region’s top talent heading out to play at prep schools, they understood that it was difficult for kids from the inner city to see the stars in person. They wanted to bring them back for a special, inspirational experience – all while making everything freely accessible. The event is free, the food is free, and they end the day by giving scholarships to the youth.
“We felt like there was nothing for the kids, there was nothing to give to the kids. We thought this was a way to give back,” Umemba said. “If we brought these basketball players to the community and it was free, it could have such an impact on the community, and on top of that, we wanted to give away everything for free. We wanted it to feel like a holiday.”
But it certainly wasn’t easy to get off the ground.
Umemba vividly remembers the amount of times he was told “no” as he and Castro tried to get this off the ground in Chelsea. He was told how dangerous it could be, or what permits they would need. But they were never rattled – they stayed persistent. With the help of officials in Chelsea, they secured the first edition of Let It Fly on Aug. 15, 2015, on the outdoor courts of Highland Park.
The beginnings were humbling. They had to bring their own nets, and they needed the DPW to help clean the courts.
“My uncle had to bring a grille,” Umemba said. “(It was like), ‘Who’s going to carry the grille because it’s like 3,000 pounds.’ The little modest things where you look back and you’re like, ‘We’re doing this now? This is nuts.’”
But it was basketball and community in its purest form. On the court, battles formed. The likes of Hinton, Dimon Carrigan and Jakigh Dottin were part of the first group of ballers to participate in the first Let It Fly. The event started with a 16-and-under division featuring the Class of 2017, and it grew with that class. Players from Chelsea, Lynn, Revere and Cambridge came to compete and represent their cities for a unique occasion.
Even though it was small, with about 150 people in attendance, it was clear it was the beginning of something special.
“The energy was still impeccable,” Umemba said. “It just felt like, this is beautiful. … You know you’re at a basketball tournament but you know you’re also there for a mission. Everyone is enraptured in this spirit of giving and helping out and that’s what we’ve been able to recreate globally. It started (in) Year 1. Even though we had chump change and we were outside on the cement, it was special. It was like, this feels good.”
It kept growing. In Year 2, the event moved to the Boys & Girls Club in Chelsea, right across the street from Highland Park, as the attendance doubled. Eventually, they outgrew that location, too, and moved to Chelsea High. They continued attracting more and more of the best talent in the area.
And not only did they come, they competed hard. Let It Fly isn’t just any ordinary All-Star Game; the players want to win, and they represent their teams and cities with pride. There’s a high competitive spirit, and there’s genuine disappointment if you lose. It’s a single-elimination tournament, and no one wants to lose and become a spectator for the rest of the day.
The games are intense, and the tournament features a special rule where if you get dunked on, you get subbed out. It makes for a unique, high-energy environment where the crowd lines the court and becomes part of the action. There are some street ball elements, but it’s very much a competitive show.
“It’s a dog fight,” Umemba said. “You have to fight.”
The battles featuring top stars have made the event special, and are among Umemba’s favorite memories. He remembers Clarke teaming up with AJ Reeves and going up against the likes of Dottin, Alex Rivera and Nick Timberlake. Tyler Whitney-Sidney hit a legendary game-winner in Year 6. Even last year, a championship battle between Sebastian Wilkins and Jason Asemota was memorable; there was a tussle on the first play of the game, and plenty of trash talk.
Umemba remembers a 13-year-old Dybantsa, before he was well-known, putting on a special performance in a game that went to three overtimes.
“The crowd was intense,” Umemba said. “Any other 13-year-old, I would have been scared. He was hitting big shots, extremely composed. That was special.”
Umemba can’t believe it’s been 10 years since Let It Fly started. “Literally insane,” he said. It’s been more than he could have imagined. Last year, they made connections to start holding events overseas. They’ve been to London, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Rwanda and Puerto Rico, and they hope to get up to Toronto soon. Before last year’s event, too, they held the first NBA development experience – called “The Preparation” – where they invited some of the top recruits in New England to go through a workout with Nick Friedman, a Cambridge native and former NBA coach who’s now an assistant coach at Wake Forest.
There’s no limit to Let It Fly. At some point, Umemba dreams of making the Boston version a big basketball festival that includes top musical artists. But no matter what they do, they want to make Let It Fly true what they do – good basketball for the community. For 10 years, they’ve made that happen.
“I still have these pinch-me moments where it’s like, this is life and we’re really bringing the game all over, city by city, country by country, and it has an impact,” Umemba said. “We get as many (direct messages) from other countries as we do from Boston now, and we’re really, like, kind of ambassadors of the game in that sense. It’s a beautiful thing.”
