If you go by championships, Clinton Lassiter is the all-time winningest coach in MIAA basketball history.
Lassiter has guided Cathedral to seven state titles just in the last 10 years. He has helped turn the small Boston private school into one of the premier programs in the state at a time when Boston inner-city girls basketball has widely struggled.
Few understand the challenges and rewards of coaching in Boston like Lassiter. He also directs the Boston Showstoppers AAU program that consists largely of inner-city girls. Lassiter has watched girls with difficult off-court lives succeed and put themselves on a path to college. He has also emerged as a leading Black coaching voice in the predominantly White space of Massachusetts high school basketball coaching.
Lassiter joined the HoopWise Podcast to discuss all of this and much more.
Watch the video
Highlights
What are some inner-city players dealing with off the court that people might not realize?
Lassiter: "Some young lady might have honor roll in school, so they come to school every day because that's like their safe haven, but they're probably homeless — like, literally homeless. I've had individuals living in cars. I've had individuals parentless. I have individuals that have drugs that's infested within their whole family. I have individuals that when they go outside, they gotta go through multiple gang environments to get to school. There's so many different factors that they're going through, but the one safe haven's when they're at that court with their friends and going outside and traveling, seeing life outside. They know there's a bright side at the end of the tunnel."
How important is it to have low-cost opportunities for girls in the city, whether it's through your AAU program or through local camps and leagues?
Lassiter: "It matters big-time. Speaking for the city kids, if they gotta worry about the cost of something, they may not go because parents
may not wanna pay for it. So if I gotta say, 'Oh, you gotta pay a hundred dollars to go play basketball,' you're like, 'Oh, I'm not gonna go play basketball; let's go hang out downtown.' But if you say, 'Hey, just come play ball and have fun and enjoy that moment,' you'll get them coming back and enjoying (it). Not saying everything has to be free, because nothing in life is always free. But cost shouldn't be for entertainment, for our kids at least. So I think the more it is not a dollar sign and (it feels like) tring to pay someone's mortgage, the better it is for our kids."
Listen
The HoopWise podcast can be streamed here and on major platforms, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
