Celebrity teen coach and basketball trickster Jesse LeBeau demonstrates a move with student Audrey Bader during a motivational talk for students on Jan. 31.
Haines School hosted basketball trick artist and celebrity teen coach Jesse LeBeau this week for a motivational talk about pursuing dreams and overcoming adversity.
LeBeau, who grew up in Ketchikan, has traveled the world with basketball icons like Allen Iverson, acted in movies, music videos and on TV, wrote a popular book about being an underdog and now runs a foundation focused on motivating and mentoring students at grade schools across the country.
LeBeau’s presentation on Monday kicked off a new year-long mental health program at the school.
School principal Lilly Boron said the program will include optional monthly coaching sessions on Zoom for students, parents and staff as well as a curriculum that will be implemented for middle- and high-school students, including bringing in mental health experts. It will start this spring and run through next fall, Boron said. LeBeau and an advisory team of behavioral scientists and therapists designed the curriculum, called “The Attitude Advantage,” to help teens build confidence and improve mental health.
“I think our students have been through two very tough years. And I think it’s important not just to provide them with support but with the tools to be successful in life,” Boron said.
Growing up, LeBeau dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player, but he said people constantly told him that he would never make it because he was too small. “They wouldn’t even let me on the court,” LeBeau said.
Even though he had “the exact opposite body type of a basketball player,” LeBeau said he didn’t let other peoples’ words derail his dreams. He lived on Pennock Island but woke up at 5 a.m. every morning to take a boat over to downtown Ketchikan to train.
“My situation was this: I just had something I wanted to do, and people told me I couldn’t do it. But I’m here to tell you guys today, if you choose to get better, and not bitter, and be the master of your own attitude, there’s no telling what you’re capable of,” he said.
From Ketchikan LeBeau earned a college basketball scholarship before launching his career doing basketball tricks, acting and motivational speaking. A reality TV series called “The LeBeau Show” followed him around the country to document his work with youth.
At one point during his nearly hour-long presentation, LeBeau called up two students on stage and asked them to repeat his tricks – spinning the ball on his fingers and bouncing it through his legs. He also gave away $100 to a student who “took action” by running up to him first after he announced that he had a $100 bill to hand out.
“Feeling like an underdog is a pretty common thing for people, but especially in Southeast Alaska,” LeBeau said in an interview after his talk. He said he sees himself in students who struggle with low self-esteem and lack of confidence as well as challenges unique to life in Southeast.
“I know things you struggle with because I struggle with them too,” he said during his talk. “I probably (was more likely) than all of you sitting here to be average. But, again, I took action; I worked hard; I believed in myself.”
LeBeau said the assembly was just the first step to build rapport with students and that the real change will come in the months ahead. “The way to have an impact on kids’ lives is consistency. That’s what makes this (program) special, instead of coming (once) and leaving,” LeBeau said.
Boron said details like scheduling the monthly coaching sessions are still being worked out.
The program cost the school district $25,000 and is funded by a grant through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.