Rancho Bernardo Teen brings sport he loves to kids in need, and is picked as Sports Illustrated’s Kid of the Year – elcajon newson Elcajon News only

Arden Pala, 15, loves to play basketball. But he also loves to coach kids  who otherwise wouldn’t get a chance to learn the sport. When he had to pick which one to do, he thought of the kids. He left his basketball team and now coaches basketball at six low-income San Diego area elementary schools, where most of the students’ families are struggling to make ends meet. Some are homeless. This year, he plans to coach at two more schools.

Arden founded a nonprofit, Sports4Kids, in 2020 when he was 11 to bring sports clinics, sports equipment, and mentorship to children who couldn’t afford any of those. Since then, he’s raised $300,000, mostly through partnerships with local and national groups such as Lucky Duck Foundation, Starbucks and Target. He’s brought in sports professionals — even former NBA players — and given 750 children a chance to play team sports.

For his efforts, Arden, a sophomore at Francis Parker School, was named 2024 Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year. The award honors youths ages 7-15 for superior performance on the field, in the classroom and service in the community. Arden was picked out of hundreds of kids. Some were nominated, but he was discovered by Sports Illustrated staff.

“We’re always on the lookout for kids who are good at sports and serve the community–some do more off field, like Arden, who runs a nonprofit,” said Mark Bechtel, managing editor of Sports Illustrated Kids, a bi-monthly youth version of Sports Illustrated magazine.

Sports Illustrated Kids started the award in 2007. Famous awardees have included Mo’ne Ikea Davis, former Little League Baseball pitcher who won in the Little League World Series, Reece Whitley, a world-class swimming champion and “JuJu” Watkins in 2020, who is now a college basketball player for the USC Trojans in the NCAA’s Division 1 Big Ten Conference.

But Arden’s award is more about his drive to give other kids a chance to play the sports he loves than about his own sports prowess.

“Arden’s dedication to helping youth facing homelessness is extraordinary and inspiring,” said Drew Moser, CEO of Lucky Duck Foundation & Tuesday Group. “He brings sports to youth who may not otherwise have a chance to play, some do not have a home or bed to sleep in each night.”

It all started when Arden was visiting Perkins Elementary School in San Diego four years ago. He came there to read students a book he authored as a fifth-grader on celebrating cultural diversity. It’s called, “The Adventures of Noah’s Flying Cars,” and is about a boy traveling to different countries. As he left school and was talking to the principal, Fernando Hernandez, he found out the school no longer had a budget for their sports program. It hit Arden hard. But he got to thinking maybe he could supply the kids with basketballs and coach the kids. He studied YouTube videos on teaching basketball.

“I’ve seen how much sports have taught me — teamwork, resilience, and leadership — and I wanted to create a program where kids could gain those same lessons, no matter their circumstances,” said Arden, who leads more than 50 youth volunteers who give free youth volunteers who give free sports clinics at low income schools.

At first he wasn’t sure it was doing any good, but the kids showed him it was.

“The most rewarding thing is seeing the pure excitement and joy on the kids’ faces when they step onto the court,” said Arden, who is only a few years older than some of his students.

“The kids love the basketball clinics,” said Fernando Hernandez, principal of Perkins K-8 School. When Hernandez asked the kids why, they told him things like, “This is the only time that I am ever going to practice with a real coach” and *He encourages me and doesn’t laugh when I don’t bounce the ball the right way.”

“I want the kids to take away a sense of confidence and belonging,” Arden said. “Many of these clinics are in schools where kids don’t have any access to sports, so my goal is to give them their first experience with teamwork, discipline, and the joy of being part of a game. I hope they leave knowing that they are capable of achieving great things and feeling inspired to keep pushing themselves, both on and off the court.”

Now his nonprofit has gone national and he started a Gear Up program to get youths involved locally and across the country to round up donations of basketballs, soccer balls and other sports equipment for kids in low-income communities so they can get a taste of team sports.

“The great thing about Arden’s outreach is that he has not kept it to himself. He has paid it forward,” said Kevin Dunn, director of Community Engagement at Francis Parker School.

Arden started volunteering in the community when he was 4 years old making care packages — Bags of Hope — for homeless people as part of Kids4Community, a nonprofit his older brother Kenan started when he was 13. Over the last four years, Arden has given out 25,000 pounds of food and led 350 youth volunteers who contributed over 7,500 youth volunteer hours. Arden interviewed a number of homeless kids and adults and shared their stories in an award-winning documentary on homelessness called “Second Chance.”

“I’m most proud of Arden for his good heart,” said his mother, Zeynep Ilgaz. Arden’s family emigrated from Turkey and has been big on giving back to the community.

He received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award in May 2024 for giving more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service. The City of San Diego proclaimed Feb. 23 as “Arden Pala Day.”

When asked about his decision to leave his basketball team and coach instead, Arden said, “I knew it was worth it. A lot of the kids have never had the chance to play or be part of a team. We’re not just running clinics — we’re opening doors and showing kids what’s possible.”

Schools in low income communities can apply for free after school sports clinics at www.sports4.org