The NBA Was Only The Beginning
FROM PLAYING IN THE PROS TO MENTORING LOCAL TALENTS
It is not often that you hear “the NBA was only the beginning,” from a celebrity athlete. But, for Wesley Fluellen, Founder of Fundamentals First Basketball Academy (FFBA), the NBA was the link between his dreams of playing basketball professionally and creating a mentoring program for kids with similar, difficult upbringings as his.
Wesley endured abuse and neglect in his early years and was eventually raised in the Cleveland foster care system. His foster parents introduced him to the teachings of Jesus. “Hearing that Jesus loves me through it all no matter what I have been through stuck out [to me] the most.”
Over the years, he did a lot of self-work to rewire the mental programs that he had about life and relationships. Discovering basketball in the 8th grade helped him realize who he was meant to be. He excelled at the sport through high school and was eventually recruited to Robert Morris University, a Division One school just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Wesley knew all along that if he believed it, he could achieve it. “At the time, I thought basketball was what I was born to do and nothing or nobody would stand in the way. I knew from a young age that I would end up playing professionally and be the best version of myself as an athlete.” And he did just that! For 12 years, Wesley played professionally - in the NBA for the Orlando Magic, and overseas in Europe and South America. He learned about different cultures and began viewing life from a whole new perspective.
Once his tenure in professional sports came to a close, Wesley began FFBA to engage with students in Cleveland, across the nation and around the world to cultivate their talents. The goal of the mentorship program is to help students see beyond the community and the life they are used to – that hard work opens doors of opportunity.
Wesley always thought his ultimate gift was basketball and that his end-goal was to make it to the pros. “I now know, that was not the purpose of my hard work, the purpose of practicing in the rain, the reason I was the first one at practice and the last one to leave.” He explains, “That purpose was to help these kids all along and I had no idea. That is why God gave me this gift - it allowed me to reach more kids than I could have without making it to the pros.”
Mentoring and coaching these students through FFBA means bringing basketball-skills training and sports camps to the students that need athletics in their lives the most. Through the basketball programming,
Wesley attaches life skills, discipline, responsibility and sportsmanship to add to the students’ tool kits! Lindsey Fluellen, Wesley’s wife and Administrative Professional at FFBA, has a front row seat to the relationship between Wesley and his students. “You can feel the presence of God in all that he does for the kids. They trust him deeply because they know he has been through what they are going through.”
Through FFBA, Wesley and Lindsey have helped 365 young men get into college on athletic scholarships, offer basketball programs year-round for students which have proven to reduce fights in school and increase attendance rates. The programs also allow him to share Jesus with young kids as a constant source of stability and love.
We’ve helped Wesley establish a fiscal agent and identify and strengthen his goals around what he hopes to accomplish; we’re working with him to develop a road map for growth. LIFT is BHITC’s “pay-it-forward” consulting and coaching arm to equip and empower future nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs. BHITC’s Director of Leader and Community Development, Vatreisha Nyemba, launched the first cohort of LIFT in 2021 as a means of forming a network of like-minded faith leaders.
“Wesley has a die hard commitment to serving young people. Through Fundamentals First Basketball Academy he is utilizing his talents in basketball, his passion for the game, and his personal testimony of overcoming as tools to impact lives.”
- Vatreisha Nyemba, Director of Leader and Community Development
Wesley is looking for individuals to sponsor underprivileged youth to be a part of FFBA’s programs; if you are interested, please contact Lindsey for more information at Fundamentalsfirstbasketball@gmail.com.
To help sponsor BHITC’s next LIFT leader, contact Jeff Wright, BHITC’s Senior Manager of Donor Partnerships at jwright@buildinghopeinthecity.org.
