TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
That is, until a few hometown volunteers decided to take the world’s perception of disabled and flip it on its end through the game of basketball. Whitni Allen, owner of Texarkana’s Heat It Up, was juggling the demands of family life and business when Jennifer Lewis, CEO of Texarkana Resources, stopped by to pick up a meal. In their conversation, Lewis talked of her work with people with disabilities, sparking an idea for Allen. Remembering her love for high school basketball, she wanted to give these men the same sense of excitement and competition she once enjoyed. Allen reached out to Texarkana Resources and Opportunities, and soon, a seven-man team was assembled. All they needed then was a coach, and Allen knew just the person. Jason Boston, a seasoned coach with an excellent reputation, was the perfect fit. The guy was born to coach. It runs in his family. His dad is a basketball coach, his brother is a basketball coach, and he is the happiest on a gym floor teaching kids how to dribble, shoot, and pass. Boston lives and breathes the game of basketball. He has made it his life’s mission to infuse his love into a very football-minded part of the world. To proceed with that mission, he founded Buckets with Boston, a basketball training program that teaches kids how to handle the ball and learn the game using correct form and techniques. It was through Buckets with Boston that he was training Allen’s daughter. In addition, Allen was once a member of the Texas High girls’ basketball team, which was coached by the one and only Jason Boston. Once All Abilities was an established team and had a coach, the only problem left to tackle was getting organized. Everything came together in such a rush, there was no time to practice before their first game in Foreman, Arkansas. The guys had yet to meet their new coach. Opportunities bussed the team to the gym in Foreman, and Coach Boston showed up separately. The team immediately accepted Boston as their leader. “There were no judgments on their part. They focused. They didn’t argue with me or have bad attitudes. They just played with everything they had,” he said.
All Abilities basketball coaches Whitni Allen and Jason Boston at the Texarkana Recreation Center.
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