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TAMPA, Fla. – For 14-year-old Larry Blakenship, this summer\u2019s highlight wasn\u2019t just sinking shots, it was staging a major comeback.<\/p>\n
“We were down like 15 points, and we came back and won,” he said.<\/p>\n
READ: Tampa Police get 300 new lifesaving choking devices from New York-based company<\/a><\/p>\n But, it wasn\u2019t just the scoreboard that made it memorable. It was the people coaching him, Tampa police officers.<\/p>\n Local perspective:<\/p>\n Blakenship played in a youth basketball league led by officers with the Tampa<\/a> Police Departent, which is part of its Police Athletic League (PAL) \u2014 a program designed to connect officers with teens through sports.<\/p>\n “It was amazing actually,” Blakenship said. “The league was fun. Playing basketball with them, they had a great connection and stuff like that.”<\/p>\n MORE: Tampa police incorporate virtual reality into de-escalation training<\/a><\/p>\n That connection is exactly what these officers are hoping to build. On the court, they\u2019re building plays but also trying to build trust.<\/p>\n “There were a few [kids] that were really hesitant,” said TPD’s Master Patrol Officer Marcus Elam. “But when they get to play with you and see your personality, they really open up.”<\/p>\n Why you should care:<\/p>\n Elam said the goal is simple: Humanize the badge.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s a good way for kids to see police officers in a different light,” he said. “They get to know us on a personal level, as opposed to just seeing us driving around or responding to something bad.”<\/p>\n READ: TPD touts crime reductions in 2024 Annual Report release<\/a><\/p>\n The league is one of several community-based youth initiatives from TPD aimed at juvenile crime prevention by creating safe, supportive environments for young people.<\/p>\n They\u2019re building relationships one player and one team at a time.<\/p>\n Throughout the year, about 500 kids participate in various PAL sports. Officers volunteer their time to coach the teams.<\/p>\n Dig deeper:<\/p>\n At the heart of the program is the belief that trust built in the gym can ripple out into neighborhoods across Tampa.<\/p>\n “They get to take that experience back to their community and their friends and say, \u2018Hey, I\u2019ve got a personal relationship with a police officer,\u2019” said Tampa Police Officer Mike Simmons.<\/p>\n MORE: Tampa PD’s first deputy chief of community outreach retires after 25 years<\/a><\/p>\n Simmons knows the importance of that connection firsthand; he grew up in East Tampa. Now, he\u2019s giving back to kids who remind him of himself.<\/p>\n “A lot of these kids have our personal numbers,” he said. “They can call or text us, whatever they need. We\u2019re here not only to teach basketball skills but core values.”<\/p>\n From layups to life lessons, this league is aiming to make a difference far beyond the hardwood.<\/p>\n The Source: This story includes interviews with TPD officers who coach and organize PAL, data from the department and interviews with a teen participant.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tampa<\/a>Tampa Police Department<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. – For 14-year-old Larry Blakenship, this summer\u2019s highlight wasn\u2019t just sinking shots, it was staging a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[7,2241,37688,67,5201,12324,37689,1833],"class_list":{"0":"post-215123","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-hillsborough","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-organization","13":"tag-tampa","14":"tag-tpd","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114979787485627296","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tpd-pal-program.jpg\")
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