The State Fair Community College men’s basketball team, about 30 supporters and a handful of children gathered in the back room of Will Taylor’s barber shop, All-Starz, Monday, Dec. 5 in Knob Noster.
Their objective, lit only by one paint light, was to bring a community together and speak on illuminating subjects, such as education, decision-making and goal-setting.
“When you have a dark room, you have to fill it with bright lights,” speaker Derek Smith said. “You have to find that bigger cause.”
Taylor, a self-described country boy who met SFCC head coach Kevin Thomas this semester on campus, speaks with passion on promoting positive messages, no matter your platform. He said the barber shop is as good a forum as any, and envisions All-Stars as a haven — a place to learn lessons and grow up.
With a theme of having a backup plan after athletics or school in mind, he said the barber shop saved his life.
“We have taken the barber shop as a mechanism, as a way of networking,” Taylor said. “That ain’t what a barber shop is for. A barber shop is a place of fellowship. Most people that come here to the barber shop, they come here because it’s therapy. Everything that’s going on in life, they leave it at the door when they come in.
“There is where a lot of kids learn everything at. When I learned how to wear my clothes, I learned it at the barber shop. I would sit around at the barber shop when I was a young gent, and I would sit back and listen to my dad and my uncles talk.”
Joined by Smith, former NFL defensive end Mike Flores, Senior Master Sgt. Raymond Capehart and members of the Roadrunners, Taylor emphasized cultivating healthy relationships, self-expression and mentoring the youth.
“One of the things that brings us together is sports,” Capehart said. “I probably would have made it farther in life if I would have opened up earlier.”
After the speakers concluded, Thomas and the team distributed photographs, programs and toy basketballs to the children in attendance.
Eric Forte, and 11-year-old who lives on Whiteman Air Force Base and plays basketball, football and soccer, said he learned about making good decisions.
Thomas said he was glad to help reach out to the community, especially the youth.
“Will (Taylor) asked if we could bring some of our guys out here and just talk a little bit about academics,” Thomas said. “Just doing positive things. Hopefully, some of the kids learned something.
“I can remember being a little kid, and I always looked up to the older guys who played basketball. You know, you listen to everything they say.”
Vonny Irvin, sophomore Roadrunners guard, joined freshmen Isaac Bassey and Russell Baker to talk about collegiate academics.
“If you’re a little kid out there, keep your grades up,” Irvin said. “Academics first before being an athlete. Always be a student first.”
