A nonprofit is aiming to make waves in the Lehigh Valley.
“There’s nothing around here like this,” said Kayla Snyder, freshman at Emmaus High School.
It’s the Keich Basketball Legacy.
“We’re focused on bringing kids in to teach them about what life after basketball will look like,” said Katie Keich, vice president of the nonprofit.
It was started by husband and wife Katie and Larry Keich as a way to not only strengthen athletes’ basketball skills, but life skills too.
“We’re bringing that all together to teach them that basketball is a vehicle, but there’s life after basketball,” said Keich. “Financial literacy, business acumen, teaching them how to save for their first car.”
It’s something Katie Keich says she wishes she had back in the day, after two freak accidents flipped her high school life upside down and ended her basketball career at Emmaus High School for good.
“I ended up transferring from Emmaus High School and went to Bethlehem Catholic and ended up graduating from Beca,” said Keich. “I was really in shock when that happened.”
She quickly learned why it had to happen.
She met her husband, who’s been by her side for 20 years and helping bring this nonprofit idea to life.
“I’m a big believer of fate, every part of my life has a fate piece to it,” said Keich. “As a family we’re ready to make a social impact.”
Now, they’re using their own story for young athletes. In 2024, they plan to have a facility open in the greater Lehigh Valley area, with not just courts, but classrooms with mentors and life coaches.
They want to teach anyone from middle school to college that life isn’t just your sport, and if your path changes, it’s for a reason.
“If it happens, it happens for a reason. You might not realize it now but you’ll realize in the end,” said Keich.
