Olivet is more than a workplace to Rick Perez. It’s a safe haven that he found his way back to recurrently throughout his life, especially in trying times. It even introduced the former Reading High basketball coach to the game, to numerous mentors and now to those he can pay it all forward to.
Q: Your connections with Olivet and basketball run deep and together. How are they intertwined?
My exposure to the game of basketball happened through the Olivet Boys and Girls Club. My relationship with Olivet started around fifth grade after my parents got divorced. It wasn’t formally the Olivet yet, but Al Lopez introduced me to the game there.
Q: How did basketball impact your youth?
The game gave me a positive environment, camaraderie, mentorship from coaches and so much more. It was a reason for me to behave. I had some behavior issues that resulted in me moving to Wilson [High School] from Muhlenberg. My struggles began during that transfer. My basketball career plummeted while at Wilson. I didn’t play well, so my dreams of playing college basketball diminished. But there was a tournament at Olivet where a West Chester University coach saw me play. I went there my freshman year in college, but due to life struggles, I came back home to Kutztown. Losing basketball then, I went through an identity crisis.
Q: How did you cope with that?
I returned to my safe haven, Olivet. The director there gave me an opportunity to work parttime while I was going to school. I evolved into a coach by accident. I never thought that it was in my future. I was doing [basketball] drills myself in the gym, and the kids started following me, but at the time, I didn’t realize I was coaching them. Eventually, we were filling up gyms. Brian Ellison, who was an assistant coach at Reading High at that time, needed help with the AAU program. I didn’t know anything about coaching, so I spent many late nights with him at his third-shift job drawing up plays with papers all over the wall. I became addicted. After that, I had an awesome introduction to Reading’s Coach Richard Reyes. I am forever indebted to him and Coach Ellison.
Q: What was the transition like from your successful coaching tenure to your CEO role?
Reading High changed my life. I really found myself and believed in my own work. Leaving there, I thought I had the ultimate plan. I was going to be an entrepreneur, and I had a business plan. But I’m a man of faith, and God took me in a different direction. I returned, again, to the Olivet Boys and Girls Club as CEO…not because I have all these executive skills but because I was those kids and I know the community…and it was truly Dr. Khalid Mumin, Angel Helm and Sue Perrotty’s faith in me that got me here.
Q: Now that you’ve been in the role for a year, what’s been the most fulfilling part?
Being the true go-between what the executive and what the street looks like. I know what it feels like to throw my bike down and run into the Club. I know what it feels like from an employee standpoint. So, for me, it’s being able to bridge any gaps that were there between the kids and the staff.
Learn More
Staying Grounded. Every morning, Rick drops to his knees in prayer to fill his cup. In addition, he opts for work-life integration over balance and involves his family in everything he does.
Eagles in April? Brandon Graham from the Philadelphia Eagles is coming to Olivet. Stay tuned for details on how to get involved at olivetbgc.org.
