The pairing of Spam Musubi and a Capri Sun juice box is a common post-game snack ritual in the region of Los Angeles known as the South Bay, where basketball is a right of passage for many Asian American youth. 

Friends of Richard, or F.O.R., was founded as a youth sports program in 1959 in honor of Richard Nishimoto, a young Japanese American athlete who died suddenly at the young age of 18. Since then, F.O.R. has developed into a basketball league with over 700 girls and boys that play games and tournaments year-round. The league is unique in that players generally play on the same team from kindergarten through high school, building lasting friendships.   

The connection between the Asian American community and basketball goes back to the Japanese internment camps during World War II, when internees used the sport as a way to pass the time and to cope with the injustice of being incarcerated. Basketball leagues continued to play a part in Japanese American life even after internment, despite the social and economic hardships that awaited.

Jason Hiroshima, the current President of F.O.R., explains that leaving the internment camps did not mean Japanese Americans could go back to living their lives as they once had.

“When they came out of the camps, they had everything taken away from them. All of their real estate, their businesses, everything they had,” he explained. “So, like humans have done, they come together and rely on the community. Sports is something that you really can’t take away from someone.” 

Although Japanese Americans faced hardships post-internment, sports became a vital way to rebuild and connect with the community, offering an escape from the harsh realities of life. Moms of the players would bring savory homemade dishes after every game, win or lose.

“Basketball was a way for youth to “keep things normal” in the face of different things,” Hiroshima adds. “When you go to college, I guarantee you’re going to see people who also played in this league even if you didn’t play all the way to 12th grade, and that connection is immediate.” 

Ty Lockwood, a former F.O.R. player and a current Johns Hopkins University freshman, has personally experienced the community building from F.O.R. “As a child, it was a way for me to step away from the house and become involved in a greater organization, and now I see that it has connected me with so many people and has created a foundation for a strong group of lifelong friends.”

Through organizations like F.O.R., Asian American youth basketball uniquely dedicates itself to mentorship and raising up a new generation of people who care about the community and its traditional values. 

“Traditions help us identify who we are in this melting pot and help us see who we are,” Hiroshima says. “It is very specific to us as Asian Americans, not like how it would be in Japan.”

F.O.R. has now moved beyond its role of creating community to fostering leadership and providing opportunities for younger generations to step into leadership roles. Through F.O.R.’s Double Dribble program, Kindergarten and first graders learn the fundamentals of basketball from middle school and high school players. It simultaneously is a way for older youth to give back to the South Bay, while giving younger players a headstart in basketball and a love for the sport. 

“We’ve seen everybody come through that gym,” Hiroshima says. “When my dad was the F.O.R. president, he started this Double Dribble because this was one way to get other youth into the community. It’s based around basketball, but it’s a community of people doing something to bring everybody together.”

What sets Double Dribble apart from your average basketball summer camp is that while the community orientation continues to foster basketball skills, it also provides a safe place to learn while instilling the importance of volunteerism and community building in older players.

“At the time, it was just dads and moms who were helping run it, but what that’s evolved into is a leadership program as well,” Hiroshima says. “When these kids who grew up in this program and hit seventh grade, it’s their turn to turn around and give back to that community.”

In addition to passing down rich history, F.O.R. fosters lasting friendships for its players. The Asian American basketball phenomenon in the South Bay has truly become a place for players to come back regardless of life’s circumstances. Within such an inviting space, young players develop a true love for basketball. 

“Double Dribble introduced me to basketball, and from the beginning formed my passion for the sport,” says Lockwood, who served as a volunteer coach for many years. 

With so many options for competitive youth basketball, such as club teams, city leagues, and school teams, there are significant challenges in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the organization. However, F.O.R. prides itself for maintaining a space of learning the sport for all levels of athleticism. 

“As long as you’re willing to play basketball, you can play [with F.O.R.]. That puts a lot more strain on our program in terms of keeping teams and players because they’re more interested in being competitive,” Hiroshima says.

In the years past, F.O.R. has also run a unique leadership program for its high school players called Playmakers Project, where they learn about different leadership styles, combatting Asian stereotypes, and Asian American history.  By fostering an environment where players can connect and understand each other, the South Bay creates fertile ground for the next generation of leaders: a place where sports become not just a game, but a platform to extend mentorship beyond the court.

“I’d say that even in the South Bay it is easy to become isolated in the bubble around your school and city, so F.O.R is so impactful because it breaks that and introduces players to an environment with new diverse voices that build a greater understanding of the world,” says Lockwood. “In addition to directly supporting the Asian American community as a culturally centered organization, breaking these bubbles is essential to fighting discrimination by developing an understanding of each other and all of our similarities even through differences.”

F.O.R. continues the spirit of resilience acquired during the Japanese internment period by equipping its youth with resilience and fostering empowerment, leaving a legacy to pass on to the next generation. Hiroshima plans on bringing back Playmakers Project into a truly consistent program in the hopes of bettering local youth, instilling new cultural responsibilities and personal growth.

“Providing leadership and mentorship opportunities for our youth differentiates ourselves from being just a sports program,” Hiroshima says. “When basketball is all over, our leadership training is something that all of our youth can take on with them.”

Leadership has always been a cornerstone of the Asian American community, with each generation passing down the responsibility to uplift and guide the next. It’s this sense of leadership that keeps cultural traditions alive and thriving, ensuring they endure for years to come.

“It’s important that all of this that we are doing now came from the Asian American history books,” Hiroshima notes. “If you understand where this came from, you get a greater appreciation for what is really built here.”