PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Aboubakare Diaby loves to wrestle. But for years, he needed four hours to commute between Southwest Philly and the Northeast just for the chance to hone his craft.
“I had to travel about two hours away from my house just to get to practice and two hours back. It was pretty stressful coming home at night in a dark time when it wasn’t always safe,” he said.
He no longer has to make that commute to do what he loves, thanks to a $55,000 donation to the Police Athletic League of Philadelphia.
Diaby can now practice and coach other young people in a wrestling room at the Southwest Philadelphia PAL center at 5900 Elmwood Ave.
Families Behind the Badge, a nonprofit group, made the donation. A partnership between PAL and Beat the Streets led to the new wrestling room.
Diaby, now a student coach at the center, can begin to work with kids in his own neighborhood.
“Wrestling has just changed my life completely, and I’m just excited to give that opportunity to many other student-athletes and have (wrestling) change their lives,” he explained.
Diaby will get the chance to mentor his younger brothers. They will be among those student-athletes who will take advantage of the new wrestling room.
“It’s an opportunity for all these kids around this area to get into the sport of wrestling and learn and be better people,” Diaby said. “It’s also a sense of hope.”
He plans to keep coaching kids at the center while attending Drexel University on a full scholarship. He also plans to join the wrestling team there as a walk-on.