Every year features emotional highs and lows, and 2023-24 was no different. But no moment moved us more than seeing St. Anthony boys’ basketball coach Alan Mitchell pointing to the sky in memory of his father after leading his Saints to the CIF-SS Division 2AA championship.
Mitchell lost his father just a month prior to the championship game.
“My father and me were very close, everyone who knows me knows that,” said Mitchell. “Peanut butter and jelly. Big Bear and Little Bear.”
Big Bear had a talented eye, too. He was actually the first to notice this Saints team’s championship potential, pulling Little Bear aside after a spring league game at Jordan High.
“He called it man,” said Mitchell. “He saw most of the boys grew a few inches from the previous year, he saw the size and physicality and speed and said, ‘Man your boys are playing hard for you. You guys could really win it this year.’”
On a Wednesday in January, Mitchell Sr. passed away at 11:35am, with his son and family at his side. After his father passed, Mitchell drove home and changed clothes, and then made a pivotal decision. His Saints had a big game against Bishop Montgomery that night.
“I wasn’t going to go at all, and I didn’t really want to,” he said. “But I knew that if I didn’t coach that night I wouldn’t be able to finish the season. I couldn’t really stop.”
The Saints won that game and quite a few after, resulting in a championship, and an emotional moment for Mitchell. After receiving the gold CIF-SS plaque he pointed to the sky and was overcome with emotion. Anyone who knew his story was overcome with emotion right alongside of him.
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