Skeeter Swift, 62, grew up playing basketball and football in Alexandria at George Washington High School, where he was best known for drop-kicking a field goal to defeat Annandale in 1965. He later went on to star in basketball at East Tennessee State University (he’s in the school’s Hall of Fame) and played professionally in the now-defunct American Basketball Association. On Tuesday, Swift will be back in Alexandria giving a pep talk to kids at The Charles Houston Recreation Center and another talk Thursday for inmates at the Alexandria jail.
What will you be talking about?
It depends on who I’m speaking to. Usually, I’ll talk about the game of life, asking the questions “Where were you?” “Where are you?” and “Where are you going?” to help teach young people. I usually talk about when I was a boy in Alexandria playing basketball on the streets of D.C.
What was that like?
I could play on the streets of D.C. with the best of them, where either you were accepted or they throw you by the wayside. I was white in a black area, and I was accepted — and I can never repay the African-American players for accepting me and helping me become a great player. By playing with the best, I was able to become the best. … I was chosen by all five newspapers as MVP for Northern Virginia for three years running.
Will you tailor your speech to the inmates?
It will be the basic “Where were you? Where are you? Where are you going?” but I’ll also talk about how they can still get a college degree in the penal system. I’ll talk about how they can be a positive force, and I’ll send the message: Don’t stay in too long.
What did you do after you stopped playing basketball?
I went into sales, selling paper goods. My road has been very bumpy and very blessed. I’m not worthy of all that’s happened, and I had a lot of help along the way.
