Cultivating Hope

Shon Tarver never imagined himself planting seeds for a living.

He was a three-year starting guard at UCLA in the 1990s, earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology, played professionally in France and Japan and spent one year as an assistant coach to Bobby Braswell at Cal State Northridge.

Then he changed jobs.

He became a probation officer and basketball coach at Camp Kilpatrick in Malibu, a juvenile detention facility for teenage boys.

It has been two years now of trying to reach troubled teens by planting seeds of inspiration.

“My hope is the seed is going to grow,” Tarver said. “I don’t know when. It might be in the ground for a couple of years.”

These teenagers aren’t the worst of the worst, but they did break the law.

Maybe they’ve been truant, committed burglary or vandalism, smoked marijuana or violated their probation. Whatever the reason, they’re wards of the court, and Tarver’s job is to prepare them for a return to society.

Three days a week, he’s in charge of a dorm of 56 boys. He also coaches the basketball team, which is 13-4 this season and competes in the Olympic League. Kilpatrick never lacks basketball talent, but the team rarely has lettermen because the goal is to have no one return for a second year.

The students have lost their freedom and must follow a structured routine. They get up at 6:15 a.m., must dress in Los Angeles County-issued clothes, get three meals a day and go to bed at 9 p.m. They eat together, study together, sleep together. If they don’t conform to the rules and expectations, they can be sent to another juvenile facility with fewer opportunities in sports and academics.

Tarver, 30, is an ideal person to take a shot at penetrating the shield put up by teenagers unwilling to listen to adults.

“Once they see you actually care, it’s amazing the response you get,” he said.

Convincing his students to focus on long-term goals rather than seek immediate gratification is the challenge he faces on a daily basis.

“It comes down to parents,” Tarver said. “A lot of these kids don’t have parents. They have to take care of their brothers and sisters. It blinds them. It cripples them because they’re no longer concerned with the big picture of life. They’re more concerned with, ‘How am I going to get through this day.’

“A lot of times I can tell how they’re going to react in the real world by how they play basketball. It’s a harsh reality. How are you going to put food on the table for your son or daughter if you can’t handle X-Y-Z at practice? I see kids unbelievably talented. They have to be steered in the right direction, and they respond.”

It’s too early to tell how many lives Tarver has changed.

“I don’t go in there thinking I’m going to change a kid in four months,” he said.

All he wants to do is plant that seed of hope. He said the best part of his job is when a former student calls seeking guidance from his new high school or college.

Tarver, who was a top player at Oxnard Santa Clara High, said he might return to college coaching one day. Two seasons ago, he was part of the coaching staff that helped Northridge reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. He learned plenty from watching the strategies and techniques of Northridge’s Braswell.

“It’s a lot different [at Kilpatrick],” he said. “I’m dealing with pretty good athletes, but a lot haven’t played organized ball. It’s helped me communicate better. I’ve taken this as an experience to grow from.”

At this point in his life, Tarver has found a dual calling: coaching basketball and helping troubled teens.

“I enjoy what I’m doing,” he said.

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.