House Elite founder and CEO Aaron Washington changes Kansas City sports culture one athlete at a time
Aaron Washington’s House Elite. // Courtesy Julia Kapros
Aaron Washington has a prestigious athletic history that began around his early childhood and is now leading the way to developing and producing more elite athletic talent here in Kansas City. He is the founder and CEO of House Elite and has dedicated his life to sports.
“Of course, playing basketball, I had goals, dreams, and visions of making it to the NBA myself,” Washington says. “God just didn’t have that in my cards for me to physically play, but being able to be a part of people’s journeys who are playing at that level means the world.”
He fell in love with the game around five years old and recalled growing up around the “peak” era of Kansas City basketball, often called the “Golden Era,” referencing the late ’80s and ’90s when several local players dominated the scene. Some even went on to play professionally, including Washington High School alumni Earl Watson who spent over a decade playing in the NBA.
House Elite gym. // Courtesy Sam Lutz
The 2021 documentary From Paseo to Pembroke: Kansas City’s Golden Era highlights high school basketball talent from 1988 to 1998. Watson was a standout in KCK high school basketball in the ’90s and was later drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics. The Rush Brothers of this same era included JaRon, Kareem, and Brandon, who graced the court and continue to be acknowledged to this day as one of the greatest basketball families to come from the metro.
Growing up, seeing this type of extraordinary talent transcended Washington’s game both mentally and physically. Washington not only has an impressive basketball IQ but also a contagious passion for impacting and transcending the culture of sports in KC.
Aaron Washington. // Courtesy Julia Kapros
After attending and playing basketball for Blue Valley Northwest and UMKC, Washington found a way to continue his passion for basketball and community through the House Brand.
Years before the birth of the House Elite Sports Performance Facility, he would train kids from around the area while attending UMKC. He received a call one day from one of his students inquiring about bringing a friend along for the free workouts, and Washington was instantly accommodating.
That new student turned out to be a teenage Bol Bol, son of the late NBA player Manute Bol, who would grow up to become an NBA player for the Phoenix Suns with guidance from Washington.
“We were able to build that relationship and rapport. We have been together ever since. It’s been incredible. I played at the Division I level myself, so kind of having that experience being able to speak to some of the things they’re going through—it’s been fun,” Washington says.
Training out in LA with Bol Bol in 2019, there were many athletes of different sports in the same facility, including Karl Anthony-Towns, Paul George, D’Angelo Russell, Aaron Rodgers, and more. While walking through the multi-sports performance facility, Washington wondered why these high-performance facilities didn’t exist in the Midwest. That’s when it all came to him, and the idea for House Elite Performance was born. He could bring a facility of the same caliber to KC while promoting community, a premium experience, and a holistic approach with a focus on skill development, strength and conditioning, nutrition, recovery, and mindset.
“You know, nothing like this [House Elite] existed here at the time. So seeing that facility and having the opportunity to go through that process with him [Bol] kinda sparked the vision for what we see today,” Washington says.
Of course, he also supported Bol walking across the NBA stage in 2019 after hearing his name called in the second round of the NBA draft. While it wasn’t Washington to walk across the stage to receive his official hat, he still felt like it was a “dream come true” to be there for Bol as he was welcomed to the league by Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum.
Aaron Washington’s House Elite. // Courtesy Julia Kapros
In early 2020, Washington stood in an empty gym in Overland Park, visualizing the possibilities of the space.
“When I sat in this building and had the vision for all of this, I didn’t know at that moment how any of it was going to come true,” says Washington. “But the belief I had in myself and in God gave me that vision—I just needed to keep moving forward. It has manifested itself.”
In June 2022, the ribbon was officially cut for the grand opening of the House Elite Sports Performance Facility, where youth, college athletes, and professionals can receive premium training right in their own city.
Aaron Washington’s House Elite. // Courtesy Sam Lutz
Bol Bol isn’t the only NBA talent that has been trained and developed by Washington. First-round NBA draft pick and former KU guard Ochai Agbaji also began training with Washington and continues to this day.
Agbaji graduated from Oak Park High and continued his basketball career under Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks. He was originally a redshirt freshman at KU but made his debut against TCU in January 2019 after a couple of players became unavailable. After Washington spent some time training with him during his freshman year, they would take a break for Agbaji’s sophomore and junior years as Washington was preparing Bol Bol for the NBA draft and conceptualizing House Elite. They resumed training Agbaji’s senior year at KU, where the pair would spend countless nights at the on-campus gym.
That same senior year, Agbaji would go on to win Big 12 Player of the Year (2022), NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (2022), and most importantly, win the Men’s NCAA Final Four Championship—KU’s 4th national title.
“At the level that Agbaji was playing at and the confidence he had, it was an incredible journey,” Washington says.
Aaron Washington’s House Elite. // Courtesy Julia Kapros
That same year also included the launch of the House Brand and the House Elite Sports Performance Facility.
“We started out with a strong emphasis on the basketball development side of it,” Washington says.
The House Brand includes multiple entities to support the vision for Kansas City sports. The facility currently offers free trials for parents and players to experience House Elite which you can sign up for on their website. House Studio+ offers in-house media support that captures everything on camera, such as highlights, reels, headshots, and more.
“You know, I think Kansas City has been overlooked for an extremely long time,” Washington says. “So I want to be the place that brings all of those different individuals together under one roof to just be an inspiration to our community of like, ‘Hey, it’s not just the bigger cities that have the guys that are doing great things at that next level; it’s people right here in my backyard.”
He has created a space for youth to see professional athletes like Agbaji and Bol come back to House Elite to train, which in turn has sparked the inspiration for his students to push forward.
“I want it to be encompassing of all sports, and all modalities, and athletes in general. Whether you play volleyball, soccer, or football—whatever the case may be. When you think of athletic development, you’d think of us.” Washington says.
Aaron Washington’s House Elite. // Courtesy Julia Kapros
Being a trainer has been an amazing journey for him, but the transition from player to coach was a challenge in itself for Washington. He prides himself on humility, service, and being a great role model for generations after him. Through his leadership, he wants resilience, endurance, and leadership to shine through his athletes.
“I’m tough on my students, I’m hard on them because that’s what they’re going to endure outside of this building. But at the same time, I build them up. I lift them up. I tell them I believe in them. I tell them they can do it. There’s a balance,” Washington says.
He recalled the transition from player to coach as one of the most difficult things he’s had to endure. As an athlete, your world revolves around your respective sport. You will eat, sleep, and breathe your sport for years. Most athletes experience the “pivot,” which is a time when you have to make that hard decision on whether you want to, or can, still press forward in your performance.
“Being able to set yourself up to be productive after the ball stops bouncing is very, very important,” Washington says, and wants to make sure his students are prepared for the real world post-training.
Washington knows how important it is to cheer on his students and provide encouragement every time the House staff is coaching. Washington feels very strongly about the importance of being able to build kids back up, especially when they’re at a young age, and takes pride in instilling discipline, self-confidence, humility under stress, leadership, and resilience.
Aaron Washington’s House Elite. // Courtesy Julia Kapros
When asked about advice he would give his younger self, Washington says, “I would tell my younger self, ‘You have that superpower to do whatever it is that your mind and your imagination takes you to.’ That’s what I’m starting to notice—that our power to dream, our power to think, our power to have imagination and act on those things is unbelievable. Right?”
The House Brand continues to trailblaze the development and accessibility of high-performance athletics throughout the community, one player at a time.
