Growing up in a low-income area, many children including myself had limited options due to poverty being all around us. We learned survival and coping skills at an early age due to exposure to so many things in our neighborhood. However, we knew there was something bigger, which encouraged us to dream larger than what we could see. For us this was sports.
The guys and I quickly learned when we were able to connect with others playing sports it created a common ground. Sports was the only place where our ethnicity or our family’s financial status didn’t matter. At that moment we all came together to enjoy the sport.
Sports gave us hope. It provided us the ability to dream, see potential, and possibly change the trajectory of our lives. We even saw generational wealth created – just from playing sports.
I’ve often heard the quote, there’s no I in team, but I truly felt when we played sports it allowed us to make new friends have coaches, mentors, and teammates – who were part of our extended family.
As a former athlete myself, I’ve seen many witness the positive impact sports had on the trajectory of a child’s life.
Would you consider changing the trajectory of a child’s life and investing in their future?