Up2Us Sports coaches are leaders in the field of sports-based youth development (SBYD), but they often don't receive the recognition they deserve. Coaches' Corner is our way to show our appreciation for our incredible coaches who make positive change in their communities every day!
This month, we spoke with Maxwell Le May, a coach at Beat the Streets New England.
For many Up2Us Sports coaches, coaching is a full-time commitment. For other Up2Us Sports coaches, being a student is a full-time commitment.
And then there are some coaches who do both at once.
Maxwell Le May is one of those coaches.
Maxwell, a 26-year-old middle school wrestling coach in the Providence Public School District (PPSD) in Providence, Rhode Island, is a full-time coach at Beat the Streets New England and a first-year Master of Public Health candidate at Brown University.
What’s it been like to balance coaching and school at the same time? “Busy, busy,” Maxwell said. “When I’m not helping facilitate trips, collect data, [or] working with kids… I spend the vast majority of my time studying!”
Working with seven middle school wrestling teams while also working toward a master’s degree is no easy feat, but Maxwell has taken it in stride. He is committed to the public health discipline and believes it meshes well with “the efforts of Up2Us [Sports] to make the world a more equitable and healthier place.”
“Why not start moving the needle right here in your neighborhood? If a fighting chance and equal opportunity for success is offered for all of Providence, Providence becomes a better place. ”
In fact, making his community a more equitable place was one of the reasons Maxwell became a coach in the first place. Given that he was born in Providence and went to school in nearby Pawtucket, Maxwell said that the kids he works with remind him a lot of himself. “This is my community… They are our future,” he said. “Why not start moving the needle right here in your neighborhood? If a fighting chance and equal opportunity for success is offered for all of Providence, Providence becomes a better place.”
Maxwell has coached within the Beat the Streets organization for the past two years. He spent his first year coaching when it was still known as Beat the Streets Providence. For his second year — and his first as an Up2Us Coach — he helped the organization join forces with Beat the Streets Boston to form a restructured Beat the Streets New England (like Coach Keith Bodden, who was featured last month).
“Beat the Streets New England connected me with Up2Us [Sports and its] proven formula and expansive support network to continue to support my ability to be involved with Beat the Streets for an additional year,” he said. “Especially at a very critical time during an expansion for Beat the Streets Providence into Beat the Streets New England, [w]e needed all hands on deck and I’m glad to have been a part of that process.”
Maxwell’s favorite memories from coaching include the everyday moments he spent connecting and sharing laughs with the kids on his team, as well as participating in round-table discussions “on the philosophical future of [his] organization,” which he called “really cool” and “hugely invigorating.”
“You want to make every second count in times like those because they are precious,” he said.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned [from coaching] is this: Human experience, the place or role we are born into, and the life we undertake varies so vastly...The only way to get a little wiser and gain a little more cultural sincerity is to immerse yourself in as much of the day-to-day of another’s as possible. ”
Maxwell’s service term concluded in January 2022, so what’s next for him? While he has not finalized any plans yet, he is considering joining the Peace Corps or studying for a PhD in neuroscience. Overall, though, he considers his years spent coaching as “an amazing, eye-opening two-year journey,” and feels that he has benefited greatly from the experience.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned [from coaching] is this: Human experience, the place or role we are born into, and the life we undertake varies so vastly,” he said. “The only way to get a little wiser and gain a little more cultural sincerity is to immerse yourself in as much of the day-to-day of another’s as possible. Sharing consistent yet random moments that help form everyone involved’s identity dissolves the differences. Through time and familiarity, everyone’s similarities become more apparent. A culture, team, and family grow out of that. It’s a beautiful thing.”
Maxwell served as Up2Us Sports coach from January 2021 through January 2022 at Beat the Streets New England in Providence thanks to support from AmeriCorps.
