Sports as a Promise

President Obama announced a bold new initiative to re-inspire the war against poverty in this country called Promise Zones.  These zones will target resources to some of the most underserved areas in the nation. But what exactly is our promise to the youth in these communities?

I'd like to promise them a coach who can guide them through the challenges they face and who can point them to toward a successful future despite the obstacles posed by poverty.

After all, we know that most adults who succeed in this country are able to point to role models who helped them make the decisions in childhood and adolescence that resulted in their future success.

Children in Promise Zones should be the focus of the Promise Zones.  And they should each have access to the same adult "guides" that kids in every affluent community often take for granted.

The best and most affordable way to do this is to promise each child a trained Coach Across America coach in partnership with local sports-based youth development programs.

By delivering these youth safe after school sports activities that appeal to boys, girls and children of different abilities, we introduce these youth to adult role models, their coaches, who can help them envision a life beyond poverty.  By providing them positive peer groups through sports, we provide them insulation from the violence, substance abuse and teen pregnancy that is pervasive in their neighborhoods.  And by giving them the joy of physical activity, we build their bodies and their brains.  Numerous studies are demonstrating that kids who are physically active do better in school, overcome stress more easily, and develop social skills that help them make better decisions in life.  What's more, we can even create jobs in Promise Zones by hiring and training the young adults in these neighborhoods to be the change agents I just described.  After all, young adults from these communities with a passion for coaching make the best role models and their participation can lead to a more sustainable impact.

President Obama made a promise to create Promise Zones to end poverty.

I encourage him to make a further promise to the kids in those communities—a promise to provide them a coach so that the hope and potential of this effort is immediately visible in the parks, schools, fields, and playgrounds throughout these zones.  That defines the kind of community change that is at the root of ending poverty once and for all….

I promise.

Paul Caccamo Founder & Executive Director

[Click to Watch] Up2Us Coach Training Video

Up2Us conducts specialized trainings to teach the components of positive youth development through sports. We partner with a number of experts to educate our coaches, member organizations, and communities on the fundamentals of quality coaching, the components of positive youth development, and the challenges and opportunities of working in an urban environment.

Sasha DiGiulian...Up2Us' Rockstar

If you haven’t heard of Sasha DiGiulian by now, you should probably crawl out from underneath the rock you’ve been living under. Actually don’t…because that’s where you’ll be able to find Sasha, the world’s number one female rock climber.

At the age of seven, Sasha began her career in rock climbing at a local gym in her home state of Virginia. Recognizing her potential, they asked Sasha to join their junior’s team. One day, she walked into the gym during a regional championship and asked to participate. Sasha competed, won her category and since then, hasn’t looked back.

Now, 21, Sasha has been climbing for 14 years and has set a number of national and world records. She’s traveled to over 32 countries to pursue rock climbing for both training and competitions.

Sasha strives to push herself to go above and beyond her limits—attempting some of the worlds most difficult rock climbs. Back in 2011, she did just that. Sasha traveled to the Red River Gorge of Kentucky where she was determined to ascend one of America’s most difficult rock climbs. Rated 9a, it would be the most difficult female ascent in American rock climbing history. Not much to our surprise, Sasha completed the ascent, being the first and only North American woman to achieve 9a.

Every day, Sasha is attracting more and more attention to the sport of rock climbing. She's appeared on the cover of 16 magazines, was a featured guest at the US Embassy in Switzerland and serves as an athlete representative on the board of the International Federation of Sport Climbing.

Last year, Sasha became Up2Us’ first Ambassador and we couldn’t be more excited and proud to have her support. Because of her passion and love for rock climbing, she supports Up2Us in providing opportunities for every child to experience the transformative power of sports, no matter what that sport is.

Up2Us’ rockstar…literally.

Fast Facts about Sasha: Age: October 23, 1992 (21) Height: 5’1" Weight: 97lbs Years Rock Climbing: 14 (since 1999) College: Columbia University Favorite Color: Pink

Current Rankings: Female Overall World Champion World Ranking Leader: Female Outdoor Sport Climbing Pan American Champion Reigning U.S. National Champion

Apply for a CAA Coach Today!

If you are interested in hosting coaches through our CAA program to help build capacity at your organization and serve more youth, please complete the application below.  Up2Us provides its member organizations with the resources and support to select and manage coaches through our CAA program to work with youth in our nation's most under-resourced communities.  CAA is a workforce development program that contracts with Up2Us members to act as host sites for CAA coaches.  Beyond financial assistance for coach wage/stipend, CAA supports member organizations to recruit, train, and supervise CAA coaches that serve in their respective programs. Apply here

If in Tampa, Miami, & New Orleans, click here!

Support Up2Us on Giving Tuesday

Tuesday...Whose Day? My guess is that someone in your life inspired you when you were very young to believe in yourself and to dream that you could make it one day.

Maybe it was a teacher or a coach or a music instructor or a mentor.

Now just imagine growing up in a situation in which there is no adult to believe in you.   Through no fault of your own, simply because of circumstances beyond your control, you live in a house with an absent parent.  You go to an overcrowded school with a teacher who doesn't have time for you.   Your peers are getting involved in gangs or becoming moms at age 13.  And there are not enough coaches or mentors in your community to show you a different way…a way out.

Today, people across the country are participating in Giving Tuesday.   It launches the holiday season asking us all to take a moment and support a charity whose mission means something to us.

I’m asking you to consider Up2Us to be that charity. Support Up2Us’ mission to use sports to bring about change in the lives of our nation’s at-risk youth.

Please do it in honor of an adult who inspired you when you were young—that  special "mentor” or “coach" who taught you life lessons that still ring true with you today.

In return, your support will be used to hire and train coach-mentors to be there for kids who desperately need positive role models in their lives.   And Up2Us has got the magic formula to do it—it's sports-based youth development programs PLUS highly trained coach mentors.  The fact is, while kids in the most traumatic circumstances may lose their connection to most adults, they will still look up to their coach.  I want to train a national workforce of coaches in America to foster this trust and inspire in kids, no matter how desperate their circumstances, the skills and life lessons that will get them through school, to college and onward to a successful life.

Tuesday…Whose Day?

I say this day belongs to that adult who once inspired you. Honor him or her by making a role model possible for a child who needs one. Click here to make a donation.

Want to do more? Promote the link to your friends and followers on Twitter & Facebook using #GivingTuesday and @Up2UsSports.

Thanks for your support and have a wonderful holiday season!

Paul Caccamo Executive Director

Cutting Sports, Cutting Values

I'm often receiving links to stories about the power of sports. Recently, I saw a story of a high school football team in Michigan who made a secret pact that they would forfeit every scoring opportunity when they got to their opponent’s one-yard line.   They wanted to set up one of their teammates—a child who was labeled as “not cool” because he suffered from a developmental disability—to be in a position where he could successfully carry the football into the end zone and score his first touchdown.  By the end of that game, his teammates had succeeded.  They blocked the opposing team and cleared the way for this “uncool” kid to score a touchdown and be cheered on by the entire community. Afterwards, one of the other high school football players said in tears that he learned lessons from the whole experience that he would take with him for the rest of his life.  He explained that up until that moment he had never thought of anyone but himself.  But that touchdown helped him to realize that life is really not about “you,” it’s about the actions you take for others.

This story about the power of sports led me to ponder…what if every child in this country learned this lesson at a young enough age to guide their entire future?  What kind of impact would that have on our schools, communities, businesses and governments?   Then, I pondered an even more fundamental question…where do children go to even learn these kinds of lessons today?   Unfortunately, the answer to the last question is fewer and fewer places.

Too many children grow up in homes with parents who are overly focused on their own economic and personal problems to worry about their kids.  And too many of our schools are so focused on the test score that the concept of teaching values and ethics is almost nonexistent.

That leaves after-school activities like sports.  Sports programs, like that football program in Michigan, remain the one arena where kids learn to work together with values like teamwork, leadership and compassion.  When they are led in accordance with the Up2Us standards of sports-based youth development, sports impart on young people a sense of community and belonging that does shape their futures.

Which leads me to warn communities, parks, schools and other government officials as they create their 2014 budgets. The elimination of sports programs is the elimination of values.  And these are budget cuts which none of us can afford.

Paul Caccamo Executive Director

NY Jets & Up2Us

Back in August, Up2Us partnered with the NY Jets on a sports equipment drive to take place before every pre-season and regular season game at Metlife Stadium. The Jets Play 60 Sports Equipment Drive benefitting Up2Us gives fans the opportunity to donate new and gently used equipment three hours prior to the start of every home game. All equipment donated will be dispersed to our member organizations in the NY/NJ area. Up2Us has approximately 100 member organizations in the NY/NJ area, all using sports and youth development to improve the lives of youth in underserved communities.

So far Up2Us has seen great support from fans! We’ve collected a number of different sports equipment including baseball bats, helmets, tennis rackets, cleats, and much more!

Examples of accepted items include: Footballs, Soccer balls & goals, Baseball & softball gloves, Volleyballs, Basketballs, Water Coolers, Free weights, Jump ropes For the rest of the season, fans that donate will receive a signed NY Jets football or an official Breast Cancer Awareness Sideline Towel provided by the NY Jets. Items are limited so donate soon!

If you will be attending a Jets game at Metlife Stadium and want to donate equipment, you can find Up2Us between the Pepsi & Bud Light Gates three hours prior to the start of the game.

Remaining games of the 2013-2014 season:

12/1 Miami Dolphins @ 1pm 12/8 Oakland Raiders @ 1pm 12/22 Cleveland Browns @ 1pm *Up2Us will be collecting equipment starting at 10am

If you want to donate equipment but will not be attending a game this year, please email Christy Venable at cvenable@up2us.org to find out further details on our equipment donation locations. Thank you to the NY Jets for providing Up2Us with this incredible opportunity and a special thanks to A-1 First Class Moving and Storage.

Click here for more information on our equipment drive.

Up2Us Gala 2013

Up2Us hosted its first gala this past June at Tribeca Rooftop in New York City. Over 350 guests celebrated and supported Up2Us’ mission to advance sports as the solution to the critical challenges facing America’s youth.

Following cocktails, Sandra Bernhard opened the program by introducing Up2Us Founder & Executive Director Paul Caccamo who gave a touching speech on the power of sports to transform the lives of youth. Internationally acclaimed musician and composer Wynton Marsalis presented Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with the first ever Up2Us Legacy Award, recognizing the NBA hall of famer for his 20-plus years of contribution to sport, education, and humanitarian efforts. Following Kareem, NBA All-Star David Lee presented three Coach Across America coaches with the Coach of the Year award, recognizing them for their exceptional service and dedication to supporting at-risk youth.

Cocktails were held on Tribeca's famed rooftop where guests were treated to 360 views of the Manhattan skyline and a red carpet, which included Naomi Watts, Sienna Miller, Erin Heatherton and other notable personalities. Emcee of the night, comedian Sandra Bernhard, rocked out on the red carpet with a guitar signed by Mick Jagger, which later sold for $15,000 at our live auction. Up2Us honoree and NBA Legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, also joined the red carpet walk, taking pictures with other athletes including Sean Avery, David Lee and Sarah Hughes.

Congratulations again to Ebonee Le'Triece from World Fit for Kids, Michel Tilapa from Beyond the Ball and Payne Schanski from Tenacity on their Coach of the Year awards. Up2Us would like to thank everyone for their support in helping us get one step closer to our goal of placing 1,000 coaches nationwide by 2015. We look forward to seeing you all at our 2014 Gala!

Creating Change Through Sports

On Saturday, September 28th over 150 Coach Across America coaches from Los Angeles and around the country started an intensive four-day training conducted by the Up2Us Center. The National Coach Training Institute focused on applying trauma sensitive coaching and positive youth development techniques through sports to better support at-risk youth.

At the completion of the Coach Training Institute on Tuesday, October 1st, coaches marched to Lafayette Community Center celebrating their send off into communities across the country to use sports to mentor and empower youth. The graduation ceremony, hosted by Up2Us member Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), included a number of special guests who spoke about the importance of being a coach and mentor to at-risk youth. Speakers included HOLA Executive Director Tony Brown, Up2Us Founder Paul Caccamo, former professional soccer player & Up2Us staff member Angela Hucles, Department of Recreation and Parks East District Supervisor Veronica Rodriguez, former professional volleyball player Gabrielle Reece, and former professional tennis player Pam Shriver.

Following the panel discussion, coaches and special guests participated in a gallery walk to further discuss the knowledge and techniques coaches learned during Up2Us’ Coach Training Institute. A closing circle ended the ceremony with a Coach Across America team building tradition, ‘Ketchy Ketchy’ brought to us by our partners at Edgework Consulting.

Congratulations to our graduating Coach Across America coaches! Thank you for committing to a year of service coaching and mentoring at-risk youth through sports! A special thank you to all the special guests and attendees who came out to ‘Creating Change Through Sports: Coach Send Off.’ over 150 Coach Across America coaches.

Sticks and Stones…

What if “someone” wanted to hate you? You did nothing wrong to this “someone.”  In fact, you don’t even know why this “someone” doesn’t like you.  It might be someone from work—someone from your community—someone you met at a social gathering—someone you hardly know.

Now, what if you get an odd feeling that this “someone” really is destroying you.   They are spreading rumors that are ugly and untrue.  The rumors are about your personal life.  They are not only untrue but they are embarrassing.  And now you suddenly have this sense that these rumors have gotten to your family, your neighbors, and your co-workers.  In fact, people are now talking about you behind your back.  Stories you don’t even know about.  And there’s no way to defend yourself because you don’t even know how this is happening.

But it doesn’t stop there.  Now you hear something vicious about you on the Internet, on Twitter, on Facebook, on YouTube, and even on Instagram.

This can’t be happening.  You did nothing wrong.  You don’t even know what caused this person to hate you.  But it keeps coming.  In fact, other people are doing it too.  You’re life really is getting destroyed.

What would you do?

Now, what if you’re only 14 years old?

Welcome to “Bullying 2013.”

This month across the country, several children have taken their lives because they couldn’t take the bullying.  And yet, we have made little progress on educating those responsible for our youth—our school leaders, our teachers, our coaches—on what to do about it.  In part, because many adults confuse “Bullying 2013” with “Bullying When They Grew Up.”  It’s not the same—it’s more vicious because there are more means to communicate it.

Starting this fall, Up2Us will partner with Ben Cohen’s StandUp Foundation to create a toolkit to help coaches use the power of sports as a solution to bullying.  While many youth may associate sports as an arena that fosters bullying, it in fact can be a powerful platform for preventing it.  Coaches naturally receive the respect of their athletes.  They are in a unique position to address diversity and inclusion among their teams and steer would-be bullies into pro-social behavior.  They can also be intentional about engaging those youth who are bullied into participating in sports and facing athletic challenges that can provide them a new sense of dignity and self-worth.  And, yes, all of this can take place in the context of “positive peer pressure.”  After all, that’s what a trained coach fosters, and that’s what sports are all about.

“Stick and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.”  That was once true before those names ended up all over the Internet.  It’s no longer true today.  Up2Us is proud to lead a national effort to end bullying through the power of youth sports in America.  Let’s get our community leaders and schools to do the same.

Paul Caccamo Executive Director

I would like to acknowledge Diana Cutaia for her work in this area and her support of this Up2Us effort.

Up2Us on Melissa Harris-Perry

Not Just Any Coach….A Trained Coach

Today, nearly every parent must leave their child in the custody and care of another adult during a good part of the workday.  During after school hours, this adult is often a coach. Yet, coaches across the country receive very little training, if any at all, on how to work with children. They may know their sport, but do they know how to address teaching sports in the context of a teenager struggling in school, or a girl coping with self-image issues, or a child who's being bullied?  Coaches should be equipped with basic tools to use sports to teach teamwork and leadership to every child during their practices.  Without this kind of training, many of the life lessons that a coach can impart are lost.  And, in some cases, this lack of training can result in coaches who are modeling the wrong behavior.  The result: an increasing number of American children drop out of sports because they feel more encouraged by the flashing victory lights of their carefully designed video games than the yelling of their untrained coaches.  And that needs to change.

I say we reverse this trend by requiring a minimum training in youth development for every coach in this country.   All coaches should undergo basic coursework on child development--emotional, physical and social---and how to maximize the sports experience to impart life skills.   This week, Up2Us completed its second National Coach Training Institute this year in New Orleans where coaches became certified in sports-based youth development.   The Up2Us Center is conducting four national coach training institutes this year, including upcoming trainings in Boston and Los Angeles.  Now just imagine if every one of the estimated 2-3 million coaches in this country, paid and volunteer, were required to attend such an institute or take courses online before taking the field?

Let’s stop imagining and start requiring.  Up2Us is leading the nation in developing professional standards around sports-based youth development.   We believe the future of youth sports is at stake.  Only when we prove the potential of our coaches to contribute to the success of the next generation of Americans will we ensure that schools and communities stop slashing their sports budgets.   And most importantly, by requiring this training in youth development, we send a reassuring message to all parents who drop their kids off at practice:  the coach who will oversee your child for these next few hours has been trained to help your child succeed in life.

Paul Caccamo

Executive Director