Ambassador Claressa Shields Makes History with Second Olympic Gold Medal

On Sunday, Up2Us Sports Ambassador Claressa Shields made history by becoming the first American boxer - male or female - to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals. The Flint, Michigan native beat Netherlands fighter Nouchka Fontijn 3-0 (40-36, 39-37, 39-37) in the middleweight category. A heavy favorite going into Rio, she was given a first round bye before beating Russia’s Yaroslava Yakushina in the quarterfinals and then Kazakhstan’s Dariga Shakimova in the semi-finals.Shields joined Up2Us Sports as an Ambassador in 2014 and has not only been a voice for, but an example of, how a you can succeed when you have an incredible coach in your corner. Learn more about her incredible journey of overcoming the odds and coming out on top by watching T-Rex: Her Fight For Gold, an award-winning documentary of her journey to winning gold in the 2012 London Games. T-Rex is currently showing on PBS’ Independent Lens.

Use #MyCoachTaughtMe to Share Your Story

Up2Us Sports is launching an exciting social media campaign called #MyCoachTaughtMe to build awareness about the powerful role great coaches play in the lives of our nation’s youth.

Follow the steps below to post a brief message on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook describing a powerful lesson learned from one of your favorite coaches or role models.

Up2Us Sports Wins $50,000 in Gatorade Contest

It was announced on July 24th that Up2Us Sports won Round 1 of Gatorade’s For The Love Of SportsTM contest. As the winning nonprofit organization, they will receive a $50,000 donation from Gatorade. The campaign features sponsored athletes Usain Bolt, Elena Delle Donne, Paul George, April Ross and Serena Williams, who are all competing at the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Up2Us Sports won Round 1 of the contest by receiving 42% of total votes received during the six-week open voting period. Competing nonprofits included National Alliance for Youth Sports (40%), PeacePlayers International (10%) and Challenged Athletes Foundation (8%). Up2Us Sports is grateful for the incredible support of their constituents, family, friends and, most importantly, staff, who worked tirelessly to get this victory. With this donation, the national nonprofit will be able to provide more coach-mentors to kids living in some of the most disadvantaged communities across the country.

The contest includes a total of fourteen nonprofits, competing in four rounds, with the winner of each round receiving a $50,000 donation. Additionally, each non-winning charity will receive $5,000, totaling $300,000 in donations towards youth sports organizations fueling the love of sports. The contest ends on November 30th.

WNBA Sharp-Shooter Sugar Rodgers Joins Up2Us Sports as Ambassador

Up2Us Sports is excited to announce that Sugar Rodgers, a shooting guard for the New York Liberty, has been named the organization's newest Ambassador. The Georgetown University graduate is currently in her third season with New York and fourth season overall, after being drafted 14th in the 2013 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx. She had a stellar collegiate career as a four-year starter for the Hoyas, leading them to three trips to the NCAA Tournament. The three-time Honorable Mention All-American finished her career as the school’s all-time leader in scoring (2,518) and three-pointers made (346).

In a piece Rodgers wrote for The Players' Tribune,she opened up about growing up in poverty in Suffolk, Virginia, and talked about how she overcame those obstacles with the help of sports. By serving as an Ambassador with Up2Us Sports, Sugar will connect with youth who are experiencing a similar upbringing and encourage them to persevere and look to sports - and their coaches - for guidance. Her hope is to be seen as an example of how it is possible to overcome the odds and make it out.

Rodgers is off to a red-hot start this season and currently leads the league in 3-point field goals made. She sits second on the Liberty in points per game and minutes per game behind her MVP-candidate teammate, Tina Charles. Earlier this month, Sugar was named to the USA Basketball Women’s Select Team, which will train alongside the USA Women’s National Team before they head to the Rio Olympic Games.

Follow Sugar on Twitter and Instagram.

Coach Tempest: Squash Provides Relief and Opportunity

Tempest Bowden started at the bottom. Literally. “I grew up in West Philly, in a neighborhood called ‘The Bottom.’ Most people don’t know it was called ‘The Bottom’ because of where it was located in relation to a river, but a lot of people call it ‘The Bottom’ because it was the hood - it was the ghetto. It was a hard life. As a kid, you are kind of blind to it and don’t see it, but I grew up in that.” Tempest and her younger sister, Quineta, grew up poor and often didn’t have lights or gas or food.

By the age of 12, Tempest had entered a very rebellious stage. She shares, “I was not really good with adult figures because I was used to my mom making empty promises and I didn’t trust anybody. It was rough.” Enter Julie Williams, [now former] Executive Director of SquashSmarts - a nonprofit, after-school program that supports kids on the court and in the classroom. Williams introduced the sport of squash to Tempest in her gym class. “Squash was one thing that helped me to gain some sort of balance. A place where I could go and relieve stress because I didn't understand my life. Sometimes being hungry was frustrating and going to squash practice to get that frustration out and get a snack at the same time was really good.” Squash had become her outlet.

Tempest spent almost every day in the program for six years. In the fall of 2009, she headed to Mount Holyoke College, where she continued to play squash at the NCAA Division-III level. After a series of tragedies, Tempest left Mount Holyoke and returned home. She didn’t know what she should do next, until she discovered City Year. “It was the most amazing experience I ever had because that’s when I knew I wanted to work with kids. Immediately, I knew I needed to work with kids, especially inner-city kids.”

On a return visit to SquashSmarts in 2015, and six years after leaving as a student at the organization, Tempest was offered a role as a Coach Across America coach. To begin her service as a Coach Across America coach, she attended the Up2Us Sports National Coach Training Institute in Boston. There, coaches are taught how to coach sports and teach life skills, in what is called sports-based youth development (SBYD). They are trained how to work specifically with children who come from disadvantaged communities and who have, or are, experiencing high levels of stress and trauma in their lives - something that hit close to home for Tempest.

“My favorite part of the training is the day we talked about the brain, the impact of stress and how sport can be that perfect outlet for kids to become their better selves”

“My favorite part of the training is the day we talked about the brain, the impact of stress and how sport can be that perfect outlet for kids to become their better selves,” she shared. She knows squash has helped her become her better self. “The more I played squash and pushed myself I knew I was not going to be done with squash. I knew I was going to be doing it for my life. Honestly, it’s the most consistent thing in my life.”

Tempest left the training with a strong desire to keep working hard and improving as a coach. “I know squash very well and the training I got with Up2Us Sports fine tuned everything that I needed to be the coach I am today. Learning how to be a trauma-sensitive coach, learning about the High Impact Attributes, things like that really helped me to connect with my kids on a greater level.”

On June 15, 2016, Up2Us Sports honored Tempest as the Coach of the Year at their annual Gala in New York City. On July 31, 2016, Tempest will finish her one-year term as a Coach Across America coach, but her time with SquashSmarts will not end. She will continue as a full-time employee, serving as the Director of Squash and Fitness for their middle school program.

“2016 has been an amazing year for me. It really opened my eyes to my potential. People used to tell me all the time, ‘Tempest, you have so much potential!’ and I didn't believe them. I would just play [squash] and that was my thing. Now I can see it and I feel it. It feels really good to have that feeling, to know that you are doing something positive. It really pushes you to be your best self.”

It certainly sounds like Tempest has made her way from “The Bottom” to the top.