On January 12, 2021, Up2Us Sports celebrates our 11th anniversary! It was on January 12, 2010 that we officially received the IRS notification with our effective date of nonprofit exemption as a 501(c)3 organization.

We asked our Founder & CEO Paul Caccamo to reflect on what 2021 will look like.

Coaching during a pandemic.

Paul Caccamo, Founder & CEO

If you are a youth sports coach right now, there are only two ways to see it: the glass is half full or half empty. As the nation’s only national service program focused on coaching, I see it as half full. After all, we may be missing opportunities for in-person practices, drills, games and competitions, but we have unique opportunities to challenge young athletes in ways that we never did before.

As Up2Us Sports celebrates our 11th Anniversary this week, we celebrate the new meaning of the word “coach”. A Coach is no longer just an athletic drills instructor or fitness trainer; a coach is a lifeline.

In 2021, more kids than any other year in history will be looking to their coach to help them navigate the challenges that they are facing on and off the field. As instructors of sports, coaches need to be prepared to run both virtual practices and in-person practices that meet community health guidelines. As mentors of life skills, coaches must also be prepared to inspire their athletes to maintain healthy outlooks, to stay in school and to continue to set positive goals for their futures.

And herein lies the opportunity:

By challenging kids to stay fit during a pandemic, coaches teach youth that, even in isolation, they can develop skills, strength and stamina that might surpass even their earlier expectations for what it means to be an athlete.

By uniting teams during a pandemic, even virtually, coaches build positive social bonds that will contribute to resilience and better decision making long into the future.

By encouraging youth to remain focused on academics, coaches act as one of the most significant influences in young people’s ability to stay in school and graduate.

By setting aside time to simply listen, coaches help to ensure kids’ mental health, even when anxiety and stress are at an all-time high.

During our 11th year of service, Up2Us Sports is committed to recruiting even more coaches as both instructors of sports and mentors of life skills. We are also dedicated to providing all coaches the tools, training and resources to play these critical roles in youth development. We want to end 2021 by saying sports not only survived a pandemic, but youth sports participation experienced a renaissance because of a pandemic. Why? Because the pandemic taught every one of us how important coaches are to ensure that our youth thrive, even in the face of adversity.

Thanks to all of our staff, supporters and stakeholders who make our work possible.

Happy Anniversary Up2Us Sports!