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.

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.

Miami Marlins Closer AJ Ramos Becomes Up2Us Sports Ambassador

Up2Us Sports is happy to announce that AJ Ramos, a pitcher for the Miami Marlins, has been named the organization's newest Ambassador. In his first season as an MLB closer in 2015, he pitched for 32 saves, which ranked him ninth in the National League. Originally from Lubbock, Texas, he played collegiately at Texas Tech University and was drafted in the 21st round of the 2009 MLB First Year Player Draft. Ramos will connect with youth in the Miami community and share his experiences as a professional baseball player, as well as serve as a voice to promote how powerful coaches can be in the lives of children. “Some of the best mentors of my youth were coaches,” said Marlins Pitcher AJ Ramos.  “Serving as an Up2Us Sports Ambassador means supporting young athletes in Miami with well-trained coaches who can properly develop their life skills,” concluded Ramos.

“Up2Us Sports is a valued Charity Partner of the Miami Marlins,” said Alfredo Mesa, Vice President and Executive Director of the Marlins Foundation. "Coaches who apply the organization’s curriculum for youth development are stronger mentors for young athletes.”

Earlier this year, the Miami Marlins named Up2Us Sports as one of their 2015 Charity Partners. The Marlins have funded Up2Us Sports’ work in the Miami area and provided sports-based youth development (SBYD) training for all baseball coaches in MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program. The addition of AJ as an Ambassador will further support the important work Up2Us Sports and the Marlins are doing in Miami Dade County.

Follow AJ on Twitter and Instagram.

Doubles Tennis Champion Pam Shriver Joins Up2Us Sports as Ambassador

Up2Us Sports is happy to announce that doubles tennis champion and Olympic gold medalist, Pam Shriver, has joined the organization as an Ambassador. Shriver - who captured 21 singles titles and 112 doubles titles in her illustrious career - will connect with youth participating in sports by sharing experiences from her athletic career and helping to relay the message that coaches trained in sports-based youth development make a difference in the lives of young people. “For two years I have been aware of what Up2Us Sports is about. By training sports coaches to work with at-risk urban youth through their Coach Across America program, they are creating a powerful force of trained coaches who are helping these kids find trusting mentors that can help them make safe, healthy choices. It's important that coaches know how to teach multiple sports, but even more vital that the coach-mentors understand child/human development so that they can help navigate the many minefields that are too prevalent in poor, urban neighborhoods,” said Shriver. “I’m thrilled to continue working with this incredibly impactful organization.”

Since 2013, Pam has been involved in outreach we’ve done in the Los Angeles area. She attended our 2013 Los Angeles Coach Training Institute, hosted a tennis clinic in 2014 for kids from South Central Los Angeles and, just last month, sat on a panel with various Los Angeles stakeholders to discuss the power of coaches to decrease youth violence.

Follow Pam on her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Panel in Los Angeles on Coaching to Prevent Youth Violence

On Tuesday, September 22, Up2Us Sports presented a panel of distinguished experts for a discussion on violence prevention strategy and goals, moderated by Founder and CEO, Paul Caccamo. The primary objective of the panel was to focus people’s attention on the power trained sports-based youth development coaches have to help kids say no to violence and make better decisions.

The panel included influential Los Angeles community members who are experts in the space and are passionate about reducing youth violence in Los Angeles and around the country. Panelists included:

• Megan Bartlett, Chief Program Officer, Up2Us Sports;

• Blake Chow, Commanding Officer - West Bureau, Los Angeles Police Department

• Bruce McCall Jr., Sports Program Lead, Sheriff’s Youth Foundation

• Pam Shriver, Olympic gold medalist in tennis and ESPN commentator

• Anne Tremblay, Director, Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction & Youth Development

• George Weaver, Vice President of Child Development and Special Programs, Brotherhood Crusade.

The panelists spoke candidly about the current situation in Los Angeles, the role trained coaches can play in youth crime and violence prevention and the efforts that are being made by the LAPD, LA Sheriff’s Department, LA Mayor’s office and others to help combat the epidemic.

The panel was attended by nearly 100 guests, including a new cohort of Coach Across America coaches who were attending the Up2Us Sports National Coach Training Institute in Los Angeles.