Risk Taker Academy Leadership Academy

Hello, my name is Corey Sanders. I am raising funds to establish Risk Taker Leadership Academy (RTLA,) a co-op for gifted student-athletes. RTLA will provide a customized educational and athletic experience that caters to our student-athletes diverse learning styles and unique challenges. Our focus is on creating an equitable learning environment that eradicates our demographic's most prevalent disparities. We will create an integrated curriculum that develops leadership skills and implements social-emotional learning. Additionally, through this co-op, student-athletes will have the flexibility to train and travel. Our goal is to help dedicated student-athletes achieve greatness and rise up to their full potential both academically and athletically.

RTLA grew out of a basketball team I formed in November 2017, where I served as head coach. The roster included roughly eight six & seven-year-olds with no prior experience in a non-competitive recreational basketball league. I had not coached this age group in over 20 years, so fittingly, I named us Risk Takers, inspired by the book Risk Is Right by John Piper. This moniker was intended to signify that we were willing to take risks to go beyond the adverse circumstances many of our players faced and win in athletics and the game of life. The group is now 11 & 12-years-old and maintains most of the original members. But now, they are Amateur Athletic Union and US Amateur competitive league athletes and champions.

Since the pandemic, however, many of our parents and I recognized a decline in some of our team's educational engagement, heightened social anxiety, and increased emotional instability. Subsequently, I wanted to create a flexible approach to learning that offered pathways to empowerment, mastery, purpose, and growth for our most impacted student-athletes. I wholeheartedly believe that when students can learn at their own pace, the learning opportunities are limitless. In addition, the life skills acquired through the rigor of scholarly achievement, high-quality athletic training, and competition will grow them as servant-leaders.

Since the inception of our basketball program, I have desired to use youth sports as a critical element in accomplishing community unification goals. Our basketball program bridges geographic, cultural, and socio-economic differences by offering a high-quality athletic program to all youth, whether from urban or suburban parts of the city. Our team models a healthy family-community partnership with trusting and collaborative relationships, which I desire to expand through RTLA. 

We will hire on-site educational support and staff and athletic trainers with the funds. Additionally, we will purchase software, laptops, and other supplies to operate the co-op effectively. This financial support will help significantly reduce or eliminate our parents' costs.

Will you join me in making a difference? Any donation will help create an impact. Thanks in advance for contributing to this cause which means so much to me.