Central Islip, N.Y. - Up2Us, a coalition of more than 650 nonprofit organizations that believe in the power of sports to fight childhood obesity, end academic failure, and reduce gang participation, recently announced Johanna Mitchell, a senior member of the St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) women’s lacrosse team in Sparkill, New York, to serve as an Up2Us Coach Across America coach at Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership during Summer 2013. 

Mitchell, from Pearl River, N.Y, will be joining the Up2Us Coach Across America program through efforts by ECC Commissioner, Dr. Robert Dranoff, who secured National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) funding for the second straight year to provide career development for one student-athlete in the conference.  Andrea Slavin,  an alumnus of Queens College, was the first ECC representative selected to the Up2Us Coach Across America partnership in 2012.  She worked with America SCORES New York, helping youngsters through teaching soccer, writing and service learning.

The Up2Us Coach Across America program is a national initiative supporting a workforce of coaches who focus on positive youth development through sports.  Up2Us currently places 400 coaches in more than 300 low-income communities across 28 states to positively impact 55,000 children and youth.  These coaches serve kids through a wide range of traditional and non-traditional sports inspiring academic improvement, healthy lifestyles and positive self-esteem among youth.

“The minute I heard about Coach Across America from Andrea Slavin at this past ECC Leadership weekend, I knew this was a program I wanted to be a part of,” said Mitchell.  “I have been involved in sports since I was five and I believe involvement in team sports has made all the difference in my life.  A personal goal of mine has been to one day be a part of something that makes a difference in children’s lives. This summer I will have the opportunity of a lifetime; where I can fulfill two passions of mine: working with kids and coaching lacrosse.  I want to inspire these young girls to learn and grow and develop the same passion I have for the game.”
    
“We were thrilled to have Andrea on our Coach Across America team in 2012 and are delighted to welcome Johannah this year!  We hope these coaches are the first of many as a result of a partnership with the ECC and Up2Us,” says Paul Caccamo, Executive Director of Up2Us.

This year, Mitchell will work with the Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership (HLL) Day Camp based at the Frederick Douglas Academy in New York City.  This summer program combines lacrosse instruction and practice in the morning with academic and leadership training and workshops in the afternoon. HLL is a youth organization whose mission is to “build leadership skills and social responsibility through lacrosse and to provide a safe and structured setting for their players as they guide them both on and off the field through coaching, mentoring and academic intervention.”

Up2Us provides its coalition members with resources, services, and technical assistance that help them better deliver and expand high-quality sports-based youth development programming in some of the nation’s most underserved communities.  Up2Us also oversees a national service program called Coach Across America, which challenges young adults and student-athletes to spend a year giving back to their community as coach-mentors. For more information about Up2Us or Coach Across America, log on to up2us.org.