This year DeMarcus Lewis formed Lexington High Risers to make a change in the Lexington, Kentucky community. As a Personal Trainer and Sports Conditioning Coach he’s had the opportunity to train athletes from all sports, including a very diverse clientele. As the sport has grown over the past few years his clientele has increased in the number of volleyball athletes. However, across the country, and especially in the state of Kentucky, the participants are predominantly white. After recognizing the need for more opportunities for minorities in Lexington to train and compete in volleyball and see African American representation not only in a coaching role, but in a club leadership role as well, he decided to form a volleyball club.
Lexington High Risers’ mission is to “level the playing field so that every child regardless of circumstance gets to win the benefits of playing volleyball. Factors such as socioeconomic level, race or gender should never exclude anyone from getting the opportunity to experience playing volleyball let alone any team sport.”
After forming his club in August 2023, DeMarcus recognized that with his background and being a new club among some more established clubs in his area, he needed some guidance in order to grow his club and be competitive in his area. Through the JVA Mentor Program, he was matched with JVA Mentor Bernie Headley, Director of 360 Sports Academy, and Chair of the JVA Social Justice Task Force.
“When I received the email about JVA Mentor program. I jumped right on it. To my surprise I was teamed up with Bernie. After meeting Bernie and hearing about his story it came to me that this was the perfect Mentor, and now he has become a great friend,” said DeMarcus.
A few months into the Mentorship, the two have been using weekly phone calls to discuss the hurdles of starting a new club in an area with larger, more established clubs. In this first year, Lexington High Risers has three girls teams at 14U, 15-16U and 16U. Bernie has been able to offer solutions for Lexington High Risers to differentiate itself from the other clubs and focus on their mission as a small club rather than trying to do everything or be like the larger clubs.
“Because we both have similar purposes when sharing with our communities the excitement the sport of volleyball brings, it helped me avoid mistakes early on. Bernie also helped me to stay focused despite the obstacles that occur as a minority in an unfamiliar territory,” added…
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