In Spring 2009, Game Plan Academy (GPA) opened camp for the first time.

Fast forward one full year, and now GPA has replicated its success in Sacramento and has expanded into Compton successfully.

And with success comes thankfulness.

All the mentors at GPA, which now includes former professional athletes Gio Carmazzi, Alex Van Dyke, Lyle West, and Tyus Edney, have enjoyed volunteering their time this spring to provide (what we hope are) inspirational resources to students who may not normally have access to these services. Collectively, which includes Brian Geremia, David Campos, Matt Carmazzi, Billy Downing, and Kai and Brent Pottenger, we are thankful for all those mentors who have mentored us over the years, and GPA is our small way of giving back to the next generation of aspiring leaders.

In short, in addition to providing SAT/ACT test prep, writing assistance, and sports-specific training, among other things, we hope that GPA helps to develop (in some small way) tomorrow's leaders who will go out into their communities and give back creatively to meet local needs.

As an open-source youth development platform, GPA is a simple, yet effective model for working with students that any Private, Public, and NonProfit (3P) Partnership can start and run. If you or someone you know would like to conduct a test pilot GPA program, please have them contact me at: brentpottenger5 [at] gmail.com

To learn more about GPA, please visit: GamePlanAcademy.com

... and read previous coverage in The Sacramento Press!