Local sports equity organizations, The LEMO Foundation and Squash on Track, are joining forces to make squash and other sports that are traditionally restricted by economic barriers accessible to youth from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
Co-Founder of LEMO, Ali Magner, who has worked in a coaching and operations capacity since the organization’s inception in 2008, said they are always looking for new opportunities to help close the equity gap and bolster career and academic outcomes for underserved youth.
Magner coaches over 500 girls in volleyball through LEMO, where K-12 students are offered scholarship-funded coaching in a wide range of sports from golf to basketball, as well as academic tutoring, out of their 43,000 square foot recreational facility in Redwood City.
Magner said the new partnership with Squash on Track, which kicked off on August 27, will allow LEMO participants to access a sport that has historically been out of reach due to prohibitive costs and club memberships. The squash facility, which is headed up by squash champion Richard Elliott, is less than a mile from LEMO’s campus and also offers academic enrichment. “It was a no-brainer in terms of aligning and joining forces to grow our impact in the community,” Magner said.
Magner said that sports that require a dedicated facility, such as squash, are not readily available at community recreation centers. “Like golf, it’s hard to get into,” Magner said. “It’s been amazing to watch our kids over there.”
Redwood City resident CeAnn Taimani-Hayes is one of LEMO’s first students to participate in the Squash on Track program. The 7th grader said that while she has always been into sports and has played basketball and volleyball, she has never tried squash.
“So when squash came up, I was curious. I’d never played it before, but something about learning a new sport in a space that felt safe and exciting pulled me in,” Taimani-Hayes said.
Taimani-Hayes said she’s also enjoying the friendly competition.
“I love going head-to-head with someone and pushing myself, but it’s not like other sports where it gets too intense. Squash has this cool balance – you’re focused, you’re fired up, but you’re also having fun.”
And while she is not thinking about pursuing it at a professional or collegiate level yet, it’s not out of the question.
“Right now, I’m just playing for fun, but who knows, maybe down the road I’ll take it further. If I’m still into it, I could see myself going for college level or even more,” Taimani-Hayes said.
Eighth grader Gloria Vasquez-Cadillo is another LEMO student who is enjoying the recent squash addition.
“One of the things that really stood out to me was knowing that I’d have support with academics while also getting to play a new sport, which made the program even more valuable,” Vasques-Cadillo said.
Apart from the positive health, discipline, and social outcomes sports involvement can provide, LEMO’s programs have helped students receive full-ride athletic scholarships for college. This type of success story is epitomized by the director of LEMO’s Encore Volleyball Club, Torika Baleilekutu, who was a LEMO participant in 2012 and later attended Missouri State University-West Plains on a full athletic scholarship in volleyball.
“We put hundreds of kids in college on scholarships. They’re going to four-year institutions like Cal Poly and UCLA…these are very good schools that they’re earning scholarships to. I think that’s the success story, when they’re able to complete that four-year, and then go off into their career,” Magner said.
While financial barriers play a role in why an underserved student might not have access to certain recreational sports, Magner has found that the time it takes to get a child to practice and the cost of transportation itself are also challenges. Along with providing funding to cover coaching, uniforms, equipment, and facility rentals, LEMO helps fill these other gaps with support from parents and mentors, as well as its own vehicles.
“We provide buses and transportation when needed – whatever it takes to ensure that they can get here consistently,” Magner said.
LEMO enlisted Aspire Education for the tutoring portion of its program and welcomed the micro-school, The Apex Prep Academy (TAPA), onto its campus on September 3. TAPA will also supplement the athletic coaching with academic support for LEMO students; Magner is hopeful that bolstering the tutoring options will lead to more academic college scholarships and complement their track record in the collegiate athletic space.
LEMO partners with schools and other organizations to recruit students and, through a referral process, continually expands its reach. For more information on LEMO or the Squash on Track program, visit https://www.lemofoundation.org/ and https://www.squashontrack.org.