YES! Programs-Youth, Education, Safety

Count On Me Family Foundation developed YES! Programs - Youth, Education, Safety as a platform for events and clinics that focus on the education of socioeconomically disadvantaged youth in the communities we serve. The ultimate goal of YES! is to enrich disadvantaged youth in all aspects of life from academics to arts to athletics. The Count On Me Youth Football Extravaganza served as an anchor program under the umbrella of YES! and incorporated safety, teamwork and life skills into a fun-filled football clinic for elementary and middle school age children.

Great fun was had at the second annual Count On Me Youth Football Extravaganza held at UCLA athletic facilities on June 5th and 6th, 2015. Developed for youth football players and their coaches, activities took place over a two-day period and provided important facets of football in a fun and exciting environment.

On Friday evening, youth football coaches attended a clinic at UCLA’s Acosta Athletic Training Complex that included an all-star lineup of renowned Los Angeles area high school football coaches. Each coach shared their points of view on coaching young minds and provided a consistent message of the importance of preparation in all areas and facets of football and life. The coaches that evening included Scott Altenberg (Garden Serra), Jim Benkert (Oaks Christian), Steve Hagerty (Bishop Amat), Matt Logan (Corona Centennial) and Antonio Pierce (Long Beach Poly).

The superb staff of volunteer coaches included several players from the UCLA Football Team. The Bruins worked with the young kids, signed autographs and took a few pictures, too!

Possibly the biggest “kid” out on the field was also the biggest name – Coach Jim Mora worked hard with the 5-7 year olds and quarterbacked a few one-on-one drills with the young football players.

Kids from all over the Los Angeles area participated in the clinic and included players from the Snoop Youth Football League; the LA City Ducks; Lakewood Pop Warner; The LA Valley Seahawks; The LA Demos; and the Santa Monica Vikings.

The Youth Football Extravaganza would not be complete without the tremendous support of our in-kind donors and sponsors. Thanks to these amazing companies and organizations, our attendees were well-fed (thank you California Pizza Kitchen, KIND and Melissa’s Produce!), well-hydrated (thank you AQUAhydrate!) and went home with a great t-shirt and swag from our show and apparel partner (thank you Adidas!).