Mission
Since 2011, Handshake America has been developing tomorrow’s leaders by coaching them to embody our Five Practices of Success — Perseverance, Passion, Positivity, People, and Presence — inspired by John Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success.”
Our focused, yearlong program uses a team-based approach that enables meaningful coaching and provides postsecondary scholarships for high school student-athletes.
With a guiding hand, we help gritty, coachable young men and women from diverse backgrounds learn
the elements and definition of “success” while leveraging the experiences and grit they gained through
athletics. Even though they all come from diverse families, schools, and socioeconomic conditions, they all share common virtues. Connecting them with successful professionals, we break down walls between people, show them that success is attainable, and reveal how the lessons from the playing field can be translated to success in all aspects of life.
To date, we have awarded more than $500,000 in postsecondary scholarships to over 300 gritty and coachable student-athletes from Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina, who have gone on to enroll in 115 colleges in 24 states.