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Education. Basketball. Exploration.

Helping urban youth become leaders on and off the court. The Academy focuses on creating a supportive environment for academic growth, character development, positive peer relationships, and providing cultural experiences.

IN 2021 A BIGGER WORLD FOUNDATION LAUNCHED THE ACADEMY — A NEW YOUTH DEVELOPMENT BASKETBALL PROGRAM — TO SUPPORT STUDENTS IN WAUKEGAN, IL IN LEARNING LIFE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES THROUGH THE GAME OF BASKETBALL.

The Academy, By A Bigger World Centers Around Three Important Pillars

Education. The game of basketball provides ample opportunities for coaches to mentor students and impart life skills. Through a social-emotional learning curriculum, guest speakers, and mentoring students learn concepts like teamwork, overcoming adversity, and respect.

Basketball. Our focus is on fundamentals, basketball terminology, and learning to be a good teammate. As students learn new skills and techniques, they will do so in a context without the pressure of games or fans. This context allows them to be kids and simply enjoy the game of basketball.

Exploration. Each exploration provides a unique experience for the students and is tied to concepts they are learning on the court and in the classroom.

“The Academy means family, leadership, and opportunities. The Academy has given me guidance for life choices. I have learned how to manage my emotions and have gained confidence. It means a lot to me.”

-Ivan O., 8th Grade

Our Students are MVPs

Every day they are putting in the work to be leaders, both on and off the court.

The Academy helps support and develop decision making skills, team work, accountability and community in all of our student athletes. Students dedicate themselves to reaching challenging goals and building supportive relationships in the foundation. Together we know we can help each other be the best as teammates and in life.

Tonight we celebrated our 8th graders with dinner at Perry’s Steakhouse in Vernon Hills. Many of these young men have been with The Academy since we launched and they were rising 6th graders. We’re so proud of all they’ve accomplish
This morning @furmanmbb led a clinic for 5th graders at Lyon Magnet School, teaching dribbling, shooting, and even playing some one-on-one. Afterwards, they held a roundtable discussion with 6th graders at @john_lewis_middle_school_ , discussing th
After our service learning project, we laced them up and played two games against @leohschicago and were coached by @furmanmbb. Thank you Leo for a great day!
Today we’re at @leohschicago for a service learning project. We were joined by @furmanmbb and @staylitcys to do a neighborhood clean up this morning. Our student-athletes worked with Leo’s basketball team to clean up trash, sweep sidewalk
We kicked off our week with @furmanmbb with a visit to Cooke Magnet School, where these student-athletes spoke to and then led basketball activities with the 5th grade class. These students had fun dribbling with @pjay_smith, passing and shooting w
We wrapped up our afterschool program today with a trip to Whirly Ball for games, laser tag, pizza, and lots of fun. These student-athletes had an amazing school year filled with academic growth and development on the court. We’re proud of all
Congrats to our student-athletes of the month! We stress the importance of showing up on-time and ready to work in all facets of life. Over the last month, Vykter, Vinnie, and Eloy have 0 unexcused absences and 0 tardies to class. Their consistency h
Big thanks to @cooper_schwieger and Isaiah Stafford of @valpobasketball for spending the afternoon with our student-athletes at The Academy! They spoke to our student-athletes about life as D1 basketball players, the importance of academics, the hard
We promised our high school student-athletes we’d take them to the NBA game of their choice if they achieved a 4.0 in any semester. Congrats to Ivan for achieving a 4.429 GPA and currently sitting in the top 10 of his class! He wisely chose to
After our service-learning project, The Academy and @leohschicago played two games together at the Brookside Campus. After a day of working together, it was fun to compete against each other. The games were very competitive and these student-athletes
It’s #EarthDay! Today, student-athletes from The Academy and @leohschicago came together for a service-learning project with @waukeganparkdistrict. Rev. Barbara Waller taught us about the ways we are all connected through the water of Lake Mi

Student Spotlight

The Academy congratulates our 8th grade team who is traveling to Champaign to compete in the 8th grade State Championship @seeyouatstate.

These young men have been working towards this goal all school year. All student athletes have improved their GPAs over 3.0 and have been practicing and training with Coach Deshawn and Coach Jones at 5:30am twice a week on top.

We are extremely proud of these young men’s accomplishments and are ready to watch them compete!

Go Academy!

About

Our school-year session is broken into three terms. We encourage students to begin the program at the start of a term.

School-Year Program

  • During the first half of the year, The Academy focuses on building our culture and becoming a team.

  • Basketball season is a time for The Academy to support and encourage our students with how far they have come in the school year.

  • In April and May, The Academy’s focus is on persistence, growth, and ending strong. These two months are focused on continuous goal setting, persistence, and focus with basketball and academics to end the year in the best way possible.

The Academy runs an eight-week summer program for incoming 5th graders to rising 9th graders in Waukegan, IL. 

Summer Program

  • These eight weeks are filled with engaging and critical thinking lessons and activities and end each week with an exploration field trip. Students learn about themselves, making good choices, hands-on reading and science activities, student leader and passion projects. On the court, students focus on all areas of basketball and teamwork.