We staged our 2nd Annual BOSS™ camp July 20-31, at which time we continued our relationship with our BOSS Class of 2014 and introduced the BOSS™ “process”. Our BOSS™ camp once again had a STEM academic focus on applications of science, technology, engineering and math in sport. There was also be an entrepreneurial focus around the design of our own line of BOSS™ gear and the development and production of a video commercial to market and promote the new line.
We also staged our 1st Annual “Math Madness” competition utilizing the 24® game platform, a unique mathematics teaching tool. Thanks to the generosity of Chris Floyd, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Opportunities Industrialization Center, we were able to provide laptops for each BOSS™ student-athlete to facilitate an exciting competition that ended with a team of students representing Ohio State (Dylan Fitzpatrick and DaVonna Fletcher) prevailing in a finals matchup with a team representing Stanford. In the loser’s bracket, the team representing Virginia Tech handily defeated a team representing the University of Oregon. After spending once per month during the school year with our Class of 2014 and 2 hours per day for 2 weeks solely on math, we confirmed an 18% increase in test scores for our BOSS™ student-athletes.
Personal development and leadership offerings included, but were not limited to, sessions captioned: the Power and Dangers of Social Media; Recognizing Perception versus Deception; Decision Science; Your Brand, Your Image; and Independence versus Mentor. Guest presenters included, but were not limited to 2 x Olympian, former NFL star Willie Gault; long-jump world record holder Mike Powell; Michigan’s first Black quarterback and Heisman candidate, Dennis Franklin; Glyn Milburn, a Stanford grad, former NFL star (single game total yardage record holder) and Special Assistant to LA Mayor Garcetti; Bishop Noel Jones; Duane Munn, Director of Social Media, NFL Network; Tariq Walker, VP of Creative Development at AOL; and former high school basketball star, Air Force Academy graduate, civil engineer, Stanford law grad and Latham & Watkins associate attorney Kyle DeThomas.
We returned to Applied Minds, co-founded by ex-Disney imaginers Danny Hillis and Bran Ferren, and described as a Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory for tech lovers, a great big project lab with happy geeks combing over various assemblages of wiring, motors, processors and plans like ants on a summer picnic. We were also once again treated to a tour of LA Live/Staples Center by AEG’s Executive VP and Chief Administrative Officer Kevin McDowell that included a visit to the Clippers locker room and a stirring conversation with Kevin and his executive leadership team.
An amazing 2 weeks of learning, mentoring and real life experiences for low and middle-income middle school student-athletes (and a few high school freshman from our Class of 2014) with whom we will continue to engage, expose and empower to high school and through college.
“After spending once per month during the school year with our Class of 2014 and 2 hours per day for 2 weeks solely on math, we confirmed an 18% increase in test scores for our BOSS™ student-athletes.”
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