BALTIMORE — On the court, Sparkle Christian is picking up more than a few basketball skills. She’s learning valuable life lessons.
“It’s fun. It’s like having an older sister. You know how a big sister tells you stuff to mature you, that’s what she did. She matured me,” says Sparkle Christian, Leader Breeders mentee.
While Koi Sims isn’t in class at Loyola University, she serves as a mentor for Leader Breeders, a Baltimore-based nonprofit.
“I had mentors in my life that helped me get to where I am today, which is a blessing. Everyone needs someone to lean on at the end of the day,” says Koi Sims, Leader Breeders mentor.
“I’ve been in Baltimore for over a decade, and the biggest thing I see is a lack of exposure to opportunities,” says Corin ‘Tiny” Adams, CEO of Leader Breeders Inc.
The Morgan Sate grad co-founded Leader Breeders in August of 2020.
“Personally, I learned everything through mistakes. I didn’t get mentors until my late 20s. One of the things I wish I knew was the vulnerability to ask questions,” says Adams.
Adams says she’s made some bad plays when it comes to navigating her sports career.
“I didn’t know about AAU, I didn’t know about getting a college scholarship. Even when I became a pro, I didn’t know about picking an agent. If I had a mentor, I probably would have put myself in a better position,” says Adams.
From their mentorship program to sports clinics, Leader Breeders offers after-school programming, one-on-one tutoring, educational workshops and more.
“Starting out, all of it was coming out of my pocket, but I don’t have all that money to be doing it as frequently as we do,” says Adams.
But she says now that they’re getting financial support from the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, they can really get the ball rolling.
“We’ve been to Wizards games, we took a group to a New York Liberty game. Those are $2,000, $3,000 trips. You want to take your mentee to Dave and Busters? I can give you money to do so. Maybe you don’t drive and you want to see your mentor or mentee? We can pay for Ubers,” says Adams.
One of their mottos is "Be who you needed when you were younger." This duo is doing just that. Sparkle is looking to play basketball in college, but she’s also gaining so much more.
“Being able to talk to other people and get out of my comfort zone,” says Sparkle.
“It’s very rewarding and the things that I learned that I can pass on to others is amazing,” says Koi.
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