Our Up2Us Sports coaches and VISTAS give back to their communities, but their achievements and impact do not stop at the end of their service terms. The Alumni Spotlight series shines a light on service members and their experiences, including their new ventures and tips.

Coach Jayren, who lives in Memphis, Tennessee served as an Up2Us Sports Coach through Memphis Athletic Ministries at Leawood Baptist Church from 2021-2022.

An all around positive person, he’s adventurous, loves basketball, style, fitness, composing, writing poetry - he’s a man of MANY talents!

Read more about him and his journey below.

What was your experience as an Up2Us Coach?

It was a great year, I’d say it was a great season! I took the team to playoffs the first season. The second half of the season, we had came back and won the championship. It was amazing! When I was a coach at Leawood, it was all about teamwork and I remember we had lost a lot of coaches at one point. Before the kids get there, I always have a game plan and I always talk amongst ourselves about how can we be better, how can we do this, how can we do that and I loved how we came together, because teamwork is the dream work. At the end of the day, we [were] just always a family. We always did everything collectively. They really didn’t have any guidance and me and the other coaches I was working with, we were like their big brother/ big sister just showing them the way. You want to see them prosper because a lot of the kids don’t have a lot of resources and sometimes stuff is happening and I just want them to stay out of trouble. We can relate to them - like I said, growing up I didn’t have much, I just had to work hard to get where I am. I’ve just been blessed with opportunities.

Coaches can be mentors and have an important impact in kids’ lives. Building experience with students and people you work with, can you describe a moment where you felt you made an impact at your host site?

I was working with the 9th graders, the freshman team. We would just play basketball with the high school team and the varsity guys would come in there and play with the freshmen, help them out with their game, help them out with literacy and life skills as we did as coaches. I told them, “Guys, keep being the best version of yourselves every day.” You don’t have to compete with nobody. Just be yourself, because when you do that, you’re able to find yourself and work on your intangibles and do things you never thought that you could do.” 

What are you up to now? 

Right now I work with the Memphis Grizzlies. I put down the floor for the Memphis Tigers and the Grizzlies, setting up the courts. It’s amazing. I love that job! It’s great because I see a lot of NBA players. I see Ja Morant and Steven Adams. We have a great team. We have good managers. Everybody works together and that’s what I love.

I wanna be in the NBA. I’m still playing a lot of ball right now. Just staying active, working out. I love working out, staying healthy, and taking care of my health as well. I mean that’s everything. How you treat your body, progress your body. 

What is something about your job you absolutely love being a part of?

Something I love about my job is, you know I get free merchandise, I get to see the players, I get free t-shirts. I haven’t gotten any free tickets yet but hopefully they’ll come soon! Also love networking with the Grizz, it’s a lot of cool people that work there, from owners to vice presidents, to managers, and employees! It’s really amazing.

I’d say one of my funnest moments so far is when we had the 901 day. It’s like a day in Memphis and we had a concert outside. Besides seeing the Grizzlies players, just being out there with the whole team, seeing the whole NBA, just being on the floor, just nailing the floor, grab a ball and just shoot it every time I smell it, you know they smell good. I started in August, it’s going up 3 months and I do love it a lot. 

What role did Up2Us Sports play in your career choice and progression after service?

Working with [Up2Us Sports staff members Addie and Lee], it was really helpful. [Addie] helped me with my resume and gave me pointers. [Lee] got me interested in career readiness. I’d love to be a basketball coach and that’s why I had become an Up2Us Coach! To get a good experience, get the feel of it and just be around that energy with all the coaches, getting the vibe. I see a lot of people I connected with on LinkedIn and that’s how I really got this job to be honest. Three days after my service term ended, God had blessed me, helped me find a job and I was grateful for the opportunity. I grabbed it. I took it, and I went for it.

I’m still working hard…being a team member, you know what every team always does. I always listen because knowledge is power. I just try to be the best version of myself everyday, you know? I wake up, and I’m just thankful for every opportunity I have. 

If you are an alumni of our Coach or VISTA programs and would like to share an update of your own story of life after service, head over to our Alumni page: www.up2ussports.org/alumni.

Jayren served as an Up2Us Sports coach at Memphis Athletic Ministries from September 2021 through June 2022 thanks to support from AmeriCorps.