Host Jeremy C. Park interviews Coach Juan Adams, Program Director of Nashville Youth Basketball Association (NYBA) and president of Forever Don Foundation, who highlights Middle Tennessee’s largest year-round basketball program designed to build a better foundation for life and enhance the future for area youth. Coach Juan shares how he got involved with NYBA 15 years ago after bringing his son to a basketball drill, and how the organization has grown to now serve 1,500-2,000 kids annually through various programs including summer camps, clinics, an academy, tournaments, travel teams, and skills development, along with mentoring, educational support, leadership development, and community engagement initiatives.
Coach Juan discusses the tragic loss of his son to gun violence in 2018, which led him to establish the Forever Don Foundation to focus on life skills and education beyond basketball. The foundation focuses on providing programming for at-risk youth and those with behavioral or home issues, but also emphasizes education for kids without such problems to help them interact with those from challenging environments. The foundation was created in response to learning that former basketball program participants had set up his son for the robbery, highlighting the need for continued support beyond basketball programming. Coach Juan discusses how his faith and a promise serve as the motivation to continue pouring into young people despite experiencing the loss of his son and personal challenges, including being a victim of gun violence himself. He explains that his commitment to supporting young people stems from a promise he made to God and his son after recovering from a shooting in 2003, and he continues this mission by uplifting and empowering young men to believe in their potential.
Coach Juan defines success beyond basketball as seeing former players achieving life milestones like college acceptance and marriages when encountering them in public. He explains that their NYBA program focuses on developing character and skills that extend beyond sports, including teaching former players to referee games and manage tournament operations as part of their “give-back program.” The coach emphasizes keeping former players engaged with the NYBA even after they stop playing basketball, offering them opportunities to work at the Academy and earn community service hours.
The organization currently operates out of McGavock High School and their own NYBA Academy facility in North Nashville, with recent success including their 7th and 8th grade teams qualifying for the prestigious Peach Jam tournament on the Nike circuit. Coach Juan explains that their biggest need is staffing and compensation for volunteers, as they have maxed out their current volunteer network and want to transition to paid staff positions to sustain the programming long-term. The organization has been operating as a 501c3 for 15 years without receiving any government grants and currently relies on a volunteer model where parents with participating children provide services in exchange for their children’s program access. Coach explains that this volunteer approach creates a challenge as children age out of the program, leading to a need for paid staffing to sustain operations.
To learn more and get involved with Nashville Youth Basketball Association visit https://nashvilleyouthbasketball.org.
