06/12/2026
It’s probably easy from the outside looking in to assume that Rise Up Athletics is all about sports. It would make sense with “Athletics” in our name, but anyone close to our organization knows it’s so much more. We’ve always claimed to be a mentorship program, but never had hard evidence to back it up. Last year at a grant luncheon, our Board VP Joe Krautkramer connected with Marissa Heim from The Golden House. After months of talking we are proud to announce our partnership with The Golden House to bring two mentorship programs into our organization that we’ll be implementing for the 2026/2027 school year, Coaching Boys Into Men and Athletes As Leaders. All of our volunteer coaches will be trained on how to implement it to their respective teams. We believe our coaches and volunteers have always been mentors, but now they have two evidence based programs to guide them through it. Through this partnership our coaches and athletes will gain the tools and knowledge needed to promote healthy relationships, respect, leadership, and violence prevention both on and off the field. By engaging our athletes with meaningful conversations about character, accountability, and positive role modeling, this collaboration will help create safer schools, stronger teams, and a future free from domestic violence.
Coaching Boys Into Men is an evidence-based prevention program that equips athletic coaches with tools to teach young male athletes about healthy relationships, respect, leadership, and personal responsibility. By leveraging the powerful influence coaches have on young people, Coaching Boys Into Men helps foster a culture of respect and accountability.
Athletes As Leaders is an evidence-informed prevention program designed for athletes on girls’ sports teams. By developing leadership skills and encouraging athletes to use their voices to influence their peers, Athletes As Leaders helps foster environments where respect, equity, and violence prevention are valued both on and off the field. The program is often implemented alongside Coaching Boys Into Men to engage all student-athletes in creating lasting cultural change and preventing relationship violence.
Rise Up!
