Local nonprofit provides free sports training to families, sees positive impact on youth

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) – Gear It Forward Inc. is continuing to make youth sports accessible for families in the Coachella Valley. What started as a company providing sports equipment to local youth, has now evolved into free training sessions for anyone who needs it.

In April, News Channel 3 brought you the story of Gear It Forward, after the local nonprofit received a $20,000 grant from the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians. The founder, Yvonna Garcia, said this grant was to help launch the "Coaching and Youth Development" phase of the nonprofit.

The second phase would kickstart the opportunity for local youth to receive free training session and clinics. This summer, families have already been able to participate in these programs.

“It made a big difference in the kids who think that they can't play because things are expensive,” local parent Britni Kennedy said.

“I brought my granddaughter, and it's an enriching opportunity for her to continue to grow and learn, what she loves to do, softball," Johnny Lopez said.

Families who joined the Gear It Forward softball clinic, said keeping up with their kids sports training cna be expensive. For them, this opportunity has relieved that concern.

“I'm a stay at home parent," Kennedy said. "My husband works a very good job that, we've been blessed that I could stay home, but everything's expensive right now. ”

“A lot of these, summer programs have a fee, and this one doesn't," Lopez said. "And so it's good to take advantage of something like this.”

For some sports, the average annual cost can be well over $1,000 for youth athletes. It's something that's not always manageable for Valley families. Now, Gear It Forward's specialized training sessions have made all the difference.

“We want to help out our kids with specializing their talents, as in pitching or hitting or whatever," Kennedy said. "And that's really hard to do with three kids and everything is really expensive. The fact that this can be funded, we can help and pour extra help into our kids and fine tune their skills. I think that's amazing.”

Families hope other locals see youth sports don't have to be a financial burden, and that only more kids get to play the sports they love.

"We don't have enough girls to come out and play," Kennedy said. "So, the fact that last week we only had four girls, and now this week we have eight, nine and ten girls, it's getting out there.”

“I believe, we should have more type of this type of organizations throughout the Coachella Valley," Lopez said. "From the east end to the west end.”

For more information on Gear It Forward Inc. click HERE.