School can be a challenging experience for many young people. They wake up early in the morning, dreading the day ahead, lacking motivation to slog from class to class, and struggling to connect with the others around them. They often feel isolated and turn to unhealthy outlets in their search for connection and purpose.
Young people long for deep connection and to use their days on things that matter.
Velocity exists for this reason – to surround high school students with a team of support as they turn outward to mentor middle school students.
¿Qué es la velocidad?
Velocity is a cross-age mentoring program where high school students are developed to be mentors for middle school students, helping them become leaders in their schools and communities. Through this after-school program, high schoolers gain essential life skills that prepare them for success in college and the workforce. They learn to think critically, build positive relationships, and relate to complex dynamics around them like processing anger or relating to their families. They “learn as they go,” gaining ground personally through the process of mentoring their middle school mentees. .
Velocity creates a space for young people to form meaningful relationships, grow as leaders, and discover their purpose. With a passionate team of volunteers surrounding them, the mentors learn to navigate topics such as relationships, communication, and perspective, which help address their emotional needs. As they grow, their ability to care for their schools, peers, families, and communities expands.
Velocity: Then and Now
Velocity began in 2010 as a partnership with one of the world’s leading mentoring experts, Dr. Michael Karcher, a professor at the University of Texas. Drawing from his experience in summer camps and the significant influence camp counselors had on his life, Dr. Karcher developed the cross-age mentoring curriculum that is now utilized in Velocity.
The first Velocity program by Boy With A Ball was launched at a local high school in San Antonio, Texas. Following the success of this program, it expanded to the Atlanta area and is now implemented in schools worldwide. Sergio Gonzalez, the current Metro-Atlanta Director for Boy With A Ball and Velocity Program Director, first joined Velocity in 2014. Witnessing the positive impact of the program on young people's lives profoundly affected him as he contemplated what a similar opportunity could have meant for himself and many other young people facing challenges in school:
“When I first witnessed Velocity, I just remembered myself as a middle school student whose life was just on fire. There was chaos going on at home; there were all kinds of changes I was going through personally… just a lot of things I couldn’t make sense of… When I would head to school, it would just seem like this overwhelming challenge to really be present, to really want to have friends, and to really want to be with people… Had I had an older friend or role model I could turn to during that time, I feel like my outcome would have been significantly better, if not, at least my experience would have been so much different.”
A Day in Velocity
Each week in Gwinnett, volunteers from across the city come together, leading the students in connectedness activities, and helping them grow as leaders and mentors. It begins with training time with the high schoolers. Mentors are then connected with their mentees, sharing the good and hard parts of their weeks. After reconnecting, everyone works together in games, small groups, and one-on-one activities around the topic of the day – things like how to be a good friend, how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, how to deal with anger, etc.
The Results Speak for Themselves
The success of Velocity is evident. Compared to students who are not involved, those who are part of Velocity experience:
- half as many absences
- half as many discipline referrals
- grade averages 6-7 points higher
- a 100% high school graduation rate
- a 95% college matriculation rate.
“Students are seeing Velocity and realizing that, ‘This is a place where not only can I be involved with my friends, but it’s also something that can truly prepare me for my future. It’s a chance for me to make an impact and also be impacted,’” says Sergio. Young people are being championed, learning to navigate the hardest parts of their lives, connecting with their purposes, and looking forward to their futures.
Get Involved
To make a difference in the lives of students, contact volunteer@boywithaball.com. To find out more about Velocity, watch the full interview with Sergio Gonzalez here.
