FOLLOW US!

Founder’s Statement

“As a young boy growing up in Oklahoma, my love for sports became my escape from negative street influences. Coming from an environment where most of my childhood friends faced extreme adversity - low-income and single-parent households, gangs, and scholastic struggles - I'm thankful to have avoided the life-changing pitfalls that set back many of my peers. Still, because of my grandparents' financial hardships, even playing recreational ball was nearly impossible without the generosity of my uncles and a few friends' parents. Those challenging experiences as a young athlete shaped my outlook on youth sports and inspired my efforts to make sports more accessible to children regardless of financial ability.

Since I began coaching AAU basketball and growing the DFW Hawks organization, I've encountered many families facing financial hardships that threatened their children's ability to participate. And even though I've been able to assist most of those families, I've always wanted to do more, not just about sports. My mission has been never to let "cost" be the reason that a child could not participate, and that became the core mission for our new 501 (c)(3) organization, Youth Experiencing Success (Y.E.S.).

Y.E.S. provides financial assistance to those unable to participate in Select Basketball, mentorship, and counseling to struggling teens. Our work is dedicated to the memory of those who fell short in life due to circumstances outside of their control. Our team is emphatically focused on serving those burdened by a lack of resources and determined to make a positive difference in the lives of the next generation of young people.”

— Derelle King President, Y.E.S. Organization