I’m Micah Croom. A student-athlete at Dartmouth who is currently interning with a fellow teammate, Rashaad Cooper, at Positive Coaching Alliance-Los Angeles. Since working with PCA, we’ve been able to not only receive a lot of wisdom and knowledge about the formalities and functions of a non–profit organization, but we’ve also been able to share certain experiences that have come with experience as well. 

One of them being visiting the LA84 Foundation for a PCA Workshop. Formed after the successful Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games, LA84 has extended the Olympic legacy by granting millions of dollars to youth sports organizations, training thousands of coaches and impacting millions of kids by allowing access to sports programs in underserved communities.

Visually the first thing that appears is a large house accompanied by a huge courtyard. It was in one of the courtyard buildings that I got to witness my first PCA workshop, led by Marti Reed, PCA Development Manager. Marti being a seasoned speaker, as well as a trainer, did a magnificent job conducting the Workshop, just as I expected. It was a joy for me to watch and also learn from her.

PCA-LA trains coaches who are part of sports organizations receiving grants from LA84 as part of their grant requirements. PCA Workshops are live and in this case, five LA84 grantees participated in one coach workshop, collaborating and sharing different ideas on coaching with each other.

Afterwards, we got a chance to walk around the Olympic Lounge and Library and enjoy authentic artifacts on display. From gold medals to Olympic torches the gallery was filled with all types of amazing surprises. It truly was a sight to see.