Paul Caccamo of Up2Us Talks Sports-Based Youth Development

Paul Steinbach Headshot

In 1997, Paul Caccamo, a Harvard-educated youth-development consultant, punted his private practice upon meeting Julie Kennedy, a Washington, D.C.-area teacher who changed the lives of young girls with one simple tool: a soccer ball.

In 1997, Paul Caccamo, a Harvard-educated youth-development consultant, punted his private practice upon meeting Julie Kennedy, a Washington, D.C.-area teacher who changed the lives of young girls with one simple tool: a soccer ball. Recognizing that sports lend themselves perfectly to youth development, Caccamo accepted a minimum-wage position with Kennedy's nonprofit DC SCORES, designed to keep kids engaged in school through afterschool sports. He soon launched a national office under the name America SCORES in 1999, using soccer to teach kids life skills and help them set academic goals in a dozen cities nationwide. As it became evident over the next decade that providers of all kinds of youth sports were seeking support for their efforts with at-risk kids, Caccamo in 2009 founded Up2Us, a separate nonprofit now boasting more than 700 youth sports organizations and a staff of 27. AB senior editor Paul Steinbach recently asked Caccamo for an Up2Us update.

Log in to view the full article
Page 1 of 82
Next Page
Buyer's Guide
Information on more than 3,000 companies, sorted by category. Listings are updated daily.
Learn More
Buyer's Guide
AB Show 2025 in San Diego
AB Show is a solution-focused event for athletics, fitness, recreation and military professionals.
Nov. 5-8, 2025
Learn More
AB Show 2025