Marc Maye
General Manager of the Watts Rams football program, Co-founder of youth organization 4wrdProgress, and Executive Director of non-profit Project Blue, Marc Maye, is the embodiment of lifting while you climb. Marc Maye has taken significant risks and used an innovative approach to help disadvantaged youth through the power of sports. 4wrdProgress, Project Blue, and the Watts Rams serve youth residing in one of the most gang affiliated and recurrently violent communities of South Central, Los Angeles. The area is home to around 30 gangs and five housing developments in a small radius, making it one of the most challenging environments for young people to grow and thrive in.
Early on in his professional career as an educator, Maye recognized the lack of life skills education for young people and saw the need to address this gap to prevent them from ending up in juvenile detention centers. He took a risk and left his traditional career to embark on a new mission to educate and empower youth and teach them essential skills for success as adults. Maye uses sports as a hook to teach emotional and interpersonal skills, respect, positivity, dedication, hard work, and sacrifice.
Through his work, Maye provides a positive and supportive environment for young people to develop their skills and talents, helping them become leaders who can break the cycle of poverty, crime, and violence in their communities while aiding in community-police relations. Maye's innovative approach to using sports to tackle challenging social issues is what makes him a trailblazer today. His willingness to tackle the issues head on and think outside the box has made a real difference in the lives of young people in South Central Los Angeles, Watts, and Compton, demonstrating that it is possible to make a positive impact with the right approach. By using sports to develop character, not characters, Maye is helping to shape a generation of successful and responsible individuals who can make a difference in their communities.