History of Inner City Youth Opportunities

Inner City Youth Opportunities (ICYO) was founded in 1993 as a 501(C)3 organization by Cincinnati residents Jeanne and Philip Bell to help children living in the inner city that were experiencing family problems and struggling to become better students, both academically and socially. Their goal was to help these children develop the ability to resist negative peer pressure and increase the skills needed to achieve their dreams by remaining in school and graduating from high school.

While tennis may seem purely recreational, the Bells observed the results of other tennis programs that had successfully integrated sports and character building activities. They wanted to use tennis to help children in the inner city areas of Cincinnati, Ohio develop their talents and abilities. Their investigation and ideas resulted in a pilot program using tennis to teach 25 children goal setting, better communications, problem solving, self discipline, how to manage mistakes, leadership skills and personal accountability for life choices. Those children all attended Washburn Elementary School in the West End.

As relationships developed between the children and Ms. Bell, ICYO tennis instructors and volunteers, Ms. Bell realized that as a result of a lack of an adult’s attention to their education and a lack of guidance from adults important in their lives, many were failing at school due to truancy and behavior problems that resulted in frequent suspensions. She realized that any hope of success for these children demanded that these needs be addressed. In response, she expanded the original scope of ICYO by adding academic intervention and youth development programs to the organization, Kicks For Kids 1 resulting in its current structure. ICYO’s method is unique, as it uses a long term, comprehensive, year round program at no cost to participants, and provides transportation to all ICYO activities.

The ICYO program was originally based on The Israel Tennis Centers, a 26-year old network of fourteen tennis centers throughout Israel that successfully incorporates tennis and academics for children. Children learn to appreciate important values that may not be as easily adopted in the home or school environment. Through ICYO’s academic intervention program, volunteer tutors work with the youth to help them become intrinsically motivated to learn, or simply put, to instill the love of learning.

Tennis is the medium ICYO uses to help build self-esteem, encourage goal setting, and teach anger-management and social skills. It also facilitates trusting relationships that often lead to the child taking advantage of other problematic opportunities. ICYO’s strategy of “developmental asset building” focuses on nurturing athletic skills, support for academic success, commitment to learning, and responsibility and accountability for one’s choices. It sets boundaries for appropriate behavior and encourages mentoring from adults, older students and program graduates. ICYO also has a strong commitment to develop strategies that accentuate the positive building blocks of human development.