About Us
We help your child find hope by providing a place to belong so they can breakthrough, achieve excellence, and make an impact.
WHAT WE DO
EMA is a 501c3 nonprofit social enterprise that knows the power of young humans. Since its founding in 2013, EMA has been on a mission to unlock the leadership potential of children from all backgrounds and inspire them to achieve greatness in sports and life by becoming their best version. EMA has catalyzed positive transformation in the community and society through its safe haven and mindfulness-promoting culture. EMA has made a meaningful impact on the world by uplifting over 3,000 young humans and empowering them to strive for their dreams. We believe our children are the future and are proud to make the world better with our leaders.
Mission
To unlock each young human's leadership potential for a lifetime of achievement and meaningful impact—in sports and life.
Vision
Sports becomes the ultimate magnet to attract ALL kids and young humans, while creating the safe-haven environment that optimally enables the development of leadership skills for life through the process of self-actualization. After graduating, these leaders will carry a framework for being a positive and productive member of society through their own unique expression of what it means to be a good person.
Our culture
EMA’s culture defines us. It is what we stand for and value as an ecosystem of people pursuing a shared mission. It is the powerful force that guides the way we work together, treat each other, and treat those around us.
EMA’s culture is our differentiator, and when it comes to life, it is our competitive advantage.
The following values create EMA’s culture of family—our superpower.
(4) CORE VALUES
Trust
Nothing is more valuable to us than the trust we cultivate with our families, team, and everyone in our ecosystem. We earn this trust through our professionalism, honesty, transparency, excellence in customer service, and asking for feedback.
Relationships
Relationships are the fabric of EMA. We create powerful relationships by cultivating raving fans, not clients, and by treating people better than they expect by exceeding their expectations. If our families, partners, and team are raving about us, then we have achieved our goal. We’ll ALWAYS value people and our relationships over profits.
Integrity
Always tell the truth. We believe that nothing is more important than our reputation—behaving with the highest levels of integrity is fundamental to who we are.
Inclusion
Working with people of different backgrounds, cultures, demographics, and thinking styles helps us grow into better professionals and leaders. We accept people as part of the EMA community when their intentions and heart align with wanting to become a good person and positively promote others' journey. We recognize and acknowledge that people are at different starting points. This means that each person is unique. However, we do not align with malintent or intentional hate that is counter to this intention.
(7) Leadership BEHAVIORS
We Develop L.E.A.D.E.R.S.
Listening
Listen with ears to hear you. Listen with eyes to see you. Listen with heart to connect with you.
Empathetic
Seek genuine connections by understanding the needs of others and being aware of their feelings, thoughts, and body language.
Accountable
Embrace mistakes to become your best version.
Daring
Engage every challenge with courage and enthusiasm by taking risks without fearing failure.
Energy-giving
Raise the confidence of others by making people feel good about themselves—every day.
Resilient
Bounce back stronger from setbacks with hope and optimism.
Self-less
Prioritize WE over me.
(4) EXPERIENCES
Positive outlook
At all levels of the organization, we exemplify our values. What we expect from each other and our students—we see the best in everyone.
Passion
We are grateful that we have a job that feels more like a life’s purpose.
Bold
We embrace going beyond our comfort zone.
Mindfulness
Our ethos gives everyone the enthusiasm and safe space to think — to be present — leading to mental agility, resilience and self-awareness.
Access and Inclusion Story
From the very first day EMA started its operations, the organization has prioritized access and inclusion. Since 2014, EMA has awarded over $500,000 in tuition assistance to over 100 student-athletes’ in need. Currently, 20% of its students receive assistance.
2014
$2,000 awarded
5 students
2015
$40,000 awarded
20 recipients
2016
$76,000 awarded
40 recipients
2017
$110,000 awarded
50 recipients
2018
$120,000 awarded
75 recipients
2019
$80,000 awarded
40 recipients
2020
$50,00 awarded
43 recipients
2021
$36,000 awarded
26 recipients
Our Founder’s Story
Coach Jerome Gumbs leads a healthy lifestyle that revolves around making sure each Student-Athlete gets the support they need to succeed on the court and in life. The responsibility he carries in doing so is his greatest privilege.
READ HIS FULL STORYARE YOU
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Ready to join the
Empower ME Academy?
Awesome. We’re about something bigger than basketball. And we want you to be a part of it.
For our son Maddox, Empower ME has been the best and most important academic or athletic after school program.
Stephen Davis
Father of Maddox Davis
(HS Class of 2021)
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
Learn, grow, and grab first dibs on what we offer. Get our Empowering News (E-NEWS) — written by Coach Gumbs and the EMA Team — every month.
🚨 Spots are still open for next week’s clinic where we’ll continue our off-season work with an emphasis on shooting.
Join now! Sign up with our link in bio.
FREE-Play is back! 🏀✨
A pressure-free zone where students can hoop, get creative, and just play. No over-coaching, no fear of mistakes — just pure freedom, fun, and growth through the game.
📍War Memorial Gym
🗓️ Sundays, from 10AM – 12PM
Will we see you there?
First clip says it all — brothers lifting each other up. Not just off the floor, but in every part of this journey. We don’t have stars, we have leaders.
After just two tournaments, people are witnessing a different brand of basketball — the EMA way (the right way).
🤝🏽 We > Me
🔥 Character > Clout
📈 Growth > Rankings
🚧 Progress > Perfection
This is #EMALeaders. Built different.
👇🏽 Drop a comment:
What stood out to you most in the clips? Was it the hustle? The chemistry? The unselfishness? Let us know what you love about how we play — or what you felt watching it.
—
#MoreThanBasketball #BuiltNotBought #DevelopmentFirst #12ULeaders #TrustTheProcess
🚨 Spots are still open for next week’s clinic where we’ll continue our off-season work with an emphasis on shooting.
Join now! Sign up with our link in bio.
FREE-Play is back! 🏀✨
A pressure-free zone where students can hoop, get creative, and just play. No over-coaching, no fear of mistakes — just pure freedom, fun, and growth through the game.
📍War Memorial Gym
🗓️ Sundays, from 10AM – 12PM
Will we see you there?
First clip says it all — brothers lifting each other up. Not just off the floor, but in every part of this journey. We don’t have stars, we have leaders.
After just two tournaments, people are witnessing a different brand of basketball — the EMA way (the right way).
🤝🏽 We > Me
🔥 Character > Clout
📈 Growth > Rankings
🚧 Progress > Perfection
This is #EMALeaders. Built different.
👇🏽 Drop a comment:
What stood out to you most in the clips? Was it the hustle? The chemistry? The unselfishness? Let us know what you love about how we play — or what you felt watching it.
—
#MoreThanBasketball #BuiltNotBought #DevelopmentFirst #12ULeaders #TrustTheProcess
We LOVE defense and at EMA, defense isn’t just a skill — it’s a mindset 💥 It’s effort, communication, and pride. It’s diving for loose balls, taking charges, locking in, especially when it counts.
Defense shows how much you care. That’s why we build our culture around it.
Laced up and ready for day two of clinics.
Footwork is the foundation 🏀 From creating space to staying balanced on your shot, every move starts from the ground up. Master your feet, and the rest of your game will follow!
—
#TipTuesday #ema #liveEmpowered
The first session of our off-season series starts today with ball handling & footwork 🏀
𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹.
There’s still time to sign up. Check out the link in our bio or message us with any questions you may have. Tuition assistance and prorated options available.
Summer clinics are here! Who is ready to put the work in this off-season?
🚨 Spots are still open for next week’s clinic where we’ll continue our off-season work with an emphasis on shooting.
Join now! Sign up with our link in bio.
FREE-Play is back! 🏀✨
A pressure-free zone where students can hoop, get creative, and just play. No over-coaching, no fear of mistakes — just pure freedom, fun, and growth through the game.
📍War Memorial Gym
🗓️ Sundays, from 10AM – 12PM
Will we see you there?
First clip says it all — brothers lifting each other up. Not just off the floor, but in every part of this journey. We don’t have stars, we have leaders.
After just two tournaments, people are witnessing a different brand of basketball — the EMA way (the right way).
🤝🏽 We > Me
🔥 Character > Clout
📈 Growth > Rankings
🚧 Progress > Perfection
This is #EMALeaders. Built different.
👇🏽 Drop a comment:
What stood out to you most in the clips? Was it the hustle? The chemistry? The unselfishness? Let us know what you love about how we play — or what you felt watching it.
—
#MoreThanBasketball #BuiltNotBought #DevelopmentFirst #12ULeaders #TrustTheProcess
We LOVE defense and at EMA, defense isn’t just a skill — it’s a mindset 💥 It’s effort, communication, and pride. It’s diving for loose balls, taking charges, locking in, especially when it counts.
Defense shows how much you care. That’s why we build our culture around it.
Laced up and ready for day two of clinics.
Footwork is the foundation 🏀 From creating space to staying balanced on your shot, every move starts from the ground up. Master your feet, and the rest of your game will follow!
—
#TipTuesday #ema #liveEmpowered
The first session of our off-season series starts today with ball handling & footwork 🏀
𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹.
There’s still time to sign up. Check out the link in our bio or message us with any questions you may have. Tuition assistance and prorated options available.
Summer clinics are here! Who is ready to put the work in this off-season?
Focus is the difference between a rushed shot and a made one. It’s tuning out the noise, locking in on your target, and staying present. On the court, your mind is your best weapon 🎯
Hustle doesn’t require talent — just heart. It’s diving for loose balls, sprinting back on defense, and doing the little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet but wins games 🔥
Girls who play sports report 1.5x more meaning and purpose in their lives. That’s the power of the game — it builds a foundation for confidence, growth, and lifelong impact.
Let’s keep empowering girls on and off the court.
Gift Now
