Being a student-athlete comes with a lot of pressure, and that is why a Gainesville man decided to start a non-profit that caters to the needs of student-athletes.
Mario Mays of Gainesville is the Head Boys Basketball Coach and Physical Education teacher at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School, but also the creator of Beyond the Bench.
Beyond the Bench focuses on providing resources to student-athletes to help with career and education development, mental health maintenance and advocacy.
“I wanted to start helping guys when their [sports] careers were over. And just to push them to start thinking, past whatever sport you're in. Because it's very important to understand that, you know, basketball or football or baseball or whatever you do will stop one day,” Mays said.
Mays found his love for sports through the local Boys and Girls Club. He went on to play basketball for two years at Emmanuel College. After transferring to the University of West Georgia, he suddenly felt a disconnect from the sport and stopped playing basketball.
“Through athletics, I was always on a schedule. I was eager to practice and plan on doing schoolwork. And what I came to find out later in life was after I got off the routine and a schedule, I just kind of didn't understand how to manage time” he said.
After being academically suspended and struggling for a while, Mays got the opportunity to go back to school at the University of North Georgia and was offered to start his coaching career at Lakeview Academy in Gainesville. He then went on to coach at Wheeler High School.
May said that his coaching experience at Wheeler High School and his own experience as a student-athlete led him to start Beyond the Bench.
“I had watched my mother volunteer in the community. She taught me and my sister the importance of giving back and not necessarily with your money but your time,” Mays said. “So through my experience of coaching, through my experience with working with young people, you know, it just seemed like God just spoke to me about this concept,” Mays said.
Although the non-profit is based out of Atlanta, Mays does a lot of community work in Gainesville. Beyond the Bench partnered with the Newtown Florist Club during the 2023 week-long events in honor of Martin Luther King Day to take children to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Park.
“I just felt like this is the opportunity for me to pave that way forward to make sure that some kids who grew up the same way I did, have the opportunities that are important educationally and socially,” Mays said.
To join or know more about the type of services offered by Beyond the Bench, you can visit their website gobeyondthebench.org. If you are interested in donating you can email Mays at [email protected].
