The
seed for Redzone Leadership Academy was planted in 2005 by Yano Jones, a former collegiate and professional
standout, with the hope of expanding the athletic and academic horizons of Omaha and surrounding area youth. He
along with other former college and professional athletes recognized the need for helping student-athlete's understand
the importance of academic success and athletic fundamental development.
Redzone Leadership Academy combines structured academic study sessions
with sport-specific training to help young athletes learn the importance of life skills such as teamwork, discipline, and
dealing with winning and losing. The program utilizes the athletic oriented format to convey the understanding of
perfection on and off the field.
"We
wanted to help the youth focus on aspects not commonly covered in competitive athletics," said Yano Jones. "Many former
metro standouts noticed that young athletes around the area did not understand the importance academic
and sport specific fundamentals, especially when thinking about taking their game to the collegiate level. For
some athletic programs, those areas are not given much emphasis and instead are focused mainly on wins
versus losses. If we take the time to educate these young men and women before they hit the field or classroom,
it will make a world of a difference in all facets of their lives."
Alumni and present participants of Redzone
Leadership Academy continue to excel and receive recognition across the country.
