Dominique Stamper-Owner of Beating the Odds Basketball (BTOB), Program Director and head of coaches for BCL and on how it all started

There’s only 3.6% high school basketball players that will play in college. That means 96.4% of high school basketball will end their careers there…

When I set out on my mission to create Beating The Odds Basketball, I envisioned that every kid that played for us, would play in college and “beat the odds”. I knew it would be a difficult task, but I also believed  in my cause. The passion that led me to create the program grew out of my own experiences when I was young.  I grew up with a single mother, my sister and very few positive male figures around. My father was absent in my life, so I would go to the park and play basketball all day long to connect with others. It was an escape from the reality of my life. I used it as therapy. I worked so hard at my game but had zero guidance .  It wasn’t until high school that I started to  learn the mental side of the game. In the basketball world that’s late, but I was driven and I  caught on quick and absorbed the teaching from my coaches.

Looking back, I determined I could have excelled at a much higher level, if I had those same coaches and mentors working with me sooner. When I contemplated all of this,  I decided I would try to help kids in similar positions as I was growing up. In 2017 I created a team and made a family type atmosphere for the players and their parents. As of 2024 I have 8 teams with 80+ kids in my program. These kids are from all walks of life, but most have the same goals, which is to play at the College level. Currently my program offers basketball for kids in  grades 3rd through 10th and  we’re looking to expand to 2nd &11th too.

Our hard work is paying off, just recently the BTOB program has been selected to be represented by Puma Basketball. Our teams will be on the national stage, playing against some of the best teams in the country.  This means more than just competition; this gives our kids an opportunity to play in front of College coaches and potentially earn College Scholarships. I manifested this path since the beginning and now it’s coming to fruition.  The kids  that I trained and coached over the years and years are getting the opportunity they worked for on the biggest stage in  basketball and it all started for them right here in Lorain County. Kids travel hours to play for  these types of programs and we’re offering one right in our back yard.  With your help we will create a legacy for the kids in our community.  Let's work together to help these kids' dreams become their reality.  This is bigger than basketball!