More Than a Medal: How the Pay It Forward Initiative Built Two Competitive Tennis Athletes

Kaleb and Devin didn't just learn tennis. They learned it well enough to teach it and then proved it on a competitive court.

On Sunday, May 10th, two young athletes from Family Biz Builder's Sports & Fitness NJTL program walked into Leftwich Tennis Center for the Memphis Level 7 Tournament and came home with medals.

Kaleb, competing in the 18U division — 3rd place.

Devin, competing in the 12U division — 3rd place.

But to understand what those results actually mean, you have to go back to July 2023. Because those medals didn't start on a tournament court. They started with a decision to invest in two young people the right way.

THE INITIATIVE THAT STARTED IT ALL

In July 2023, Family Biz Builder launched the Pay It Forward Initiative — a mentorship and development model built around a simple but powerful idea: don't just teach young people a skill. Teach them well enough that they can pass it on to someone else.

Coach Lance Hickman took on Kaleb and Devin as his athletes and set them on a dual-track journey. On one track — developing their own tennis game. On the other hand, learning how to coach others.

That's a different kind of investment. Most youth programs teach participation. The Pay It Forward Initiative demanded more. It asked these two young men to become students of the game deeply enough to eventually become teachers of it.

Kaleb rose to that challenge in a standout way, designing his own lesson plan, conducting his own coaching session, and teaching forehand and backhand techniques to Devin and other participants in the program. At an age when most teenagers are just trying to figure out their own game, Kaleb was already thinking about how to build someone else's.

That's not an accident. That's what the right coach and the right program produce.

WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE

Programs like this don't run on goodwill alone. The Pay It Forward Initiative was made possible in part through the commitment of Margaret, a parent whose involvement and support created the foundation for this opportunity to exist.

It's worth noting that clearly, because too often, the people behind the scenes of youth development go unrecognized. The parent who shows up. The coach who invests beyond what's required. The organization that builds the structure that makes the opportunity available in the first place.

Coach Lance brought the expertise. FBB provided the framework. And the community provided the belief.

Kaleb and Devin did the work.

THE PROGRAM BEHIND THE PERFORMANCE

Family Biz Builder's Sports & Fitness NJTL Program is part of the National Junior Tennis and Learning network, a USTA-affiliated youth development model that uses tennis as a vehicle for building life skills, discipline, character, and physical fitness in young people.

FBB operates one of the program chapters serving youth across Tunica, Coahoma, and DeSoto Counties in Mississippi and the Memphis metro area. The communities FBB serves face real barriers: limited access to quality programming, competitive athletic development, and the kind of structured mentorship that prepares young people for life beyond their zip code.

The Sports & Fitness NJTL program exists to close that gap. Not with motivation — with training, structure, and real competitive opportunity.

WHY COMPETITIVE EXPERIENCE MATTERS

There's a difference between learning a skill and being tested by it in a competitive environment.

The Memphis Level 7 Tournament at Leftwich Tennis Center is not a participation event. Athletes who show up there have trained. Athletes who place have trained consistently, with real coaching and real accountability behind them.

When Kaleb stepped onto the court in the 18U division, he was competing against older, more experienced players. When Devin competed in the 12U bracket, he was tested against peers from programs across the Memphis area.

Both of them finished on the podium.

That's not luck. That's nearly two years of work under Coach Lance Hickman, showing up exactly when it was supposed to.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE COMMUNITY

These results matter beyond the scoreboard.

Tunica County, Mississippi, is one of the most economically challenged counties in the United States. The young people FBB serves often don't have access to the kind of private coaching, structured competitive development, and long-term mentorship that athletes in more resourced communities take for granted.

The Pay It Forward Initiative and the Sports & Fitness NJTL program exist to change that equation — one athlete at a time. And the cycle doesn't stop with Kaleb and Devin. That's the whole point. They were trained to give it back. To become the Coach Lance for the next group of young people who need someone to believe in them and teach them the right way.

When Kaleb stood in front of a group of younger athletes and taught them how to hit a forehand, that was the mission in motion.

The medals are proof that it's working.

The FBB Sports & Fitness NJTL program — and initiatives like Pay It Forward — are made possible through community support, partnerships, and fundraising efforts like the 11th Annual FBB Golf Tournament Fundraiser.

📅 June 27, 2026 | Tunica Resorts, MS | 8:00 AM Tee Off

What you fund on that course shows up on courts like the one at Leftwich Tennis Center.

Play — Register at familybizbuilder.com/fbb-golf-tournament

Partner — Explore sponsorship opportunities and help fund the next Pay It Forward athlete in this community.

Congratulations, Kaleb and Devin. And thank you, Coach Lance, for seeing what these two were capable of before the trophies confirmed it.

Keep going. FBB is proud of you both.