NEW ORLEANS — 60 local track and field athletes will be competing in the USATF National Junior Olympics this weekend. They are all part of Team NOLA Rush.
“Seeing their confidence in themselves just explode is amazing and then them getting to go and compete against some of the best kids in the nation. That's just icing on the cake,” said Joseph Gillenwater, one of the founders of the non-profit NOLA Rush.
Gilllenwater founded the organization with some friends back in 2019. The goal was to give kids on the Westbank access to club sports regardless of their ability or inability to pay.
Gillenwater said, “We had a few kids who were having financial issues joining a team. So, we wanted to start a team where anybody can join regardless of if they were able to pay and it just kind of exploded from there.”
In the first year, there were 5 kids, now there are over 100. NOLA Rush has also expanded to basketball. Tenosh Landry is one of the kids who has been there from the start.
“When I first came here, I wasn't like the best because with COVID everything was shut down and I wasn't working out. When I came to NOLA Rush, it was like a fresh start with everything. So, like they helped me get back to where I was and keep building up to what I am now,” Landry said.
Now she’s a 2024 State High Jump Champion and has a full ride to Loyola to be a part of the track and field team.
Landry said, “It proves that everything I did paid off it wasn't like me just running around jumping it meant something.”
Having graduated, she will not be attending this year's Junior Olympics but Joseph Gillenwater III and Paxton Willis are. Both say they are excited and hope to bring home the gold.
“I have 1000s of metals but I am a 7 time Junior Olympic All-American and this year, I became the national champion for the 3000 racewalk. So, I’m really excited I'm ready,” said Gillenwater III.
“It’s going to be fun because it's my first time,” said Willis.
Seeing the kids succeed in the classroom and on the track is what Coach Gillenwater says it’s all about.
“There's a lot of things going on in society that hold children back from showing their full potential. We are trying everything we can to let them be themselves and let them explore sports. Let them let them believe that they can accomplish things,” Gillenwater said.
Before the end of fall, he says they will be opening a training facility where kids can train their bodies and their brains.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.