7th grade → The Pros · every sport · guys and girls
Play for the scholarship. Train for the life after it.
ConNEXTions Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that gives student-athletes the resources and the leadership to earn a free college education, build real skills for managing and investing money, and walk out with a degree.
Coaches are looking for athletes who are ready — in the weight room, in the classroom, and in the meeting when the money talk starts. We build all three at the same time.
Foundation totals to date
ConNEXTions CEO and founder Mike Ross orchestrated the groundbreaking NIL deal between Red Bull and ConNEXTions member athlete AJ Dybantsa.
What you get
Seven kinds of
support. One roster.
Every athlete gets the whole program, not a single session. This is what the foundation puts behind you.
Power, speed, agility
Professional training sessions built around your sport and your position, run by coaches who know what the next level actually demands.
College guidance
Help getting seen, getting evaluated, and understanding what an offer really says. Our roster has drawn 3,424 scholarship offers.
Deals and valuation
What your name, image and likeness is worth, and how to negotiate for it before you sign something you do not understand.
Financial literacy
Managing it, saving it, investing it. The skills that decide whether the money that shows up is still there in ten years.
Mental health and performance
Support for the pressure that comes with being recruited, being watched, and carrying a season on your back.
Nutrition
Eating for the sport you actually play and the growth you are actually in the middle of, not a generic meal plan.
Professional rehab
Access to rehabilitation when something goes wrong, so an injury is a setback instead of the end of the story.
Graduate with a degree
The scholarship is the tool. The degree and the money skills are what you keep.
The path
From application
to signing day
Four stages, in order. Where you enter depends on what grade you are in right now.
Apply
Send your name, grade, school and sport. There is no fee for accepted athletes, and no cost to find out.
Get assessed
Where you are athletically, academically and physically. That assessment sets the plan, not a template.
Build
Training, nutrition, recovery and the classroom, worked at the same time — plus the money curriculum most athletes never get.
Get placed
Recruiting guidance through offers, NIL conversations and the decision, with the goal of a free education and a finished degree.
Your year
What this season
should look like
Pick your grade. Recruiting is a long game, and the athletes who win it are the ones doing the right work for the year they are actually in.
Varsity or club, you are now being watched by people who take notes. Everything you do this year goes on a record that follows you.
Add real strength work to the speed and agility base. Learn the lifts properly before you load them.
Ninth grade grades count toward the GPA a college will see. Protect it from day one.
Open the conversation: what a full ride is actually worth, and what it is not.
The difference
Most programs stop at the offer.
A scholarship is the first large sum of money most athletes will ever be responsible for, and NIL put a second one on top of it. Nobody hands out the instructions with the paperwork. We do.
- NIL valuation. What a deal on your table is actually worth before you sign it.
- Negotiation. How the conversation goes, and what to ask for.
- Managing it. Accounts, taxes, and the difference between having money and keeping it.
- Investing it. Putting it to work while you are still in school.
- The degree. The plan does not end at signing day. It ends at graduation.
Who is behind this
An entrepreneur,
a championship coach,
a philanthropist.
Stay happy, stay healthy, stay present, and enjoy the journey.
Mike Ross · CEO and Founder, ConNEXTions Foundation
Mike Ross is an entrepreneur, championship coach, philanthropist, and founder of the ConNEXTions Foundation. A former collegiate multi-sport athlete, he has dedicated his life to helping student-athletes reach their full potential both on and off the field.
Over decades of leadership in sports and business, Mike has guided championship teams, mentored dozens of athletes to the next level, and built nationally recognized companies. His greatest passion is developing young people into confident, successful adults.
Success is not just about winning. It is about growth, resilience, and building a future that lasts far beyond sports. More about Mike
Questions
Straight answers
What does it cost?
There is no membership fee for accepted applicants. ConNEXTions Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and the program is funded by donations.
Who can apply?
Student-athletes in junior high and high school, male and female, in any sport. The foundation also supports athletes already at the college and professional level.
Which sports?
Athletes on the roster compete in basketball, soccer, baseball, football, volleyball and more. If your sport is not on that list, apply anyway.
Do I have to leave my current team or trainer?
No. The foundation works alongside your school team, your club and your coaches — it does not replace them.
What is NIL support, exactly?
Help understanding what your name, image and likeness is worth, and help negotiating deals — so that when an offer arrives, you are not reading the terms for the first time on your own.
How do I support the foundation?
Donations fund the training, the wellness services and the scholarship work. ConNEXTions Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 88-291-1853. Give online on the Donate page, or make checks payable to ConNEXTions Foundation, 15303 Ventura Blvd, Suite 610, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403.
Apply
Tell us who
you are
Fill this in and it writes your introduction email. Nothing here is stored — the message opens in your own mail app so you can read it before it sends.
mike@connextions.pro
Name, grade, sport, school. That is enough to start the conversation.
ConNEXTions Foundation
15303 Ventura Blvd, Suite 610
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
What you are signing up for
A nonprofit program covering training, academics, nutrition, mental health, rehabilitation, recruiting and financial education — with no membership fee for accepted athletes. ConNEXTions is dedicated to adhering to all NCAA guidelines.
