local storiesMay 8, 2023

Conversations with Jacob Eusebio, Jordyn Kuo, Caydence Bach, and Jake Maricich

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Eusebio, Jordyn Kuo, Caydence Bach, and Jake Maricich.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Serving Advantage is a youth-led charitable organization that hosts year-round adaptive tennis programming. We hold tennis clinics twice a month, private lessons, and annual summer and winter camps for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (“IDD”.) IDD includes those with autism, ADD, ADHD, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and more. Based in Orange County, CA, Serving Advantage was inspired by the connection teen co-founder, Jacob Eusebio, discovered with his autistic brother on the tennis court.

For years, Jacob struggled to find a connection with his autistic brother, Evan. Jacob grew up playing tennis and his younger brother would often sit on the sidelines watching him compete. One day, Evan decided he wanted to play tennis with Jacob and that was the day everything changed! The two brothers finally found a way to build a connection through sport. Jacob and his mom searched for adaptive group tennis programming for Evan but unfortunately, did not find much. As a sophomore in high school, Jacob decided to fill the void and create an adaptive tennis program for people like his brother. He reached out to high school tennis friends Natalie Rodriguez and Andy Loughran, and together they created Serving Advantage and built an adaptive tennis program that provides quality access to tennis for people with IDD. What sets Serving Advantage apart from other adaptive programs is a unique inclusive component. The co-founders decided to incorporate their high school tennis friends as volunteers so they could also educate teen peers on how to connect and build relationships with the IDD community.

The Serving Advantage mission is to help people of ALL ABILITIES develop a love and passion for tennis by serving them the advantage with social skills needed for everyday life while also promoting awareness, acceptance, and inclusion for the special needs community. We began teaching children between the ages of 8-13 and have since expanded to include teens and adults.

We serve two distinct target populations:
1) People with IDD – because we focus our court curriculum solely on the IDD community, it allows us to modify and implement teaching methods that support this population’s learning style and ability levels. Before each adaptive athlete steps onto the tennis court, a “success plan” is created. The success plan includes the individual’s current tennis and social skills level as well as goals for development and progress. We utilize adaptive equipment and incorporate various levels of skill modifications and behavioral support to ensure students are set up to thrive and progress. Time on the courts also provides our athletes with opportunities to engage with neurotypical peers in a positive social setting.

(2) Neurotypical middle and high school tennis players – all volunteers, called “Doubles Partners,” are middle and high school tennis players who serve as 1:1 peer buddies to students. We set up the Doubles Partners system with the intent to provide knowledge, teach social awareness, promote inclusion, and most importantly, to create opportunities for mainstream teenagers to connect and bond with the IDD community in an environment where they excel and love! Before stepping foot on the court, each volunteer is required to complete a specialized Introduction to Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) training as well as an on-the-court training. All volunteers also review their athlete’s updated success plan which provides clear guidance to ensure their student improves, flourishes, and develops a passion for tennis!

The program has been very successful, receiving recognition from Jason Momoa, tennis icon Billie Jean King, ESPN, the OC Register, and more! Fast forward to high school graduation, Jacob knew he wanted Serving Advantage to be sustainable. He and his mom created the Serving Advantage Leadership Team, which consists of 22 of their best high school volunteers. The Leadership Team has taken over the month-to-month operations, while Jacob focuses on program expansion and business development from his college dorm. Three Leadership Team members joined this interview!

Jordyn Kuo: I joined Serving Advantage at its founding in 2020. Prior to my work with Serving Advantage, I had little experience/interaction with neurodivergent individuals, but through the program, quickly learned to teach, mentor, and communicate with the SA students. I am now the Volunteer Director, Fundraising and Grant Writing Coordinator, and a coach at the organization. Over the past three years, Serving Advantage has given me a new, open-minded perspective on human connection and interaction and taught me valuable leadership and management skills I’ll certainly use in college and my career.

Caydence Bach: I joined the serving advantage family in my freshman year. I found this program after my younger brother who has autism signed up for the first-ever summer program. I immediately decided to volunteer because it seemed like a great opportunity to support my brother’s community and teach the game I love. After a few months working as a volunteer doubles partner I would soon begin coaching on court. This was a truly rewarding opportunity as I got to be more involved with planning the curriculum. When the opportunity arose to join the leadership team, I immediately signed up and stepped into the role as marketing and community outreach commissioner.

Jake Maricich: I joined Serving Advantage after hearing about it from my friend, co-founder Andy Loughran. I volunteered during the first online summer program and have loved it ever since. I found it really fulfilling watching my students improve even over such a short period of a time. I took every opportunity to become more involved with the program, becoming a coach and eventually the director of coaching on the leadership team.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Being a youth-led charitable organization has definitely had its fair share of challenges. Some of our biggest hurdles included: (1) having adult professionals believe teens were capable of leading an organization and creating a sustainable program, (2) building a unique adaptive program without a template, and (3) having teen tennis volunteers means they graduate and move onto college at some point, thus we have a high turnover rate.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are not adult professionals who had a great deal of business and life experience when we started Serving Advantage. We are just high school/college students who are willing and determined to learn and more importantly, we are passionate about creating an inclusive community for those with IDD so they feel embraced, welcomed, and respected.

Jacob – I am a college freshman at the University of San Francisco. My major is undeclared business and I am part of the Honors College, Business Honors, and the J. Getty Scholar program. One aspect of Serving Advantage I am most proud of is the growth the Serving Advantage program has experienced over the last 3 years. At the 2020 inaugural summer camp, we started with 11 teen volunteers and eight students. Today, the program has hosted over 125 teen volunteers from over 45 different middle and high schools and we have taught tennis to over 70 adaptive athletes. In fact, every time I come home for a college visit or break, there are so many new Doubles Partners and adaptive athlete faces! It has been incredible to see the growth and the impact still thrives even when I’m away at school and I am most grateful to our awesome Leadership Team for their diligent work and accomplishments!!

Jake – I am a high school senior at Servite High School. I plan on attending UCLA in the fall majoring in neuroscience on the pre-med track as a part of the regents scholar program

Jordyn – I’m a high school senior at Villa Park High School. I plan on attending UC Berkeley in the fall with an intended BS at the Haas School of Business.

Caydence – I am a high school senior at Foothill High School. I am planning on attending the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor with a major in sports management.

What sets us apart from other adaptive programs is the fact that 100% of our volunteers are teen tennis players, ranging in age from 10-18. Our volunteers help us work towards our vision of long-term, impactful inclusion for the IDD community. They learn valuable life lessons on the court on how to better understand the IDD community through consistent social opportunities in a safe and supportive environment. Our hope is that our volunteers take the information and life experience they learn on the Serving Advantage courts and generalize it to their school and family lives and serve as community examples of how to be inclusive. They in turn influence their peers, friends, and family members and that is how inclusion exponentially spans its reach!

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Creating a world where those with IDD are celebrated, accepted, and included! Serving Advantage has identified a massive void in consistent, QUALITY access to adaptive sports and extracurricular programming for the IDD community. Our program not only fills this need, it brings exceptional value by: (1) providing unique experiences where curriculum and activities are designed to set programmers up for success in an exciting and entertaining environment, (2) availability of proper support, and (3) most importantly, cultivating valuable, long-lasting relationships between two communities who historically have not united on a greater scale.

Building healthy, thriving, and meaningful relationships is a fundamental component for any successful nonprofit. This intangible asset is one we heavily invest time and resources in. George Washington Carver talked about the importance of relationships and how they are often undervalued. Veteran teacher, Rita Pierson, championed the significance of human connections so kids feel inspired to learn. Since 2020, Serving Advantage has witnessed well over 125 teen tennis players from a single county unite and share their love and passion for tennis with a population that has traditionally been misunderstood, ignored, devalued, and considered low priority in regard to financial, physical, and emotional resources from local to global levels. These volunteers learn valuable leadership skills that will be generalized to life and career. They also serve as community examples of social responsibility that will inspire future generations to be more inclusive.

There are NO words to accurately describe the extraordinary amounts of magic that happen between adaptive athletes and volunteers. Our clinics and camps are an opportunity to establish new friendships and make existing ones stronger. We’ve had student parents break down with tears of joy and volunteers who thanked Serving Advantage for changing the way they viewed the IDD community. We’ve seen the happiest smiles glued to our students’ faces and tears shed at the end of clinics and camps. But, the most surprising moments come from those outside the Serving Advantage circle, like the photographer who was overcome with emotion after a photographing camp week or the volunteers’ parents who shared that Serving Advantage sparked incredible family dinner conversations about inclusion. Those moments are not quantifiable but clearly indicate our decision to invest in relationships has created a path to success and our mission is being fulfilled.

Pricing:

Tustin Parks and Recreation Clinics – $50 for Tustin residents/$55 for non-residents
$125 per camper for summer/winter camps
We also offer scholarships based on financial need in order to create access to sports.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
ESPN Citizenship, Serving Advantage, Cynthia Lum Photography, USTA SoCal

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