Your worth is greater than physical feats, manual labor, and athleticism. Whether the NBA, NFL, or MLB are in the cards for you, or not, the power of your mind can change the world. We need YOU to be the doctors, architects, inventors and leaders of the future.
Erica Molett, Mother & CEO
Beyond the Ball
Beyond the Ball founder, Erica Molett, is a multi-hyphenate CEO, with a singular focus: preparing her sons, Kyle and Tyler, and other Gen Z youth to innovate, lead and change the world. Weaving this mission into all of her ventures, Erica is also CEO of edtech and media company Kandake Tech, and Expansion Solutions Consulting, a national education consulting firm.
Beyond the Ball was founded in 2019 by Erica Molett – mom of two teen boys and serial entrepreneur, based in Dallas, TX. Inspired by her own son’s love affair with basketball and science, Erica was determined to prepare him, and other boys of color, for success beyond the game through STEM, career exploration and sports.
Throughout her 15 year career in finance, local government and workforce development, Erica gained national recognition from the Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Texas State Senate, and the White House. Former Assistant Secretary of the DOL, Bill Spriggs, stated, “Erica is one of the nation’s leaders in integrating dollars across federal agencies with local programming.” Erica found her passion in aligning the interests of the public and private sectors to support the sustainable growth of cities, underserved communities, and the business community.
As Erica transitioned into entrepreneurship in 2017, her mission was simple – leverage the passions of today’s youth to prepare them for the innovative jobs of the future. She has tackled this goal at the institutional level through Expansion Solutions Consulting, within communities through Beyond the Ball, and within gaming and entertainment through her edtech startup Kandake Tech. Through her companies, Erica has garnered collaboration and support from companies including Nike, Jordan Brand, Converse, Warner Bros, Microsoft, FaZe Clan, Epic Games, NBA, Dallas Mavericks and many more.
Erica holds a BBA in Finance from Texas Southern University, is a Certified Economic Development Financial Professional, and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
STEM ACADEMICS
Innovation
From reverse engineering sports products to inventing their own tech innovations, we challenge young athletes to use STEM principles to create tomorrow's solutions.
The number of Caucasian students who earned STEM degrees grew 15 percent in the last five years, the number of African American students fell by roughly the same margin.
SPORTS IQ
Intelligence
Sports intellect happens "above the neck" when athletes can understand complex plays, identify scoring opportunities, use proper safety techniques, and develop mental resilience and confidence.
In 2018, in all major demographic groups except Caucasian males, student athletes have higher graduation rates than the student body. African American male student athletes graduated at a rate that was 15 percentage points higher than the same in the student body.
Career Exploration
Inspiration
While nearly 98% of student athletes will not achieve pro player status, there are exciting sports industry careers beyond the court and the field!
Out of nearly 8 million students that play high school athletics, statistically 2% have the potential to play in the NCAA and pro sports. And of that group, only a fraction will realize their goal of becoming a professional or Olympic athlete.
