Jon Denholtz
After eight years leading the SCORES board, Jon Denholtz stepped down as chair in October 2024. He now serves as vice chair. Jon’s tenure with SCORES stretches back more than 20 years. We talked to Jon about his history with the board, how the organization has navigated periods of dramatic growth and contraction, and what he’s most proud of.
How did you first get involved with SCORES?
It was early 2002. The dot-com bubble had burst. I had just sold my company, largely out of duress. And I’d just lost one of my best friends from college on 9-11. I was taking a mental health break and looking for some inspiration. That’s when I came across a posting on Craigslist for a volunteer soccer coach.
And that’s how I met Colin, the executive director of America SCORES, who had launched SCORES Bay Area the previous year. We had a conversation. I was intrigued by the concept of an afterschool program that combined soccer with poetry – it spoke to me. Soon after that early conversation, I started volunteer coaching with SCORES at George Washington Carver Elementary in the Bayview of San Francisco.
I thought it would be a breeze. I’d been a soccer player through college and had previously worked at soccer camps with older players. Not so much! I had a helluva time getting the kids to listen. But I quickly realized the enormous value the program delivered, not only to the kids, but to their families. Parents were grateful because they were often working multiple jobs or weren’t around after school. It became very clear that delivering a safe, high-quality, and free program run by caring and committed adults could fill a significant void in the lives of these kids, their families, and their schools
I also remember sitting in on the poetry workshops run by my SCORES co-workers and having a sort of epiphany about the power of poetry and its capacity to give kids a voice and a sense of agency. I saw kids struggle to identify what they were feeling and then watched them put words to those emotions and share them with others. Their joy and sense of accomplishment in the process was palpable. You could feel it. They were empowered.
Colin and I continued to meet for coffee during this time, and he periodically brought up the idea of joining the board. I’d never been on a nonprofit board, but I was interested. Eventually, I realized I could add more value on the strategic and operational front, helping to build and grow the organization, than convincing the kids to participate in another dribbling drill.
I’ve been a board member ever since, working on various committees, and then as board chair from 2017 until October 2024. It’s been one of the great joys and privileges of my life.
As board chair, part of your role is to be a vocal advocate for the program. When you talk about SCORES to other people what do you focus on? How do you describe its impact?
I start with the power of a whole-child comprehensive approach to youth development — after-school programming that helps build a healthy body, healthy spirit, and healthy heart. Then there’s the through line that unifies soccer, poetry, and service learning coupled with the core principles underpinning all aspects of the SCORES program: teamwork, collaboration, inclusiveness, and leadership. It’s an amazing amalgamation that works. Participating kids experience a profound sense of belonging, and at the same time, a greater confidence in their ability to navigate the world.
I often say SCORES is about giving kids a voice on and off the field. When you’re on a team, it’s important to be able to vocalize, to raise your hand and raise your voice. Because that’s communication–it’s how we work in and navigate the world. We listen, we express ourselves, we communicate. And those same skills translate to the classroom, the field, the park, our homes, our jobs, and everywhere else we go in life. Finally, there’s the incredible joy and pride this program delivers. You can see it so clearly in the kids, whether it comes from being on a team or performing an original poem on stage at a poetry slam.
“I often say SCORES is about giving kids a voice on and off the field.”
The past two decades in the Bay Area have been dynamic, to put it mildly. SCORES was launched out of the dot-com crash. The organization navigated periods of growth and contraction alongside the Bay Area’s journey through the Great Recession of 2008, a booming economy that followed, and the COVID-19 epidemic that shuttered schools and jobs. Now SCORES is expanding again. Looking back over that time, what stands out to you in how SCORES operated through those challenges?
Wasn’t it Woody Allen who said 80 percent of success is showing up? It starts with the people. At SCORES, it’s been the commitment of key stakeholders, whether Colin, Yuri, Angela, and other key staff members, or Sam, Mark, Ellen, and other long-term board members. A remarkably consistent team has been committed to making this thing work, come hell or high water.
Somehow we found the energy as individuals and as a group to figure it out along the way with energy, love, a real belief in each other, and a shared commitment to the SCORES’ mission. We’ve had tough times along the way – contractions, school budget shortfalls, challenges with funders, the pandemic, and more. But we’ve kept at it. We’ve gone through multiple strategic planning processes and explored new businesses and service delivery models to maximize our impact. However, the biggest factor in our success has been that we’ve simply given ourselves enough time to find traction and figure out a sustainable way to move forward.
Less than a decade ago, SCORES served fewer than 500 kids on an annual budget of less than a million. Today we’re approaching a ten million dollar budget, serving more than 6000 kids annually. Then, most of our income came through individual and family foundation donations. Now our revenue model is 80 percent earned income. It’s super exciting. And the people factor keeps growing. An expanding group of talented and committed people are coming together to help the organization. I’m ready to step down from the responsibility of the board chair, but I’m as excited as ever about the future of SCORES because I’m passionate about impact. Today we have the opportunity to make an even bigger splash and reach even more kids.
Looking back, what’s a moment in the organization’s history that you’re especially proud of?
There’s so much to be proud of but something that immediately comes to mind is the SCORES Soccer Coach's Summit in 2020. We were navigating through the very start of the pandemic, trying to figure out how to keep things going with all the school closures. Colin and I came up with the idea to host an online conference targeted at soccer coaches worldwide – a celebration of soccer and coaching. It was an opportunity to gather soccer coaches at every level and from every corner of the globe to share best practices, create connections, and strengthen community just as the world was shutting down. I get goosebumps thinking about it. I met so many amazing individuals – brilliant coaches and loving adults with so much wisdom and care for their athletes, committed not only to winning but to helping youth develop into healthy, emotionally mature adults.
Thanks to the hard work of a small team of amazing SCORES staff members, we attracted more than 150 speakers including the head of US men’s soccer, members of Women’s World Cup teams, Anson Dorrance, Bruce Arena, Brandi Chastain, Mike Noonan, Bob Bradley and so many more. It was an amazing event with nearly 10,000 attendees from 80 countries participating in over 80 presentations, discussions, and workshops. While free to attend, it generated tens of thousands of dollars in donations and gave us so much to feel good about.
Clemson Coach Mike Noonan speaking remotely at the SCORES Summit in June of 2020
Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to new SCORES board chair Sam Fort?
I’m not sure Sam needs any but I guess I’d give him the same advice I’d give myself: Try to remain close to the heart of the program. Speaking for myself, I didn’t spend nearly as much time over the past years as I would have liked interacting and working directly with the kids and their families — talking, listening, and observing. When you do, it’s a powerful and inspirational reminder of the power of the SCORES program and why we volunteer.
Final question. A bonus one. What opportunities do you see for SCORES moving forward?
Geographic expansion in Northern California. There are tons of school districts and tens of thousands of underserved kids in need. We have a unique opportunity to step up in a big way with a proven program that’s succeeded for over 20 years. Our attendance rates triple that of other afterschool programs. Those numbers are compelling to schools and lead agencies that rely largely on student attendance for their funding.
I see an opportunity for America SCORES to serve as a national model for youth development and after-school programming. Why not make this a best-in-class organization in every aspect: on the program front, at the board level, operationally, and from a technology standpoint? We’re getting there but there’s more to do. Fortunately, we have an amazing team of individuals collaborating to drive us forward. We can do it.
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