“Keep working, keep grinding and you’ll get what you want.” – Almando

Almando (Class of ‘21) began his Crossover journey in the 7th grade with a point to prove. The year before he enrolled at Crossover, he scored just one point the entire season. After a year of putting in the hard work week after week at Crossover, he had improved to being one of the leading scorers on his 7th grade school team. By the 8th grade, he was his team’s top scorer.

Now at Vero Beach High School, Almando continued to get better each year and eventually earned a starting roster spot. He was dedicated on and off the court while playing all four years of ball. Almando worked at restaurants and Walmart after class and on weekends. Coach Antoine Jennings’ mentorship and Ms. Diane Bainter’s guidance through our College & Career Readiness program were especially important to helping him reach his goals of high school graduation and admissions to a college of his choice.

Almando attended King University for two years while playing guard at the college level. He has since returned to Crossover working full-time as a Coach’s Assistant where he finds himself thriving in the role as mentor. “I take pride in helping others along the path that I went through, encouraging them to learn from their mistakes, and showing them all the good things I’ve done so far in my life,” Almando shares.