About RISE

RISE was created by Ryan Bricker in 2017. Ryan began by renting space at Jefferson Elementary one night a week so that his own children could have the opportunity to play basketball with some friends.

“We rented the space and called about 7 of Luke’s friends and asked them if they would want to join us at the gym.  We spent some time working on basic ball-handling and shooting drills and then would let the boys play 3 on 3 or 4 on 4.  They had a blast.  We did that for about 5 weeks.  It wasn’t long after that wrapped up that I started to get some inquiries about if and when I was going to do something like that again.  So I rented the space again and had about 35 kids join us.  It was around that time that Ryan Burgher approached me and asked if I would be interested in putting on a basketball camp for Agaitas.  I agreed.  We had about 150 kids sign up for the first camp- an amazing turn out!  It was at that point that I began to realize that there were others who saw the same thing I was seeing.  After speaking with David Wayne and Agaitas leadership about the potential, we all agreed that it was time to begin a program that would address the overwhelming need in the community, but to do it in a way that was excellently done.  In May of 2017 RISE was born.”

“God used sports, especially basketball, to impact my life in incredible ways,” said Bricker. ” I believe youth sports are one of the primary ways to reach, not only large numbers of kids, but their families. Through sports, we have a tremendous open door into the lives of those within our community.” – Sports Spectrum Interview 2017