FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Jesus Garcia grew up with limited resources and relied on community support to pursue sports. Today, his organization serves thousands of young people across California.<\/p>\n
ABC30 highlights Jesus Garcia during Hispanic & Latin American Heritage Month.<\/p>\n
Jesus Garcia knows firsthand how much an opportunity can change a young person’s life.<\/p>\n
Growing up in Fresno in a Mexican immigrant family with roots in Michoac\u00e1n, Mexico, Garcia loved sports.<\/p>\n
Money was often limited, including when it came to competitive sports.<\/p>\n
Soccer became a major part of Garcia’s life. He also played basketball, volleyball and later continued playing through California Odyssey, Fresno City College and Fresno Fuego.<\/p>\n
But some of the opportunities he wanted came with a price his family couldn’t always afford.<\/p>\n
Scholarships and support from others in the community helped Garcia continue playing.<\/p>\n
Those experiences eventually inspired him to create opportunities for other young people.<\/p>\n
The Clovis East High School graduate attended Fresno City College and Clovis Community College. Garcia moved on to pursue entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n
In 2012, he founded High Performance Academy, or HPA.<\/p>\n
What started as a small local organization has grown more than 15 times in size, becoming a multi-region youth development company serving thousands of young people across California each year.<\/p>\n
Garcia has also developed partnerships with major sports organizations and brands, including AFC Bournemouth, FC Bayern Munich, Valencia CF, Gatorade, Nike\/US Sports Camps and adidas.<\/p>\n
One of those partnerships helped bring Gatorade’s sports equity initiative to more than 20,000 youth participants, helping expand access to sports and development opportunities.<\/p>\n
Garcia’s own childhood experience also led him to establish the Project Athletes Foundation, originally known as the HPA Foundation.<\/p>\n
The foundation is designed to help remove financial barriers that can keep young people from participating in sports through scholarships, equipment and other support.<\/p>\n
Garcia says the goal is simple: a young person’s ability to play, develop and pursue meaningful opportunities shouldn’t be limited by what their family can afford.<\/p>\n
Garcia’s work in Central California isn’t unnoticed.<\/p>\n
He was named a Central Valley 40 Under 40 honoree in 2022 and is a member of Leadership Fresno Class 39.<\/p>\n
In 2026, HPA was recognized by the Consulate of Mexico in Fresno for its community impact and work supporting Mexican youth.<\/p>\n
HPA also received a City of Fresno proclamation recognizing its contributions to youth and the community.<\/p>\n
For Garcia, the journey from athlete to entrepreneur is more than building a successful business.<\/p>\n
It’s about creating the kind of access, mentorship and sense of belonging that helped shape his own life-and making sure the next generation has those same opportunities.<\/p>\n
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