JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 An Atlanta-based mentoring program is making a stop in Jacksonville this weekend \u2014 and its leader says the city could be next on the map.<\/p>\n
Next Level Boys Academy will set up at Clanzel T. Brown Park in the Moncrief area Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. as part of the \u201cSave Our Sons Tour.\u201d The free, family-friendly event runs alongside Duval Day, the annual block party hosted by Jacksonville-born comedian Lil Duval, which follows from 3 to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
From a Little League Sideline to a National Movement<\/p>\n
Gary Davis, CEO and Executive Director of Next Level Boys Academy, says it all started on a baseball field. While coaching little league in 2009, he decided mentoring had to go deeper than sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cI built this organization from that group of young men that I coached back in 2009,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n
What began with 11 young men has grown to serve between 200 and 300 youth each year. The program has drawn national media attention and support from high-profile names, including rappers T.I. and Killer Mike.<\/p>\n
What the Program Does<\/p>\n
Next Level Boys Academy mentors teens on Saturdays, working with youth ages 5 to 10. It also runs an alternative-to-incarceration program for first-time offenders ages 12 to 25.<\/p>\n
Davis says the impact goes beyond mentorship.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn average we\u2019ve probably diverted about 100 years of prison time a week,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Former NFL player Will Sweet is also part of the Jacksonville visit. Sweet leads the entrepreneurship and professional development component of the academy\u2019s Atlanta program.<\/p>\n
A Vision for Duval County<\/p>\n
Davis, a former educator and social worker, says this weekend is about more than one event. He wants Jacksonville\u2019s leaders to take notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ultimate reason why we are coming to Jacksonville this weekend is because we want the city officials and local government to see there is an innovative mentoring organization that is working in Atlanta \u2014 and we have people that are in place there that could start this and move it,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThere is no need in re-inventing the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n
What You Need to Know<\/p>\n
The Next Level Boys Academy and Empowerment Center program is free and open to families. Here are the details:<\/p>\n
What: Next Level Boys Academy \u2014 Save Our Sons Tour<\/p>\n
Where: Clanzel T. Brown Park<\/p>\n
When: Saturday, noon to 1 p.m.<\/p>\n
Duval Day: 3 to 8 p.m. at the same location<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 An Atlanta-based mentoring program is making a stop in Jacksonville this weekend \u2014 and its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-336565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}