In 2013, eight-year-old Ezra Frech and his dad Clayton traveled to Oklahoma City for the UCO Endeavor Games, an annual multi-sport competition for athletes with physical disabilities. While there, Ezra asked his dad why there weren’t programs like the Endeavor Games in Southern California, and that’s how Angel City Sports was born. What began with one young athlete asking “why” has grown into exactly the kind of lasting change The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation’s Sports Matter Impact League is built to champion.
The Sports Matter Impact League, which launched in 2025, selects empowering sports-based youth development organizations for a three-year tiered grant program to fuel sustainable, high-impact work. In addition to funding, Sports Matter Impact League partners receive strategic guidance, visibility opportunities and access to resources that strengthen organizational capacity.
“Long-term partnerships allow us to listen, learn and build alongside organizations to create stronger programs and meaningful change that lasts,” said Rick Jordan, Vice President of The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation.
Watch our feature video highlighting the incredible work of Angel City Sports.
Going into 2027, Angel City Sports will enter year two of its Sports Matter Impact League partnership. Rooted in the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to experience sport as a pathway to confidence, independence and belonging, Angel City Sports offers free, year-round adaptive sports programming for kids, adults and veterans with physical disabilities across the Los Angeles area. Since 2013, the organization has provided more than 31,000 athlete activations through annual clinics, multi-sport experiences and large-scale events.
Beyond programming, Angel City Sports creates a community where athletes can see what is possible for themselves, often for the first time.
“Angel City Sports taught me that I can do anything and that my wheelchair is never a limit,” said 13-year old Angel City Sports athlete Damian Munoz.
Angel City Sports also provides free access to specialized equipment that many athletes and families might not be able to afford on their own, something Angel City Sports Program Manager Alvin Malave says the organization can continue to do thanks to its partnership with The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation.
“I hope to teach the kids that anything is possible, and you can use sport as an opportunity to develop yourself mentally, physically and emotionally and go through life and be successful,” Malave said.
You can learn more about The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation’s Sports Matter Impact League here.
Written by Hilary Totin