The Fresno Entrepreneur Making Sure No Kid Sits Out for Money

Jesus Garcia, Founder of High Performance Academy

High Performance Academy in action

Photos courtesy of High Performance Academy (hpanation.com)

Growing up in Fresno, Jesus Garcia knew what it was like to want more than his family could afford. He grew up in a Mexican immigrant family with roots in Michoacán, and money was often tight — especially when it came to competitive sports, the thing he loved most. Scholarships and help from people in his community kept him in the game long enough to imagine building something bigger.

In 2012, he did: Garcia founded the High Performance Academy, a youth sports program that has since grown more than fifteen times its original size into a multi-region youth development company serving thousands of young people across California every year. He didn’t stop there. Through the Project Athletes Foundation, he set out to remove the same financial barriers that almost kept him out of sports — a mission that caught the attention of Gatorade, whose partnership with Garcia has extended a sports equity initiative to more than 20,000 young athletes. His work has also drawn partnerships with clubs like AFC Bournemouth, FC Bayern Munich, and Valencia CF, plus recognition from the City of Fresno and Mexico’s Consulate there.

Garcia’s path started with a shortage most kids never talk about. What he built out of it is now making sure thousands of others don’t have to feel it the same way.