Jihad Morris has returned to his hometown with a mission: to grow his youth mentorship and sports training program, Blazing Athletics, and help student-athletes across Newburgh and the greater Hudson Valley achieve their dreams.

In 90 degree heat, the Greenwood Gators basketball team spent an hour baking in sun – hopping – sprinting and shuffling on the sand. This is one way Jihad motivates those he trains — pushing his athletes to the limit.

Morris played at Western Kentucky University from '07-'09. He even had short stints in the Canadian and arena football league as well. Hailing from Newburgh, New York, times weren't always easy, dealing with lots of crime and violence, but Bowling Green was the one place that took a shot on him and where his heart resides.

Morris says the keys to success for his students are paying close attention to detail and giving 110% effort. He instills in them that “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard!” When faced with loss, he helps the children understand the sequence of events that led to the loss and wants them to understand that adversity and struggles are just a part of life.

Morris started Blazing Athletics in 2011 and held his first camp back home in Newburgh, where he left Newburgh Free Academy with nine school records. He’d work smaller camps before AFL games, and Blazing Athletics also later started AAU basketball programs and began hosting tournaments.

“There is money to be paid for these athletes to participate in collegiate athletics. So, why not help these kids to make sure that there is a sliding scale. Your grades matter, as well as your performance on the field. So, we don’t just push the performance piece. We work more of a cognitive-based, very similar to recreational therapy,” Morris said.