Meet Wayne Terronez

Wayne was raised by a teenage single mother in Illinois. His mother was 17 when he was born, and she dropped out of high school. Due to her limited education and job skills, he and his brother were raised on state assistance. They were in and out of three foster homes before the age of ten. Wayne knew from an early age how it felt not to afford to play sports because his family was poor. Had it not been for his aunts, uncles, and coaches paying for his registration fees and equipment, he would have been unable to play sports.  Wayne often reflects on those early memories and how he felt, and he wants to help as many youth athletes as possible not feel how he did as a child. He also has overcome being a teenage father. Wayne knew the value of education and worked full time, stayed in school, and graduated high school on time at the age of 18. He joined the United States Marines Corps right after graduating high school at the age of 18. He will retire from the United States Marine Corps as a Master Gunnery Sergeant (E-9) after more than 29 years of service in January 2022.

In the podcast, he shared that as he prepared to retire, he began to look at things he wanted to do after retirement, which led to helping the community. We discuss how his goal of helping the underprivileged led to creating Pathway to Sports and that data has shown that youth are more likely to graduate high school if they participate in sports.

Find out more about how to support Pathway to Sports at https://www.pathwaytosports.org/