One day the coach asked the players if any of them needed help in any classes.

Fourteen guys raised their hands. This coach then asked if any of the other guys would help those fourteen get over the academic walls they were facing. Ten guys said "yes" and ScoreA’s™ was born. ScoreA’s is an athlete to athlete tutoring philosophy that helps teams get over academic walls together.

a message from ScoreA's founder

Andy Gronik

I organized ScoreA's, LLC.
for students like me

ScoreA’s is for high school student-athletes who are motivated to improve themselves and others academically – kids who want to go onto higher education but could use a boost from teammates, teachers and others to get there.

How it started

In 2015 I helped to coach a high school football team. I found a bunch of athletes on the football team who were just like me – kids just trying to make sense of what they were being asked to learn and how it connected them to their futures. I felt uniquely qualified to answer this question, because of my struggles, so I dove in. At every opportunity I talked about teamwork and its importance in life. I shared with them this Navy Seal quote, “Teamwork is about looking out after the guy to your left and the guy to your right.” I felt there was no better way to demonstrate teamwork than by asking teammates to help their teammates achieve academic success. We spoke about the meaning of “commitment” and “mentorship.” I asked if there were any athletes “committed to doing whatever it takes to raising their GPA’s and ACT scores so they would have a chance to go onto higher education. 14 kids raised their hands. Next, I asked if there were any athletes willing to encourage, support and mentor their teammates strugglingin school” and 10 kids volunteered to help them all. ScoreA’s was born.

 You might see yourself
in this

I was the kid who promised myself I wouldn’t take a book home in high school and my grades reflected that. I didn’t understand how what I was learning connected me to my future. I thought every college I applied to would accept me. I didn’t take the college entrance exam seriously. I never visited a college campus and never asked questions about colleges. I just assumed I was going and everyone would welcome me. When it came time to apply I based my choices on the cheerleaders and their uniforms. Needless to say, all of my applications were rejected. And, I was stunned.

"No" is a huge
motivator for me

I’ve come to appreciate that being told “no,” motivates me. I hated the fact that colleges were telling me that I couldn’t hack it in their world and was prepared to prove them wrong. So, I applied to my local university but, they also said “no.” This really got my attention!

I drove to UW-Milwaukee, stepped foot on my first college campus, found the admissions department and asked an officer to reconsider their rejection and give me a chance. I got lucky and was admitted on probation. Now I had something to prove – to the college world and to myself.

I had to beat the books
before they beat me

I am an experiential learner – if I see it, hear it, experience it then I’ve learned it for keeps. I knew I couldn’t miss class and ultimately determined the best place for me in the classroom was front row, center.

Reading, on the other hand, is a struggle for me and I knew there were lots of books in my future. To be successful in college I had to beat the books before they beat me. I bought highlighters to color in the important text. I bought books that summarized books and colored them in, too. I summarized my summarized notes. I found books on tape – reel-to-reel tape – and found them to be a huge help. I found the library and the perfect place to focus on studying. I found study groups; worked with teacher’s assistants and professors and; I asked a lot of questions. I knew I would have to be relentless so I committed myself to doing whatever it took to succeed.

My hard work
paid off

I did great! So great at UW-M that I transferred to the University of Georgia after my first year; made it into Georgia’s top-ranked Terry School of Business; was named to the dean’s list on multiple occasions; graduated in four years (the first college graduate in my family); received job offers from all but one of the companies I interviewed with and; was invited to return to speak to business students in the same lecture hall where I’d taken so many of my classes just one year earlier. It was thrilling, surreal and an important affirmation that hard work pays off. I was thrilled to attend my commencement ceremony and did so wearing two different track shoes – some things don’t change.

Education gave me
more options

I respect that higher education is not for everyone. But, it’s undeniable that higher education gave me more options and I think having more options is better than less. I worked hard at a lot of part-time jobs growing up and I’m grateful for all that I learned. Perhaps the most important thing learned was that I wanted more choices and I saw education as the path to these choices. Having a bunch of colleges tell me I wouldn’t be having these choices was a huge turning point in my life. I remain grateful to UW-M for giving me a second look.