When Jonathan Thompson looks back on his basketball journey from Jones High School to Division I basketball and a professional career overseas, he remembers more than the games he played. 

He remembers the people who made it possible. 

Now, through the newly formed Time to Train Athletics Foundation, Thompson and his wife, Johanne, are working to provide those same opportunities for the next generation of athletes. 

On Sunday morning, the Central Florida nonprofit hosted its first official youth basketball clinic at the Well Activity Center in Apopka, welcoming boys ages 7 to 17 for a free morning of basketball instruction, skill development and conditioning. 

The clinic featured ball-handling, passing, shooting and strength and conditioning stations, while Apopka commissioners Nadia Anderson and Diane Velazquez welcomed participants before activities began. 

For the Thompsons, the turnout validated the foundation’s mission. 

“I feel like it went well,” Johanne Thompson said. “We had over 80 kids registered when we were aiming for 40. We had to get two gyms for 40, so the fact that we went over just tells us the organization exists for a reason, and the kids actually want this because there’s a demand for it.” 

Jonathan Thompson admitted he felt nervous before the clinic began. 

“It went pretty good,” he said. “I was a bit nervous in the beginning just giving back to the kids and doing something positive, but it turned out to be great. You always have those first-time jitters. Even when I used to play basketball, before every tipoff, it was kind of one of those moments again.” 

Players rotated through stations that focused on different aspects of the game, allowing coaches to work with small groups throughout the two-hour session. 

“We broke them down into stations, and we worked on different skills for a certain amount of time at each station,” Thompson said. “We did dribbling, passing, strength and conditioning, and shooting.” 

The foundation’s mission is rooted in Thompson’s own experience growing up in Orlando. 

Johanne Thompson said her husband had the talent to play at the next level, but his family could not afford the travel teams, training and other expenses that often come with competitive youth sports. Another family stepped in to cover those costs, helping open the door to college and a professional career. 

Now, the foundation hopes to remove those same financial barriers for other families. 

“With him coming back to Orlando and working here, he really wanted to build a foundation where kids can get a chance to play the sport they wanted to play and be the best at it without having to worry about costs or their family not being able to afford a certain sport or activity,” Johanne Thompson said. “We built the foundation to bridge that barrier.” 

For Jonathan Thompson, one of the highlights of the day was seeing athletes of all ages and experience levels learning together. 

“My favorite thing was seeing kids from different ages, from seven all the way to 17, with different skill levels and being able to teach them all something different,” he said. “Seeing those different levels was exciting, and it gave me something to look forward to in the future, just to get a kid better.” 

The basketball clinic marked the foundation’s official launch, but it is only the beginning. Time to Train Athletics plans to host three basketball clinics each year, along with free multi-sport open field events beginning July 18 and Aug. 1. The organization is also working with local schools to introduce free after-school strength and conditioning programs that will provide coaching, equipment and curriculum at no cost to students. 

For the Thompsons, Sunday’s clinic represented more than basketball drills. It was the first step toward ensuring that a child’s opportunity to succeed in sports is determined by effort and passion rather than financial circumstances.