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Why Filling The Lane?

Filling the Lane member in uniform

Member Benefits

Benefits that You will Love

Filling the Lane’s Mission is to, “Bridge the gaps between education, sports, arts, and community.” Filling the Lane accepts at-risk youth who are referred to the program through their local schools.

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Current FTL Member Educational Partners:

  • Auburndale High School

  • Bartow High School

  • Denison Middle School

  • Haines City High School

  • Heritage Christian

  • Lake Alfred Middle School

  • Lake Region High School

  • New Dimensions High School

  • Ridge Community High School

  • Winter Haven High School

  • Westwood Middle School

  • Zephyrhills High School

 

Filling The Lane provides tutoring in the areas of:

  • Reading Comprehensively

  • Writing effectively

  • Speaking fluently

  • Math

  • Communication
     

Once in the Filling the Lane program the youth are engaged in community service with:

  • Winter Haven Police Department

  • Theatre of Winter Haven

  • The City of Winter Haven
     

Members of Filling the Lane are offered Free Mental Health Services provided by Ceria Sanders M.A Sociology: New Beginnings High School Mental Health Guidance Counselor

 

Members of Filling the Lane are offered Free Dental Health offered by Forni Dental of Lake Wales: Dr. Max Forni DMD, P.A.

 

Students who complete the Filling the Lane program have gone on to not only graduate High School but, some of these students have been extremely successful in college.

 

Colleges of Former Members of FTL

  • Ellsworth Community College

  • Florida Atlantic University

  • Florida International University

  • Florida State University

  • Florida Southern College

  • Hope College, MI

  • Pace College, GA

  • Polk State College

  • South Eastern University

  • Tallahassee  Community College

  • University  of South Florida

  • Webber University

 

Members of FTL participate in college tours around the United States as well as basketball development/travel ball.  Many kids in high school dream of attending college.  Filling the Lane has helped these youth to realize that the goal of attending college is attainable.

“Bridge the gaps between education, sports, arts, and community.”

Established in 2011, Filling the Lane is a non-profit basketball league serving at-risk, first-generation, high school-aged youth by bridging the gaps between education, sports, the arts, and community.

Filling the Lanes' vision is to harness the power of sport to bring youth together with positive mentorship, community engagement opportunities, and academic and social-emotional support. Through participation in Fill the Lane, some of the more marginalized youth in our community receive the support they need to excel on the court, in the classroom, and in life.

Filling the Lane consists of six basketball teams and hosts local tournaments, as well as providing participants with the opportunity to go out on the road to compete in travel tournaments throughout the state and country. Each team participates in at least 10 tournaments each season, five of which are travel tournaments. In addition to the positive effects that participating in team sports can have on youth, as part of the travel tournament experience, players take tours of local colleges and universities where the tournament is held, participate in a cultural experience, including visits to museums and historic sites, and visit a local restaurant for a fine dining experience. Recently, players have had the opportunity to visit colleges including Florida State College, Tennessee University, Morehouse Spelman College, the University of Florida, the University of Oklahoma, and Florida A&M University. For many players, this may be the only opportunity they have to tour colleges. While on tournament trips, players have also had the opportunity to visit museums and cultural centers, including the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, the Ponce City Market, the Center for Civil and Human Rights Museum, the Florida Department of Education, the Florida History Museum, the National Black Baseball Museum, the NCAA Museum, and more.
 

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