A loan helped our business overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis.


Michael's story

I found my passion for sports at an early age, the moment I stepped on the field for my very first little league game while I lived in Japan as a boy. My father’s love for baseball moved me to understand how important sports were for everyday life, and I went on playing football and basketball throughout high school and college.

After graduating from San Francisco State University with a BA in Recreation Administration I spent some time in Europe where I was lucky to meet people who inspired me to think of sports as a means to help young people. What was later to become my life’s calling started with a young 17 year-old Dutch student, Romeo Bandison, whom I sponsored to the United States in 1989 where he attended Tamalpais High School playing high school football and earned a college scholarship to the University of Oregon, and went on to play professional football in the NFL, for the Cleveland Browns.

I have been coaching coaching football and (now just); basketball at my alma mater, Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California since 1988. My boys team won a State Championship in 2000, and my girls teams won back to back league championships in 2016 & 2017, the first in the schools 108-year history. During this time I also spent a year in Oslo, Norway coaching both Men’s and Women’s pro basketball teams - a professional experience that enriched my coaching acumen.

I got inspired to create Southern Marin Heat .Org after learning the story of a similar program in the Congo and all the lives they’ve impacted with their program. Their story moved me so much that I was determined to work with this organization to create an opportunity for their players to come to the United States and play in front of college coaches and possibly earn college scholarships. I also knew how beneficial this cultural exchange would be for our girls, expanding their horizons through their shared love for basketball.

I am both humbled and proud to have been able to provide life-changing opportunities for underprivileged youth in Marin County and beyond and I hope to continue doing so for the rest of my career.


This loan is special because:

It helps this business to overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis.



Loan details


About Southern Marin Heat .Org

Industry: Services
Years in operation: More than 5 years
Website: southernmarinheat.org


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Loan details