Current Position: CEO/President/Founder of CAL Sports Academy
Story Last Updated: Summer 2024
Finding Strength Through Sports
Everywhere you look inside of CAL Sports Academy's gym in Harleysville, Pa., there is a reminder of the mission Corey Lord set out to accomplish when he left his job in corporate America to follow his passion of teaching young athletes.
Lord was a star athlete his whole life, representing his native country Barbados throughout elementary and high school in soccer and track and field. While his career took him to Wall Street, his passion took him to the local YMCAs. Spending his days in the corporate world and nights in the gym, it was there where he began to recognize his real talent.
When Lord was relocated to Montgomery County, he decided to continue his education at Gwynedd Mercy University. After graduating in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Information Science, Lord joined the University’s men’s basketball team as an assistant coach.
In 2006, after listening to a plea from a mother whose son sat on the bench during most YMCA basketball games, Lord launched CAL Sports Academy. The Academy strives to discover a player's "Strength Through Sports."
If I say you did something well, that's from the heart. If I say you are being lazy, that's from my heart. I tell kids to remember the conversation when you got cut from the team. Now you're on it. Don't settle for just being on the team. Be that starter. Be the difference.
CAL Sports Academy continues to grow each year. Lord has begun to give motivational speeches at local colleges and high schools. He is sure he will soon be a national figure and is looking forward to taking his staff, many of whom have been with him since the beginning, along for the ride.
Lord believes that when people give up they don’t realize how close they are to the finish line. The finish line for CAL Sports is nowhere in sight.
