Our Mission

Youth Character and Leadership Development through Sports

Encouraging coaches, parents and teachers in their work and emphasizing the importance of teaching life lessons to help build the character and self esteem of each child.

Our History:

The Northside Athletes Foundation (NAF) was founded in 1990 by Tom Raney and Trip Taylor. The organization arose from a golf tournament between ex-athletes from Riverwood and North Springs. Each participant in the golf tournament paid $150 entry fee and the proceeds were donated to Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital.

There was always a strong bond and rivalry between the two schools and Tom & Trip thought it would be a good idea to put together a board and create a foundation (NAF) that would get friends together for a worthy cause. Those interested joined the board and as a group they decided the to give back to youth development through mentoring, coaching and the sports programs that made an impact on their lives.

In the quest to remain dynamic, the board continues to evolve with new and old leaders who remain committed to continually improving the services NAF can provide. The board consists of a totally volunteer group of community leaders. There is no set term of service for the board of directors, the only requirement is that each board member remain committed to achieving the NAF mission in a bigger and better way every year.

NAF has made a positive impact on many athletes, parents and coaches over the years.

As Joe Ehrmann said at the first NAF speaker event in 2005 at Oglethorpe University: “A parent asked me after the first few weeks of football practice, How’s my son doing? Joe replied, I will tell you in 20 years, when we see what kind of father he is, what kind of community leader he is, what kind of husband he is and what kind of friend he is.”

These are the life lessons NAF remains committed to teaching the youth through various sports programs all over Atlanta.