developed a basket ball camp mentoring program that not only teaches kids the fundamentals and skills needed to win on the court, but also provides them with guidance and life lessons that will help them win at the game of life. "I love it!" He boasts joyfully. "I love working with the kids and trying to inspire them and make a difference in their lives. I feel that it is so much bigger than me, and with all of the things that I have accomplished and lessons I have learned, it would be selfish of me if I didn't give that back. If I wasn't able to teach this younger generation and help instill hard work into their mindset. I want them to know what it is going to take to get to the next level. Anyone can teach them how to do a layup or toss a free throw, but I want them to learn how to live at life." Rompza explains. "So when I coach, when I train, it's more motivational with basketball being the catalyst for their purpose. I try to instill in them that it's ok to miss a shot... it's ok to fail... because the next shot is going to fall right in the center of the net and you will succeed. I want them to learn that winning is a mind set, it's a process, and I want to give them all the mental tools that they need to win." And all one has to do is sit on the sideline of one of Rompza's youth camps for a few moments to see how genuinely passionate he is when is working with the kids and how locked in they get to his message. Their faces literally light up like the John Hancock building at night. It is extremely inspiring to witness.
One of Romza's other passions is a charity that he founded in 2017 after a popular 22 year old Chicago basketball coach and youth mentor, Cedric Adkins-Malone, was gunned down and killed in front of his house as he was outside working on his car. The incident really struck Rompza hard. "That tragedy really got to me." He recalls. "I knew the boy's mother. I had met her 4 or 5 years earlier at a restaurant supply store I used to go to and we sort of had this connection. She was super nice to me every time I went in there and would always yell out 'Hey AJ!' when I would come in." He remembers. "Then one day I went in there and one of the workers came up and told me the news that she just lost her son. That he had been shot and the poor lady was devastated because her son and her were like best friends. So it made me think of my mom... because she's like my best friend. So I felt like I just had to do something. Like I had to help in her in any way that I could. So I came up with an idea for an event that I could do to help raise awareness for her, and for the entire city of Chicago that this senseless violence has to stop." So Rompza started "Hoopin For Hope," a free basketball camp that's held on the city's south side which he hopes to grow into a city-wide annual event. "The first year we only had about 15 kids." He explains. "But last year we had over one hundred and hopefully it will keep growing and growing."
So what does the future hold for Chicago's and CFU's favorite son? Well for starters, he recently moved out to California where he is working with a
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