Staff
Rob Little
Owner/Head Coach
Rob has worked with children for over 25 years. He began
teaching children through his time babysitting and being a lifeguard in Maryland, where he ultimately built his own business teaching swim lessons for children and adults. He was a strong player in a variety of sports he played, including football, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, and track & field. He began coaching a championship-winning basketball team at the age of 18, and has continued to coach since then. His true passion became basketball and as he focused his efforts there, he grew in his own playing and coaching teams. After an injury and moving to California, Rob pursued his passion for the game and for education and directed his attention leading after-school programs in the peninsula, coaching children's basketball teams, and working on skills with his three sons; Scott, RJ, and Finn. He now runs after-school sports lessons with children from pre-K to high school. He is currently attending classes at Cañada College in Early Childhood Education.
Paige Carey
Directior of Curriculum & Programming
Paige has been an educator for 10 years. She started her education journey with Galileo Learning, and has served as an elementary (K - 4th) school teacher for Synapse School in Menlo Park, CA for the past 9 years. She is now a Learning Specialist in the Learning Center at Synapse School to support learners with varying learning differences. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Marine Biology from University of San Diego, and her credential and Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Notre Dame de Namur University. She has just received a Certificate in Early Education Leadership from The Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is taking classes at Cañada College for Early Childhood Education. Her favorite part of teaching is getting to inspire the love of learning, curiosity, and design in others, as well as getting to laugh about something at work every single day. She loves the ocean, science, teaching young children to love science, being outdoors, silliness, playing music and singing, art, dancing, swimming, and being a general goofball!
About the Owner
Teaching Philosophy
Why is working with kids so important to you?
“I want to give them the opportunity I didn’t have as an athlete, and give them the skills that I wished I had as a young player. I want them to be able to practice the right things to improve their game, and make it easier for them to play and improve based on the research I’ve done. I appreciate being a person who can support and motivate young minds, and encourage them to take chances and try things they think might not be possible.
Reflecting on my own experience as a young athlete, I realized that I was recognized for my physical attributes, such as my height, as a child. As I got older, I fell behind because I was coached to win, not coached to be a skilled player. I had to learn how to coach myself and build my skills that I was behind on so that I could be competitive within my community. My dream is to give children an opportunity to recognize their strengths, build their confidence, and build the skills to be players for life.”
What is your approach to taking chances in sports?
“The goal is to have fun and to notice improvement. When learning a new sport, I try to focus on the positive aspects, not ‘messing up’ and ‘doing something wrong’. There are so many fundamentals that go into building skills that help someone be a great player. When practicing, if we’re building the correct skills, we can’t be ‘messing up’. The focus is on practice and not doing it perfectly - which I feel is the main thing that stops kids from getting better. If they can’t do it right and see others doing it right, they feel like they are failing. I focus on effort and form, because if you put in the work to practice and put in the effort, you will get better.”
Why is confidence such an important aspect of your philosophy?
“Confidence is the key to taking chances. Kids need to believe in themselves and that they can take chances to try. Otherwise, they will find a way to pass their opportunities to someone else to take a shot or shoot a goal. When the opportunity to make a move arises, they need to feel ready to take that opportunity and not give it away to someone else. I grew up doing that as a child, and because I wasn’t confident in my skills, I held myself back. I focus on building confidence because I want them to believe in themselves and their abilities.
As they get older, I want them to be able to join in with games, to make friends, and continue to explore their passions. If they jump in to play a game because they know the fundamentals and have the skills to be part of a team, it’s a social, emotional, and mental advantage. I think it’s an important life skill, too, and by taking opportunities on the field or the court, they can build those skills in all aspects of life.”