Coaches build futures. We make sure they’re seen.
About Us
Why We Exist
Appreciation Project Inc. exists to recognize the people who quietly hold teams, communities, and young lives together: coaches.
Across sports, schools, and neighborhoods, coaches do far more than teach the game. They show up consistently, create structure where there is chaos, and model resilience, leadership, and belonging. Yet their impact is often underrecognized — and their teams are often under-resourced.
We built Appreciation Project Inc around two simple lanes:
recognizing coaches and supporting the teams they lead.
Because when coaches are seen and supported, entire communities are stronger.
Our Story: Different Paths, Shared Truth
We come to this work from different places, but with the same lived understanding: sport can be a lifeline — and coaches can change everything.
One of us grew up playing a sport that wasn’t formally supported at the time, learning to be resourceful and resilient alongside teammates who had to build something from nothing. Coaches in that environment didn’t just teach skills — they showed what leadership looked like when systems lag behind progress.
The other grew up playing competitive basketball in environments where access and belonging weren’t guaranteed, learning early how to compete, adapt, and persevere. Playing in spaces that weren’t always designed to include you sharpens grit — and highlights the importance of adults who advocate, protect, and believe in you.
Our shared belief is also shaped by history. Nearly a century ago, a generation of coaches helped steady communities through enormous uncertainty — including periods of war and economic upheaval — by investing in young people through sport, particularly in grassroots and junior college programs. That legacy of coaching as community leadership still resonates today.
Across generations and geographies, the pattern is clear:
coaches matter — often more than they know.
What We Believe
We believe appreciation is not symbolic — it’s practical.
Coaches are often the first to recognize when a young person is struggling.
They create safe, structured environments where confidence and character are built.
They hold teams together when resources are limited and expectations are high.
Appreciation Project is our way of honoring that work — not just with words, but with tangible support for both coaches and teams.
Who we are
Shelby Schmalbeck
Co-Founder & Director
Shelby Schmalbeck grew up in England with limited access to organized sports, but a coach who believed in her changed her path—leading to opportunities she never imagined, including playing on a boys’ high school basketball team. Now a mother of seven and the owner and director of a basketball club serving hundreds of youth and coaches across Idaho and Utah, she founded The Appreciation Project to honor the coaches whose belief can change the trajectory of a young person’s life, including those growing up in underserved and foster care systems.
Jill Dempsey
Co-Founder & Director
Add jills story
Between us, we are raising families that reflect the diversity and complexity of the communities we serve. That lived proximity keeps this work grounded and real.
We see firsthand how access, mentorship, and consistent adult leadership shape opportunity — and how often coaches fill those gaps long before formal systems do.
Appreciation Project is our way of saying thank you — and of helping ensure that the people who give so much to their teams are not doing it alone.