YP Alum Michael Shipper Empowers Young Athletes

2/3/2023

At York Prep, we are proud to have alumni like Michael Shipper who embody the values of our school. Mr. Shipper is a testament to what can be achieved when you receive care and support from your community and use it as motivation for success in life.

Michael’s story begins with his grandfather passing down an inspiring (paraphrased) quote from Theodore Roosevelt that became his mantra: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care." As a student entering middle school at York Prep, he received tremendous amounts of individualized support from teachers, which helped him develop into the successful entrepreneur he is today. He founded Empowered Sports & Fitness on the Upper West Side in January, 2015. The ESF philosophy is to encourage athletes to move, play, and have fun regardless of their backgrounds or abilities. Each athlete feels empowered by the ESF team's level of compassion and dedication.

Michael fondly remembers the individualized morning check-ins he had at York, as well as the homework help that he received daily. He cites one particular teacher, Mr. Neuhaus, as one of his top three teachers of all time. “Mr. Neuhaus was the most influential,” he says. “He made math so easy and so fun. If it wasn’t for him, I would have failed math. He gave me so much of his time.” In addition to science, math became one of his favorite subjects because of Mr. Neuhaus.

In eighth grade, Michael was encouraged to try out for the Varsity Boys Basketball team. Not only did he earn a spot on the team, but he also contributed to the team’s State title that year! Later, in 2017, he even returned to York to coach JV Boys Basketball.

After graduating from Rollins College with a degree in Anthropology and a minor in science, he recognized a gap in organized sports for kids who didn't have the means to participate. Fueled by his love of sports and a strong desire to help people, Michael worked towards filling in this gap and began developing on-site physical education programming for several New York City schools including Stephen Gaynor, Fusion, and Blessed Sacrament.

With his experience working in local schools, Michael opened the Empowered Sports and Fitness gym in December 2021, located on West 72nd Street. At the gym, individual and small group sessions are offered. Every day, they work with athletes of all ages - toddlers, pre-adolescents, teenagers, and adults. Their athletes participate in a variety of activities, which are designed to work as building blocks for executive functioning, following multi-step instructions, and working towards goals. The classes promote physical, adaptive, and cognitive skills. Whether it's trying a new and novel movement or engaging and transitioning from one activity to another, the coachesat ESF create fun movement programs that are tailored to each athlete's needs. Social thinking is another method Michael incorporates into his classes; this helps his athletes regulate their behavior, sensory needs, and emotions.

Currently, four coaches work alongside Michael. They are all required to complete six months of training with him. They have also earned certifications in Autism Fitness, Physical Literacy, and International Youth Coaching Association. When formulating activities for ESF students' sessions, the team often works with athletes’ Occupational Therapists/Physical Therapists and Speech Therapists.

If Michael were to give advice to his high school self, he would say: “Be focused on internal qualities, not your intellectual qualities.” As a young student, he was always very focused on passing tests and getting good grades, but he later realized that his internal qualities were paramount to his intellectual achievements. He recognized that his people skills and his understanding of people’s feelings would get him further in life. This epiphany led him to his calling, which is to work with people of all abilities and bring out the best in them, through Empowered Sports and Fitness.

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