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"I walked these avenues. I walked these streets."

The pastor shared his story with teens in Niagara Falls Thursday night, hoping they learn from his mistakes.

"They have to first be disciplined. No one owes them anything," said Motley.

It's all part of Winning Because I Tried, A 12-week program founded by former pro basketball player Modie Cox. His goal is to keep inner-city youth off the streets.

"We wanted to give them something positive that they could wrap their arms around. We just didn't want it to be sports related. We wanted to give them some type of life skills component,” Cox said.

Each week, teens meet for a mentoring session with staff and guest speakers who've "been there" and then hit the courts.

"We run three games per day, and we'll get out of here around 8:30 tonight. So essentially from 3:30 to 5:30, those kids are off the streets."

And it seems to be working. 40 teens take part in the Niagara Falls program.

‘Winning Because I Tried’ has grown so much it stretches from Western New York to Toronto and now the founder has his sights set on New York City.

"Our hope is that once they leave our hands is that all this stuff is still fresh in their minds and they'll realize that in order to get ahead in life they've got to make better choices," Cox.

Better choices despite difficult circumstances.

"Listen. Even though you come from the ghetto, even though you live in the inner city, you still can be somebody. You just have to have hard work and dedication," Motley said. Visit YNN.com to watch video »

Winning Because I Tried Joins Voices Against Brain Cancer (June 2011)

The "Winning Because I Tried" Youth Mentoring Program joins VABC for their 6th annual benefit concert Sounding Off For A Cure. 

Brain cancer can affect people of every age, gender, ethnicity and health history. While there are no known causes of brain cancer, there is still a need to fund brain cancer research, support groups, education and awareness.

"I was amazed by the number of people who came out to support such a worthy cause" said Wallace. Other cerleberties in attendance included: Tony Danza, Marc Anthony and Pedro Martinez.

WJB Capital Invites WBIT To Wall Street (May 2011)

The "Winning Because I Tried" Youth Mentoring Program was invited Wall Street to take part in the WJB Capital Group fundraiser that generated $1.4 million dollars for Coaches versus Cancer and other charities.

Cox and close friend, former syracuse star John Wallace, stood in Times Square with greats such as: Hall of Famer Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, Hall of Famer Jim Boehim, Matt Doherty and many others for the NASDAQ closing Bell Ceremony.

"It was an amazing experience for our organization" said Cox who used the opportunity to network in NYC and came home with a renewed excitement for the initiative.

"I'm going to embrace this opportunity Cox said". "It shows that when you believe in what you're doing, anything can happen. I never thought a little kid from Niagara Falls would be doing something like this."

KeyBank of WNY Partners with Youth Mentoring Program (April 2011)

KeyBank of WNY has announced a partnership with "Winning Because I Tried" Youth Mentoring Program. Locally KeyBank is partnering with the organization to provide the KeyBank Salute to Youth Program, as well as other youth inititive(s).

5th or 6th graders at the Olean Family YMCA, who display a commitment to education, community service and a dedication to volunteer, have an opportunity to be selected for this pretigious award given out every quarter.  Cox said "we are excited about our continued partnership with KeyBank.  They have shown a commitment to all youth of WNY." 

"We are fortunate that our partnership with WBIT allows us to play a significant role in supporting the youth in our community" said Marie E. Hare, KeyBank Vice President of Community Affairs. 

Mentoring Program Coming with New Basketball Courts (March 2011)

The City of Niagara Falls new Intervention Inititive has partnered with former LaSalle High School and University at Buffalo standout Modie Cox, to give his "Winning Because I Tried" Youth Mentoring Program a foothold in Niagara Falls. 

Cox said his part of the program will operate under the motto "No work shot, no jump shot."  Teens will be encouraged to participate in a 12 week mentoring course offering lessons in health, conflict resolution, personal finance and other life skills, before they are allowed to step foot on the basketball court.

Councilman Charles Walker said "I felt this would be the right time to do an intervention program which would mature our kids, educate our kids, and help them understand that poor decision making can be detrimental to the rest of their life."