Smooth Stones was founded in the late 90’s in Orlando, Florida by an African Methodist Episcopal Minister named Lance Williams who called the team Five Smooth Stones.
It’s first Head Coach and co-founder was a known AAU coach named Jason Gandy who also had a son playing on the team. Both men were practicing Christians who had a vision of building christian character in the lives of children while playing and teaching them the game of basketball.
In 2000, Pedro Perez Sr. was recruited as an assistant coach under Jason Gandy by Minister Lance Williams to help with the growing program that evolved into an organization made up of two teams.
Coach Perez was an Orange County Corrections Officer who was concerned about the growing juvenile population at the Orange County Jail, in which most of the kids came from the Pine Hills and Mercy Drive Communities.
In 2002, Jason Gandy departed Five Smooth Stones to oversee an AAU basketball program developed by a relative in the NBA known as Marquis Daniels, and Minister Lance Williams retired leaving Coach Perez to oversee Five Smooth Stones.
In 2004, Coach Perez changed the name of the team to Smooth Stones and moved the program to Northwest Orange County for the purpose of reaching out to at risk children in the Pine Hills Community of Orange County.
Smooth Stones was embraced by Pastor Richard Bishop of Agape Baptist Assembly Church in Pine Hills and from the church’s gymnasium Smooth Stones grew into an organization made up of 8 teams of children from 5th grade through 12th grade.
In 2012, Smooth Stones incorporated and became a 501c3 organization and changed its name to Smooth Stones Youth Sports Association with a vision of expanding and providing other sports programs such as Football, Baseball, Soccer and Track and Field.
Our goal and purpose is to engage juveniles in sports programs that will empower them to develop the necessary character and skills to succeed in life and to prevent them from being led or tempted into unlawful activities.
