Ykealo Araia is the head coach of OTM and brings both professional and national team playing experience, is an NBA certified skill trainer, and founder of Outhemud basketball. Ykealo launched OTM in 2019 as a means to give back to the next generation of basketball players, and started by running free open outdoor workouts and in the decathlon to keep inner city youth off the streets and in the gym sharpening their skills. He was motivated by having to reach his basketball dreams without any help or guidance, and wanted better for the next generation.

“Kids shouldn’t  have to worry about anything other than the process of daily improvement. They shouldn’t have to wonder what steps they’ll need to take next and risk making mistakes that will jeopardize their chances of taking basketball to the highest levels. Anybody who plays for OTM will have the proper guidance and maximize their chances at playing professional basketball, and avoid all of the mistakes I made due to not having proper mentorship”

Growing up he fell in love with the process of improvement, and would constantly find himself pausing workouts to give pointers to friends or random people who took interest in his workouts. As he began to notice their success, and of course his own as a self-made professional basketball player, he became even more confident in his ability to teach the game, and knew he would pursue this passion someday. 

Along his journey in becoming a professional basketball player, he faced plenty of mental and physical challenges, and when he couldn’t find a helping hand to pull him ‘out of the mud’, he had to become that person. Ykealo would find himself constantly thinking about how many others could possibly be going through similar struggles, and vowed that once he reached his basketball dreams, he’d extend an arm to the next generation, and here we are.