There have been studies on collegiate student-athletes and their abilities to maintain academic success while being successful in sports however, this topic in reference to high school student-athletes is limited. This study set-out to investigate if African American student-athletes in high school face academic challenges while maintaining success in sports. The central phenomenal of this study was to determine if high school student-athletes had the ability to balance success in both academics and sports and be fully prepared for college. For this study, academic success is defined as the student's ability to maintain passing grades in their core subjects. A passing grade within this research site is a 65% out of 100% (1.5 GPA). This researcher challenges the low percentage and will define academic success as 70% or better out of 100% (2.0 GPA or better). This increase in academic expectations, are more in line with the academic requirements of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). During cycle 2 action steps, a partnership between educators and the student-athletes called Teaming Excellence with Athletes and Mentors (T.E.A.M). The academic educators and African American student-athletes in various sports from the high school were partnered together as a way to monitor academic behavior. These student-athletes were selected based on grades below 70% from the previous year's final grades received. The 20 participants (10 T.E.A.Ms) spent one marking period together during the first half of 2022-23 academic school year. Each T.E.A.M included a certified teacher to act as mentor along with a student-athlete. The pairing of mentor to student-athlete gave the student-athletes a specific person to go to for their academic needs and use as a resource for other related student needs. The implication of this action step was to examine if a relationship between student and a mentor helped the student-athlete show growth academically. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]