196. Buddy Up For Life with Beth Gibson

Beth Gibson, Founder & Executive Director of Buddy Up for Life/Buddy Up Tennis, founded Buddy Up for Life in 2008 when her then 3 ½-year-old son, Will, who has Down syndrome, wanted to play tennis with his older brother. Beth realized there was a void in fitness programs for people with Down syndrome. And took the initiative to make her son’s dreams a reality, holding the first Buddy Up Tennis Clinic in December 2008 in Columbus, Ohio. Since then, the organization has expanded to 15 programs across three pillars (health & wellness, education, and friendship), with tennis as a cornerstone that has seen exponential growth nationwide. Buddy Up Tennis is now a weekly, high-energy adaptive tennis program for athletes ages 5 and up where volunteer buddies are partnered with athletes to provide support, develop friendships, and have fun while playing tennis. The program is now nationally recognized as the leader in impacting the lives of individuals with Down syndrome and Buddy Up for Life currently has 850 athletes, 1,400 buddies, 130 coaches and instructors and 42 chapters nationwide, a number that continues to grow. Beth continues to lead Buddy Up for Life, with her son, Will, now a college student. She has made it her life’s mission to embrace what it means to live with Down syndrome and help participants live a life that redefines expectations and breaks traditional boundaries. Learn more at their Website and Instagram. Episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi4R9dL4avnOh5T8VEejTmDL15gKp2i_u Episode Transcript: https://ifweknewthen701833686.wordpress.com/2025/11/25/196-buddy-up-for-life-with-beth-gibson/2/ Please follow us on X @ifweknewthenPOD, you can drop us a line on our Facebook page @ifweknewthenPOD or visit our website https://www.IfWeKnewThen.com to send us an email with questions and comments. Also join our mailing list there and get alerts of future podcast episodes. Thank you again and we look forward to you joining us on the next episode of IF WE KNEW THEN.