Jeffrey Tarver shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Jeffrey, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. When have you felt most loved—and did you believe you deserved it?
I often find myself in this place when I’m blessed by God. I oftentimes don’t feel deserving of his blessings, but that’s what makes Him so good.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Jeff Tarver, an educator, youth development leader, and Executive Director of LIFE League. Our mission is to use sports as a universal language to open doors in education and career readiness. What makes LIFE League unique is that we don’t just focus on athletic ability, we prepare young people to thrive beyond the game.
Right now, I’m working with local technical colleges to create pathways from athletics to employment, ensuring student-athletes gain not only playing opportunities but also the skills and credentials needed for successful careers. At the same time, LIFE League is building bridges internationally in places like Ghana, Nigeria, Brazil, and Panama, proving that sports can connect youth to opportunity across borders.
At its core, LIFE League is about helping youth “guard their crown,” protecting their potential, their character, and their future.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was a curious kid with a big imagination. Someone who loved creating, sports, and working alongside other young people. I was the boy who believed a basketball could open doors, who thought every challenge was a puzzle to be solved, and who saw possibility everywhere.
I was also willing to take risks and chase visions that others couldn’t see. While some people played it safe, I leaned into the unknown, trusting that faith, hard work, and perseverance would carry me. That willingness to step into uncertainty shaped my journey, and it continues to drive LIFE League today.
At my core, I’m still that same kid: eager to connect, to build, and to help others discover their own path. My mission now is to create spaces where young people can embrace their potential, take bold chances, and build the futures they deserve.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me patience, perspective, and resilience in ways success never could. Success often feels like a reward but suffering forces you to confront who you are when no one is cheering, when nothing seems certain. It showed me that growth doesn’t happen in comfort, it happens in the struggle, in the quiet moments where you’re tempted to quit but choose to keep going.
Suffering taught me empathy. It reminded me that everyone is fighting battles we can’t always see, and that true leadership isn’t about standing above others but walking beside them. It taught me to value the process more than the outcome and to see setbacks not as barriers, but as bridges to something greater.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
One of the deepest truths in my life is that I pour into people and projects as if it were my tithe. For me, giving isn’t just about money, it’s about investing time, energy, and belief into others, even when there’s no promise of a financial return. Most people don’t always understand it, because in the world’s eyes “success” is measured in dollars. But I’ve learned that the real harvest often comes much later.
The seeds I’ve planted, whether in a young person, a community, or a vision that seems impossible, have a way of blooming into something far greater than I imagined. That’s why I rarely speak about it; it’s not transactional, it’s transformational. It’s my quiet form of worship and my way of making sure that my life adds value to others.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I lived a life of purpose, that I was someone who gave more than I took, and that I poured into others without reservation. I want the story of my life to be one of impact, that I helped young people believe in themselves, that I built bridges across communities and countries, and that I left the world better than I found it.
I don’t need the story to be about accolades or titles. What matters most is that people can point to something I started, invested in, or believed in and say, “Because of him, this exists. Because of him, I believed I could.” If that’s the story people tell, then my life will have been well-lived.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thelifeleague.info
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelifeleague
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-m-tarver-mpa-6b449697
- Twitter: https://x.com/thelifeleague
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelifeleague
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Thelifeleague
Image Credits
N/A. All photos are mine.
