SPIRE is one of the most unique and impressive sports facilities in the world– but there is so much more to SPIRE than just sports.
Enhancing athletes’ skills and abilities is integral to the SPIRE Way, but those goals are integrated within a greater mission: to help individuals achieve their peak potential in life. To assist students in every aspect of their lives, SPIRE balances daily academics with activities that nurture personal growth and professional development.
SPIRE is committed to helping students build strong minds, strong bodies and strong characters through innovative academics, personal skill development, the pursuit of their passions, and opportunities to explore careers.
Academics at SPIRE
SPIRE has formatted its learning environment away from the compartmentalization and predictability of yesterday’s approach to academics. Its 9-12th grade academics are designed with the progressive learner/thinker in mind. College preparatory, accredited, cross-curricular, and project-based, SPIRE’s academic program is guided and facilitated by an academic coaching team (formerly called teachers).
Students spend approximately half the day (4-5 hours) being coached by this team of seasoned educators and experienced professionals in specialty fields, who share their knowledge, expertise and compassionate guidance. This allows students to gain valuable hands-on experience in areas meant to inspire them toward potential careers while they work to master core academic material. Students also grow in their understanding of themselves and learn to work well with others while gaining a better understanding of where they will fit in the world.
At SPIRE, the balance of each student’s day (4-5 hours) is spent pursuing their areas of personal passion, for example: a sport such as track and field, swimming, or basketball, or a field like mechatronics engineering or esports.
SPIRE’s training program is ideal for swimmers looking for an intense training environment in which to prepare for the next level of competition. Aquatics Director and Head Coach Thad Schultz, a highly respected developer of talent, is a former national champion who has previously coached at Ohio State, Penn State and Clemson. Coach Schultz has worked with nine Olympians, four of whom were gold medalists.
“The best swimming experience also develops life skills, like leadership, commitment, self-discipline, organization and teamwork,” says Coach Schultz. “We exceed in swimming and in life by setting goals and putting the body, mind and spirit in motion to reach those goals.”
Training for swimmers at SPIRE is based on the individual needs of each athlete with a high level of focus on technique, emphasizing range of motion, flexibility and skill improvement. Each customized plan includes 11 training and analysis sessions weekly, and 22-30 hours of weekly training depending on the individual swimmer’s specific stroke and distance goals.
Resource and support services include unlimited pool and dryland training space, underwater videos and power analytics, lactate testing, dryland agility, power and speed training, sports medicine, therapy/rehabilitation/massage, mental skill development and leadership training.
“SPIRE is truly a melting pot of all things relative to long-term training and education development — all delivered within a fun, healthy and inspiring environment,” said Coach Schultz. “By integrating elite athletes from around the world, we’re able to cultivate an intense, competitive yet positive training environment,” said Coach Schultz.
For more information on SPIRE Academy swimming programs, contact Director of Admissions Brian Oliver, [email protected] or visit the website www.spireinstitute.org/academy to download the Admissions Guide.
Swimming news is courtesy of SPIRE, a SwimSwam partner.