The Why for Hat Trick Training Academy

Why:

Hat Trick Training Academy inspires student athletes to achieve their personal, academic, and athletic goals that uses innovative technology to support real-time learning experiences.

How:

To do this, Hat Trick Training Academy educates each student athlete to their very best in an individualized, hands-on learning environment using technology such as virtual reality.

What:

Hat Trick Training Academy prepares the student athlete to achieve personal academic and athletic goals in preparation for college and/or professional sports.

In Reflection

Not all students learn the same and many opportunities are lost in the sector of the traditional school setting. Many athletes have failed out of school because they were too focused on their sports than their school work. Why not have a facility to where the athlete can excel in both academia and sports?

Too many times have we seen successful athletes go to college and have an injury that sidelines them for the rest of their competitive years only later on to drop out of college because they can’t afford it. Or an athlete who shows promise at the high levels turns out to be a bust.

*Jim Morris, Teemu Salanne and Jim Craig all fell back on their education when their sports careers were stagnant.*

At HTT we stress the importance of an education along with the importance of training for success not only in sports, but in life itself. Take for instance Jim Morris (the subject to Disney’s movie “The Rookie”), who fizzled out of the minors and fell back on his education to become a teacher and then at the ripe old age of 35 became the oldest rookie in Major League Baseball history. Or NHL Hall of Famer Teemu Salanne who taught kindergarten in his native country of Finland before coming to America to play in the NHL. Famed Gold Medal winning goalie Jim Craig, from the USA 1980 Winter Olympics ice hockey team is considered to be one of the greatest goalies of all time for an Olympics. He never made much of an impact in the professional leagues and when he retired at age 27, he used his degree he earned from Boston University, where he played ice hockey, to become a successful businessman and motivational speaker. All these world class athletes have something in common besides sports and that is their education.

*Bryce Harper left high school early because competition in baseball was poor.*

While education is the main focus on HTT we can’t overlook middle school and high school sports. Major League Baseball player Bryce Harper, who is compared to be LeBron James of baseball, chose to leave high school early and earn his GED, said that he wanted leave high school because he was being walked “40 to 50 times a year,” and he wanted it to be challenging for his baseball career. The following year he played college ball and was drafted at 17 years old and made his MLB debut at 19. If Bryce Harper had stayed on the traditional track of playing sports at his high school would he have been as successful as he is? Thon Maker, a Sudanese born basketball player, forwent college to play another year of high school prep ball in Canada, after his high school graduation (eliminating the one year out of high school rule). Scouts couldn’t tell how good he was going to be but they knew he would have an impact on the game. However, that decision to play another year of high school ball instead of going to college, pretty much has cemented his place on the bench of any NBA team for now. The way HTT is organized, is that the student athlete will be able to participate with their respective competitive teams outside of the school, to ensure that their game play is kept equivalent or superior to the rest of the athletes at their level.

*Thom Maker is not developing into the player he could have been.*

HTT is a new culture of learning for the student athlete where technology meets the classroom and education is naturally evolving. Our focus is to create a safe learning environment where the student is successful both academically and athletically. There is a very small window for these students to fulfill their dreams and goals and direct them to make the right choices. At HTT there is no wasted time on unrelated but required school activities for the students, unnecessary classes and time spent in the hallways. The HTT staff is comprised of professional talents that have what is in the best interest for the student athlete and can advise them strategically to achieve their goals as well as enrich their post high school, college and professional careers.

Citations

Gould, A. (2017, October 3). 10 Athletes Who Took an Unconventional Path to the Pros. Retrieved from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2691484-10-athletes-who-took-an-unconventional-path-to-the-pros