| | 

Athletic Preparatory Institute (API) is a comprehensive organization that utilizes sports to educate and motivate our youth to become the best they possibly can. In today’s society so many of our youths fail to become what they are capable of being. With greater strain on the nuclear family to financially survive, many young adults and children are left to raise themselves with little or no supervision. This undoubtedly puts more emphasis on the schools and extra curricular activities in influencing and guiding youths to become better young adults and helping them gain the needed life skills to be productive. API has a set of core beliefs of education, social behavior, life exposure, and athletic excellence. By utilizing the athletic gifts God has blessed them with, we can show them how to gain all that they need to excel in life and that the lessons and tools learned in sports have a direct correlation to life.

EDUCATION:  Under the guidance of the NCAA there are specific guidelines for athletes to accept athletic scholarships and/or compete at the university level. First, all athletes must register with the NCAA clearinghouse, which monitors an incoming student’s academic courses to ascertain if they have met the minimum core requirements for specific academic courses. These guidelines can be seen at the following link www1.ncaa.org/eprise/main/administrator/ARS/Guidelines.  In addition, student athletes must acquire a specific SAT to GPA score. This can be measured on a sliding scale for example a student athlete’s GPA may be lower as long as their SAT score is higher. These scales and requirements may be viewed by going to www.ncaa.org and clicking on clearinghouse. API will also monitor the student’s academic progression to ensure that these NCAA guidelines have been and will be met.  We will assess any deficient academic areas the student athlete may have and help devise a plan with the parents involvement to resolve this issue.

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR:  In conjunction with API, the Central Florida Sprint Club works to change a student athlete’s perception of entitlement. As coaches we spend a lot of time throughout the day and in the course of an academic year with the athlete, therefore we have a greater impact on a student’s social understanding. Yes, the student will have his/her formative years sculpted by their parents, however, as teens what they are exposed to influences the adult they become. For example, un-sportsmanlike behaviors like a tantrum after a loss is unacceptable. We emphasize how to deal with these situations with more respect not only for themselves but also for the people around them. They need to see the value in everything they do and that means their losses and their wins and the lessons learned from them. By learning to deal with this situation they gain an ability to cope with stressful situations and learn how to resolve problems and persevere through tough times. These are lessons we can all benefit from in life. This is best described in the quote; “Life’s battles don’t always go to the strongest and fastest man but, sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can”.

LIFE EXPOSURE:  In order for any human being to mature, they need to be exposed to things outside of their comfort zone. Just like a plant in a pot can only grow as large as the planting environment a young adult will only grow as much as they have been exposed.  During the season, we plan several trips to expose our athletes to social situations outside of Florida and to open their minds to things they may otherwise not see.

ATHLETICS: The Central Florida Sprint Club’s vision is to operate where the high schools cannot. We run a summer and winter program.  This is the most important time of the year for college bound athletes seeking scholarships.  More than 85% of the universities and colleges throughout the US have pinpointed their scholarships by February of each year and save the remaining 15% for those athletes that may appear on the scene after having a great outdoor time.  With so many kids and so many disciplines it is difficult for most programs to give the very best training to their very best sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers. We specialize in those areas and keep our membership down to a manageable number so that each athlete gets the very best of what we have to offer helping them to maximize their talent to the fullest.

We are in no way trying to take the place of high school programs or coaches but instead to assist both the athlete and the coach in their pursuit of having their athletes perform at the very best they possibly can and at the same time help the athlete become more efficient at his sport. We will also be utilizing our many contacts throughout the University and College coaching fraternity to find and place as many of our athletes on athletic scholarships.  In the past API has been very successful in doing this because of the close relationships I have with many of the division one coaches spanning some 25 years.

Back