Athlete centered learning is a non-profit organization that supports individual sport athletes’ pursuit of excellence in sports and academics. Athlete Centered Learning is composed of passionate educators, coaches, and other practitioners who believe all athletes have the right to a world class education that is integrated with their athletic training. To accomplish this, we facilitate a working relationship between parents, educators, and athletes that is positive, effective, and reciprocal. We also advocate learner centered principles which not only have gained powerful traction in academic and sport science research, but are also vital skills individuals must develop to thrive in the 21st century workspace.
Services
Athlete Centered Learning offers two primary services. The first service is consultation to mediate between school systems, teachers, and parents of individual sport athletes.
The second service is training sessions in person and online that promote learner centered principles to teachers and coaches, and the unique attributes of individual sport athletes so they have a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by individual sport athletes.
Why Athlete Centered Learning Manifested
Dr. Jonathan Huer and Garrett Lucash, co-founders of Athlete Centered Learning, reflected on their personal sport-school experiences and spoke with other Olympians and individual sport athletes. They realized there was a clear need to advocate for a space in between a traditional school structure and home school.
Athletes who participate in individual sports such as figure skating, equestrian, skiing, and fencing, must learn how to train and excel in their chosen sport while being constrained by the traditional, antiquated, high school education model. In contrast to traditional team sports such as football or basketball where practices and games are incorporated into high school life and even promoted by the school, individual sport athletes face unique challenges due to varying competitive seasons, training schedules, and other obligations which may not align well with the traditional school year. Unfortunately, these circumstances create a conflict between each individual’s right to pursue excellence in their chosen sport and a quality education supported by an academic community. In some cases, the athlete is forced to decide between one pursuit or the other. Yet, the reality is most athletes do not become Olympians and even being an Olympian is not a full time job once your sporting career has ended.
Fortunately, the American education system is at the dawn of understanding the impact and effectiveness of individualized learning. This understanding, and a transition from traditional toward learner centered principles, is crucial due to the unique demands of the 21st century workspace. Organizations must look beyond traditional requisite skills and harness the creative sub skills and interests of their employees. Individual sport athletes harbor some of the greatest potential to thrive in such a work environment! Our goal is to accommodate individual sport athletes within the traditional academic structure, nurture their unique skills and passions, holistically, so they can one day shine, and lead the way far into the 21st century.
Our long-term goal is to build a brick and mortar school that brings together numerous individual sports into a single place and implements a modern, flexible, individualized model to ensure these athletes receive a high quality education that prepares them for the jobs of the future. This is digitally literate, socially adept, media savvy, creatively skilled, and technologically fluent.
Athlete Centered Learning 