The Togethership program is a private middle school located in San Clemente, California that offers academics with extensive athletic performance training for students approaching high school. They aim to address all aspects of development for young athletes and enhance their potential.
“At The Togethership, student-athletes learn in small, interactive classrooms led by credentialed teachers who hold high academic expectations and believe deeply in every student’s potential. Our program emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, and character development to prepare students for success in high school, college, and beyond,” according to the college search website Niche.
Similar programs to the Togethership are IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida, and SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Private schools with strong athletic programs are Fairmount Athletic Academy in Anaheim, California, Elite Academic Academy in various locations, St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, and various other small private schools.
“In addition to academics, students train daily in our on-site performance development facilities, including a state-of-the-art weight room and recovery space. Through evidence-based training, nutrition education, and experienced coaching, students build strength, speed, confidence, and teamwork skills that support both athletic growth and personal development,” according to Niche.
The yearly tuition is currently $22,050 which is severely unaffordable for many families to begin with, along with the high costs of club athletics and other expenses families need in general. At the moment, 52.2% of the students are white while only 7.2% are Hispanic, 3.3% are African American, and 3.3% are Asian.
“Half of survey respondents who played youth sports or who have children who have played said they have struggled to afford the costs to participate…Children are having different sports experiences based on money,” according to Project Play Aspen Institute.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has attempted to prevent early recruiting advantages by setting strict timelines for coaches by restricting when they can contact athletes or present scholarships. However, these rules do not address the true underlying problem of some having access to elite development early on.
“Childhood social class matters when it comes to whether you have the opportunity to participate in organized sports, something which is a relatively recent development,” said lead author and professor of sociology Chris Knoester in Ohio State News.
Although this does not account for concerns about programs such as these having connections or even the title itself of saying that a student attended these schools to intrigue high coaches and lead them to create their rosters before camps and tryouts even begin.
“We found that privileged families seem to be leveraging their advantages to strategically and intentionally invest in organized sports participation. That can give their children big benefits,” said Knoester.
High school is a space for growth, teamwork, and equal opportunity. However, with these programs, they are skewed towards the privileged. This option for gaining an athletic lead rewards advantage over ability. Athletic programs and schools should revert back to becoming competition that is fair, enriches athletes, and offers communities that support every individual, not just the select few.
Resources to help student athletes struggling in poverty can be found here.
