According to the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), 53.8% of children ages 6 to 17 years old have played on a sports team or taken a type of physical activity as of 2022.
With sports being a popular activity for children, new schools have taken off as they have implemented sports as a part of their curriculum.
Located in San Clemente, the Togethership, is an independent private school designed for elite middle school student athletes.
As stated in their website, “The TOGETHERSHIP was formed to provide these hyper-focused, elite student-athletes every opportunity and advantage possible to achieve their goals on and off the court and field.”
Togethership sports currently focus on; baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, and volleyball.
“Being around other people that also love sports is very different from regular school. Once you leave the school they teach you ways to take care of yourself outside of the sport alone” said football player Luke Frith.
The goal of the school is to develop you as an athlete and prepare athletes for high school.
“The ability to get faster and stronger before going into high school is an advantage. Being a freshman coming in you already have advantages people don’t being consistent,” said Frith.
The sports academy is designed to include three to four hours of sports training everyday outside of their academic work.
“The Togethership facility is incredible. The weight room was super organized and they used technology to personalize each athlete’s workout,” said soccer player Sariah Porter.
The Togethership has a primary facility, however they transport their players to and from different practice locations depending on their sport.
“There are buses to take students out to local fields for speed and agility and whatever sports classes they are taking,” said Porter.
The sports academy typically carries around 200 athletes per school. Class sizes are smaller, in which teachers and students have the opportunity to build a better relationship with one another.
“They did a great job balancing sports and academics. They are some of the best teachers I ever had and they taught me the right things about real life fundamentals, not just what they were supposed to teach,” said Frith.
Devin Quinn, the creator of the academy, has been training quarterbacks over the past years and has trained star National Football League (NFL) players such as Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and Christian Kirk under the mentorship of Jordan Palmer.
“Devin has had the opportunity to train dozens of ELITE Quarterbacks from every level, including; NFL MVPs and College Heisman trophy winners to ELITE High School/Youth QB’s,” said the Togethership website.
The Togethership was built as a holistic academy to improve: academics, nutrition, mindfulness, recovery, sport, and performance.
“They helped me strengthen my mentality, it forces you to do the things you normally wouldn’t do,” said football player Ryan Matheson.
