IMG Academy

IMG Academy
Private
Industry Boarding School, Camp, Sports Camps
Founded 1978
Headquarters Bradenton, Florida
Key people
 Nick Bollettieri, Founder of Bollettieri Tennis program; Chip McCarthy, Co-Managing Director; Greg Phillips, Co-Managing Director
Parent IMG
Website www.imgacademy.com

IMG Academy is a private athletic training institute for youth, high school, collegiate and professional athletes located in Bradenton, Florida. The academy offers programs for tennis, golf, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, football, track & field and cross country and athletic and personal development. IMG Academy attracts more than 12,000 athletes from approximately 80 countries every year.

History

Nick Bollettieri founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in 1978. Sports and entertainment company IMG purchased the academy in 1987.[1] IMG acquired the youth division of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in 1993 and added programs for soccer and baseball in 1994. Hockey and basketball programs were added in 2000 and 2001, respectively, and by 2002 the IMG campus had expanded to 190 acres (0.77 km2).[2] IMG Academy suspended its hockey program in 2003. Football was added in 2010,[3] as well as lacrosse.[4] Track & field and cross country was added in 2013.[5]

IMG Academy currently sits on 450 acres (1.8 km2) of land, and in 2011, IMG paid $7.5 million for an additional 110 acres (0.45 km2) adjacent to the current campus for future expansion.[1] In 2014, IMG purchased an additional 24 acres (0.097 km2). The land borders IMG's west campus, where the sports performance academy is undergoing a $198 million expansion.[6]

The IMG Pendleton School was founded in 1999 as a co-educational, college preparatory school for athletic students. In 2012, the school changed its name to "IMG Academy".[7] It delivers both academics and athletics.[8]

Programs

Bollettieri Tennis

The Bollettieri Tennis program offers year-round tennis camps ranging from one to five weeks in length and is led by director Rohan Goetzke.[9] The campus has 35 outdoor hard courts, 5 indoor hard courts, and 16 green clay courts.[10]

In 1987, 32 academy students or former students were in the Wimbledon draw and 27 were in the U.S. Open.

Football

IMG announced the John Madden Football Academy in March 2010 and held its first camp from June 4–6, 2010. The football program offers a residency program and year-round camps ranging from three days to five weeks in length and is led by former NFL quarterback Chris Weinke.[11] The academy fielded a high school football team for the first time in 2013.[12] In 2013, MaxPreps called IMG Academy the "nation's top high school football facility."[13]

Soccer

IMG Academy offers an Academy soccer program and year-round soccer camps. IMG Academy is home to U.S. Soccer's full-time residency program for the United States' U-16 and U-17 men's national teams. Started in 1999, it has become integral in developing the United States' top youth soccer prospects. The original idea of the residency program was to give elite players the opportunity to train in a professional environment as most MLS clubs did not have a substantial youth academy system in place prior to 2009. The Bradenton Academy has grown from an initial 20 players to 30 in 2002 and then to 40 in 2003. The program is now split into a U-16 squad and a U-17 squad.

A typical day for the student-athlete at Bradenton consists of academic classes in the morning followed by sports training in the afternoon. Students at the academy take accelerated courses and graduate high school a year early, making the players who do not turn pro immediately some of the most heavily recruited prospects in college soccer. The academy can trace its roots back to Project 2010 which highlighted ways U.S. Soccer could make the senior men's national team a legitimate threat to win the World Cup by the end of the decade. Two programs that were born from Project 2010 were Generation Adidas (previously called Project-40) and the Bradenton academy. The academy was started in January 1999 with backing of IMG and Nike.

Baseball

IMG Academy has an Academy baseball program and year-round camps, in addition to summer Wood Bat Leagues.[14]

Basketball

IMG Academy has an Academy basketball program and year-round camps.

Golf

IMG Academy has an Academy golf program and offers summer camps. The students and camp participants play on two very typical Florida golf courses in Sara Bay Country Club and IMG academy Golf Club. Both are fairly well kept and offer a test of the students game. IMG's practice facilities include a big range which is open to golf students most of the day and a little range which is open to everyone 24/7. The coaches at IMG are well trained and help in any way they can.

Lacrosse

IMG Academy has an Academy lacrosse program and year-round camps. IMG Academy launched a high school team in 2012. Prior to that, IMG Academy hosted their first full-time lacrosse student-athlete, Matthew Xirinachs, starting in September 2010. Xirinachs went on to join the Drexel Men's Lacrosse Team in the fall of 2011.[15]

Track & Field and Cross Country

IMG Academy has an Academy track & field and cross country program and year-round camps.[16]

Notable alumni

Since opening in 1978, IMG Academy has trained hundreds of Olympic and professional athletes, including those in the NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, ATP, WTA, PGA Tour and LPGA Tour.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "New IMG brand to unify Bradenton campus | Bradenton Herald". Bradenton.com. 2012-08-19. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  2. ↑ Archived January 25, 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Stephen Spiewak (2010-03-18). "John Madden, IMG Academies launch IMG Madden Football Academy". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  4. ↑ "IMG Lacrosse Academy to begin offering instruction in March". Inside Lacrosse. 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  5. ↑ "IMG Academy launches Track & Field and Cross Country program". Sports Techie. 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ "Pendleton School becomes IMG Academy". FHSAA.org. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  8. ↑ "Why". IMG Academy. 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  9. ↑ "Banking giant BNP Paribas and French Open sign five-year extension: This week in tennis business with Justin Cohen". World Tennis Magazine. 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ "IMG Academies launches John Madden football academy - tribunedigital-orlandosentinel". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  12. ↑ Archived August 31, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Stephen Spiewak (2013-10-03). "Behind the scenes photos from IMG Academy". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  14. ↑ Archived December 11, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ "IMG Academy to Field First Lacrosse Team". Inside Lacrosse. 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  16. ↑ "IMG Academy Track and Field Program - Running Training". Imgacademy.com. Retrieved 2015-12-15.

External links

Coordinates: 27°26′28″N 82°36′07″W / 27.441°N 82.602°W / 27.441; -82.602

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