Stow, Mass. (pop. 7,174) is a small city about 20 miles west of Boston. And it could possibly be the middle of what could possibly be a showdown between the values that govern scholastic sports activities in not solely the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, however nationwide.
By the autumn of subsequent 12 months, the Massachusetts Masters Academy will likely be constructed on the location of the Bose company workplace campus. In keeping with information reviews, it MMA is to be a sports-focused, co-educational, boarding and day college with a nationwide recruiting footprint.
The thought is to create numerous what we’ve known as “superprep” groups. They exist in lots of athletic disciplines, just like the swim groups at Jacksonville Bolles (Fla.) and Hightstown Peddie (N.J.), the boys’ basketball groups at Mouth of Wilson Oak Hill (Va.) or Henderson Finlay Prep (Nev.), or the ice hockey workforce at Fairibault Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Minn.). And sure, you can begin making the argument that the sphere hockey program at Pottstown Hill College (Pa.) and the women’ lacrosse workforce at South Huntington St. Anthony (N.Y.) are beginning to grow to be superprep groups that create year-over-year success.
The media is evaluating the Masters Academy idea to Bradenton IMG Academy (Fla.) and The Hill Academy in Ontario, These two colleges are sports-focused, with ambitions footprints. Fortunately, these two colleges have resisted the temptations which have led to the creation of packages in soccer and boys’ basketball which are solely loosely linked to “colleges” which have collapsed from media and and official scrutiny. These contains the notorious Columbus Bishop Sycamore (Ohio) scandal in 2021, the place athletes attending have been housed in inns, and their education consisted of journeys to the native public library.
So, whither Massachusetts Masters Academy? Will it attempt to compete underneath the auspices of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Affiliation, which has been lower than sort to guidelines violators lately? Will MMA attempt to compete with the greater than 150 established non-public or faculty preparatory colleges within the entirety of New England for student-athletes?
You may get an concept of what the thrust of the college goes to be once you learn the checklist of packages that the brand new academy is planning; an inventory of groups the college is planning contains ice hockey, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, golf, e-sports, determine skating, and fencing.
It’s in fencing the place the college is anticipated to begin constructing a outstanding nationwide presence. USA Fencing is planning to maneuver a few of is operations out of Colorado Springs and launch a nationwide coaching academy at Masters Academy.
Sound acquainted? That is what USA Subject Hockey and USA Taekwondo have accomplished when shifting their services to the U.S. Efficiency Heart in Charlotte, N.C.
Now, we already know that the face of sport has modified over the past couple of years with NLI offers and compensation of school athletes. What sort of impact will one other sports-centered college have on the method?
