Steve Sanders spent several years building Spire Academy into one of the nation's top sports academies.
Now he is working to bring that experience to athletes and families that aren't looking to leave home. The former Spire CEO was recently named TPH Academy's chief growth officer as the hockey-focused academics and athletics platform looks to expand its on-ice footprint while expanding into other sports.
"Not every kid wants to go to a boarding environment," Sanders said during a wide-ranging interview with Buying Sandlot. "Kids don't want to leave their hometown. They may really love their club program, or they've been in high school for a couple of years, have friends and aren't ready to make that transition.
“This model really allows kids to stay home, stay with your parents. It's a lower barrier to entry from a cost perspective. And it's not a big difference from a training, scheduling, pacing, recovery and performance perspective. We've integrated all of those elements and just done it at the local level."
TPH -- which is tied to Total Package Hockey -- currently has 22 locations across the U.S., Canada and Spain. Sanders said there are plans to grow to 27-30 over the next year.
TPH is club agnostic; the academy is considered a voucher-eligible charter/private school in some states and is classified as a homeschool in others, which means athletes can also compete for their local high schools while training with a club. TPH can take students as young as fifth grade, but focuses on the core middle and high school years.
TPH will partners directly with a club, providing academic infrastructure to its established operations. Or, more prominently, it teams with facility operators.
"That's where the pitch is pretty simple," Sanders said. "You go to any facility across the country and you go, 'Hey, what do you do Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.?' And the answer is absolutely nothing. And it's like, well, what if we could plug in a very large revenue stream into this model, partner with the clubs that already rent out your facilities, and help bring in training, academics, performance and education to help fill that space."
TPH secures lease agreements to facilities during school hours. The goal is to make it feel like athletes are attending a traditional school -- separate entrances, classrooms, locker rooms.
TPH utilizes the Subject ed tech platform, which is AI-assisted, but it still has certified teachers instructing athletes. The school day runs 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is a combination of academics and athletics; TPH usually follows a Monday-Thursday schedule with Fridays a flex day for athletes depending on their need -- more tutoring, training, traveling to competitions with their club.
The format condenses what would be a 12-hour day of school and sports into an eight-hour day, Sanders said -- creating more free time for athletes and families while working to prevent burnout and overuse.
Sanders said TPH is seeing the most non-hockey traction with soccer -- it now has an academy in St. Louis. Basketball is another growth area, as is lacrosse. Sanders expects TPH will also move into flag football as the sport matures and grows at the collegiate level.
"It's a really low barrier to entry and a fair price point in the market," Sanders said. "It's definitely accessible from an academy perspective. It's a great product. There's definitely a market need as this industry continues to evolve. And I think as the club scene really starts to professionalize, this day model to be able to plug in is something that's gonna be very attractive."
Listen to the Podcast
You can listen and subscribe to the Buying Sandlot podcast with the following links:
Follow on LinkedIn: Kyle Scott, James Kratch, Kyle Pagan