According to the National Library of Medicine, 70% of junior tennis players begin specializing at the age of 10 years old. This trend doesn’t just apply to tennis; sports specialization – intense training in one sport while excluding other sports – has increased in the past years, with specialized sports schools popping up around the country, such as IMG Academy in Florida, Spire Institute in Ohio and Overtime Elite Academy in Georgia. Next fall, Masters Academy International (MAI) will open in Stow, Massachusetts. According to the Boston Globe, there are already 300 students enrolled in MAI.
Gabe Matta ’27 is leaving the Upper School (US) to play soccer at MAI next year.
“I chose to go to Masters because it is a good opportunity for me academically and also athletically to be exposed to more opportunities. I want to play in college, so for me, Masters is a better place if I want to get to that goal.”
MAI’s emphasis on sports education is what first attracted Gabe to the school, he said.
“There are five recruitment showcases all year round, whereas at BB&N, there was only one,” he said. “The fact that Masters is year-round and you get strength training was important when I made my decision as well. There are also three soccer coaches there, whereas at BB&N there is only one head coach, and the coaches are going to help put me out there and build networks throughout the year.”
Gabe said that MAI would allow him to pursue both academics and athletics more effectively.
“At Masters, there’s a lot of balance between academics and sports, and I feel like I don’t have to just choose one,” he said. “I can be good at both. The academics here [at BB&N] are pretty intense, so you have to really focus on that more than athletics. A lot of the time, you have a lot of academic commitments that sometimes you can’t go to a game or practice, so you have to just stay and study. So, Masters is nice because it’s a place where you can have both at the same time.”
According to the MAI website, students will spend roughly four hours a day on academics and four hours a day on sports training. Each student will train in one sport for the entire school year, a policy prohibited in the Independent School League (ISL). At ISL schools, students can only play one sport during a particular season, and there are regulations around receiving training outside of the season, Executive Secretary of the ISL Bobbie Crump-Burbank said.
“You don’t go to Masters to compete in three sports,” she said. “You don’t go to participate in various school activities. You go with the purpose of becoming as good as you possibly can in one sport. That specialization piece is the biggest difference between the ISL and Masters and is the piece that a lot of the ISL schools are trying to fight.”
Ms. Crump-Burbank said the MAI intensifies competition with ISL schools for prospective recruited athletes.
“There is a feeling that students who would be applying to our schools are now going to look at Masters Academy as their first choice,” she said. “Right now, we still like to believe that what our schools offer, as far as the well-rounded education with academics as a priority and the engagement in the community being a priority as well, that we’re still very attractive schools. For most people, that’s a much more valuable education than what Masters offers.”
Even though Masters Academy doesn’t open until the fall, its recruitment process has already impacted the independent school admissions landscape, US Athletics Director Jaye Locke said.
“Masters will also put pressure on all of us to find mission-aligned students who are really excited about BB&N, who want to come and make an impact and contribute to our athletic programs here.”
Boys’ Varsity Soccer Coach and Associate Director of Athletics Joseph Campbell is leaving to coach at MAI and Boys’ Varsity Hockey Coach Cason Hohmann is leaving to be the Director of Hockey Player Development at MAI. The Vanguard contacted Coach Campbell and Coach Hohmann for interviews but neither responded.
Masters Academy is “a pipeline” to a higher level of a particular sport, Coach Locke said.
“Specialization and believing that training in a particular sport a lot more often will potentially open up doors for the next level has only increased in recent years,” she said. “Some kids are hoping to develop professionally at Masters. I still think that avenue also exists here, along with the incredible education and experience and friendships that you’re getting at BB&N that are really worth it.”
Director of Enrollment Julie Wadland said she fully believes in the educational experience the US offers.
“At BB&N, there’s academic excellence and excellence across athletics, arts and extracurriculars. Our teachers and faculty are outstanding. We’re a city school. We’re very diverse. You have all of these pieces that are very appealing to prospective employees and families. So while we’ve lost some folks to Masters, I have no doubt that there are so many coaches and families that are really excited to be a part of the community.”
