GEMS Sports Academy is bringing the first school of its kind to the region, aiming to develop students both mentally and physically.
Along with the high level of education through the International Baccalaureate programme, GEMS will harness the sporting talents of students and give structure through a proven academy model. Led by sports director James Tucker, GEMS will open its doors in September, giving students a unique two-year professional curriculum, shaping them into true student athletes.
Tucker spoke to Jay Asser about the benefits of the academy, as well as how kids and athletes can stay active during the summer.
What is your background and your experience with this academy model?
I was one of the first academy players to go through this system with the Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. Basically, this model has been in existence for the past 15 years, so it’s not a new model. I was one of the first people to go through it and even though I didn’t make it as a professional footballer, I went to the States on a full scholarship to a Division I college, University of Texas in Austin. When I finished my degree, I played as a professional football player in the States. I then came back to the UK and worked in education for a long time but worked for the Premier League as well, in terms of designing a similar academy model for them. I also just finished up at Bolton Wanderers FC, where I turned that club into a school. It’s a full-fledged school with 500 to 600 students, all based on the same model.
What is the difference for students attending the academy, compared to other schools?
What this academy model does is it allows students to train during their school days. The way the school day is structured is that most of their academics are done during the morning sessions. Then, they have at least two to three hours of training mid-morning and early afternoon and then they finish off their studies and do their after-school clubs. It’s more efficient and gives them more hours. Each of the students has a timetable which is different from a normal timetable. It makes their learning more efficient and makes better use of their day.
How much of a need does GEMS Sports Academy fill in the UAE?
There’s a massive gap here. I’ve had parents come up to me and say they have been waiting 15 years for this, so there’s a massive need for it. A lot of these athletes want to use their talents to pay for their education. If I use the US as an example, for a parent to send a student to the US, it’s going to cost anywhere between half a million to Dh800,000 over four years. Now if you’ve got a talent and you’ve been trained properly, you can get that for free on a sports scholarship. So that’s an important message. Very few of these athletes are looking to be professionals, they just want to enhance their talent to get as far as they can and also use their sporting talent to pay for their education. Only a very small portion of these athletes are going to be anywhere near professional. It will be one percent, probably less than that. Most students have aspirations to go on to universities to do sports degrees. So students learn about the sports industry.
How challenging is the workload that will be placed on the students at the academy?
I’ve had quite a few students who have wanted to come on and they just come because they like the idea of doing sport. But we want a certain level of ability. It’s not like an elite programme but if someone said ‘I really like football’, but they can’t do anything with the ball, then they wouldn’t be accepted. What we’re building is basically for athletes to go to that next level. It’s very hard work. But most of the athletes that we’ve accepted are already training at that level anyway, so they want hard work.
What are some ways kids can stay active in the hot summer months?
Obviously the heat is an issue here and there’s a lack of indoor space. It’s really looking at stuff you can do inside your house or inside your bedroom. You can look at doing things like crunches, press-ups on the floor and general fitness things. You can do some early morning jogging before the sun comes out and it gets too hot. If you can get to a gym, it’s important to have a programme that’s maximum impact, so maybe doing 30-minute sessions of high intensity stuff where you’re really getting your heartbeat up. A lot of people don’t realise how much yoga can keep you really, really fit, so that’s something you can do in your bedroom. Swimming in the sea as well, we live near the beach and I don’t think many people use the open water. The other things are to just not sit on the sofa and play video games, just to get out and walk. It’s really about being social, getting out there and just moving.
How important is nutrition for athletes?
If you train like a professional athlete, then you need to eat right. Eat small meals four or five times a day, instead of maybe three big meals and keep watching what you eat. If you’re training, eat lots of protein because it’s the key to building muscle, and muscle is the key to building power, and that, along with talent, is the key to performance. You want to eat two hours before training and within sort of an hour or hour-and-a-half afterwards. Keeping hydration high is obviously very important in UAE and really just watching what you eat and monitoring the changes.
What should athletes be doing in the off-season?
Coming into the summer, every athlete has some down-time. You need to take a couple of weeks off where you’re not training and are just relaxing. You need a break because it refreshes the mind, refreshes the enthusiasm for it. But it’s important to maintain a certain fitness level because if you drop down too far, it’s a long way to get back up.
GEMS Sports Academy’s intake for September is currently 75% full. For more information on the academy and how to register, visit www.gemssportsacademy.com or email James Tucker at [email protected].
