Champions Academy
8990 Stonewick Way
Zionsville, IN, 46077
Champions Academy: How it all began.
The idea and vision for the academy was actually conceived about five years ago when Dave Jamerson (former NBA player and first round draft pick) and Ed Schilling (Executive Director of Champions Academy) performed a clinic in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the Šarūnas Marčiulionis Basketball School. Upon entering the gymnasium, both men were taken back by the 500 or so players sitting around the edge of the court eagerly awaiting their arrival.
Throughout the clinic, several things became profoundly clear about the Lithuanian culture surrounding the game of basketball. Firstly, how absolutely passionate those players were about learning and getting better. Every drill demonstrated was watched with intense concentration and then done with 100% effort. At that point, Dave and Ed agreed in summation that it was no wonder that the basketball world was catching up to the United States.
The second thing that instantly stood out was how fundamentally sound those players were at a young age. This was the case, in large part, because of the two hour skill development training that they were receiving almost everyday from dedicated coaches. This stood out in stark contrast to so much of what had been seen at the grass roots level in the United States. After the conducting the clinic that day, Ed recalls the defining moment that years later would shape and impact their future as well as many others, “As Dave and I walked back to our hotel room that night, a burning passion ignited in our hearts to establish a basketball academy in our nation.”
Today, an exciting opportunity stands before Ed Schilling and his staff at Champions Academy. In an era where fundamentals in the game of basketball have steadily declined and together we are on a mission to build the skills of every player we see. By the fall of 2007 we will have a nine court, 18 acre, state of the art facility (to be called Pro Action Arena) that we believe will be a destination spot for countless basketball devotees not only from the state of Indiana, but also from the country and even around the world.
Until then we have a fantastic temporary spot that features the floor used in the World Championships at the RCA Dome in Indy and six glass basketball goals on a regulation size floor. The temporary spot located on the North West side of Indianapolis is being exclusively used by Champions Academy to train over 80 players a week. This training has included over 800 players and even $3000 in scholarship training has been given since 2005.
We would like to thank all who have supported this vision of developing and honing the leadership qualities of every young man and woman who passionately pursues their basketball dreams and seeks to improve in skill development through the Champions Academy. Also a big thank you to those of you have donated money, time and labor to collectively make Champions Academy what it is today. Although we still have much to do, we excitedly anticipate the progress and growth of our Academy as well as the continual successes of our clients on and off the court.
Champions Academy: Our Vision
The Vision–to establish a world-class training academy that will:
*Teach the game the right way with excellence in fundamentals
*Teach and instill a championship level work ethic
*Raise up a new generation of basketball leaders who will represent themselves, their families, their coaches, their schools, their countries and the game of basketball in a professional manner
The Need—we are at a critical time with the state of basketball here in the U.S., especially at the grass roots level where:
*Poor fundamentals steal from the joy of playing the game
*Selfishness continues to steal from the beauty of the game
*Weak work ethic marks much of the basketball culture
*General “life skills” are not being modeled or taught
The Opportunity—we have the opportunity to change and make a significant difference through Champions Academy in Indianapolis and in several other locations around the United States (and even abroad with the launch of Champions Academy London, England, November 2007) through:
*Individual skill development with youth, high school, college and professional players
*Camps and clinics for young people throughout the year
*Coaching clinics for all levels of coaching
*Leadership seminars to prepare athletes for the challenges they face on and off the court
*Professional evaluation, critique and recommendations for individual player and program improvement
The Team—we have assembled a highly experienced, trained and passionate staff (please see the staff bios on our website) and we will continue to add highly qualified coaches who have a proven history of personal integrity.
Organization Info
Champions Academy is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization.
“Training the next generation of basketball leaders.”
Three key components that makes the practical and functional part of our mission statement above a reality are the following: 1) Services-In continuing to provide quality services to all of our clients on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, we must keep our services at the current standing market rate to cover the operational expenses. 2) Scholarships- Our mission as a not-for-profit organization is to train young men and women regardless of their socio-economic status by offering financial support to those who qualify for necessary assistance. 3) Sponsorship/Contributions-All contributions given to Champions Academy are tax-deductible. Monies received will be distributed within the Academy to further its goals and objectives namely, the trainee scholarship program. To date, Champions Academy has trained collectively over 800 players and has awarded over $11,000 in scholarship training since 2005. We are excited about this and it is our desire to do much more in the coming years!
If you would like to make a donation to Champions Academy, please make checks payable to Champions Academy. Our mailing address is
Champions Academy 8990 Stonewick Way, Zionsville, IN 46077
Thank you for reading about us. If you share the same passion and vision of raising up the next gerneration of basketball leaders, consider how you can help to impact lives today!
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