Founder’s Story

Why I Created The Sports Leadership Academy

Pressure reveals character. TSLA helps athletes discover how they will respond.

The moments that stay with you

What happens next matters.

Across more than 40 years of developing athletes across multiple sports, I have repeatedly witnessed revealing moments under pressure.

Under pressure, the pattern is often familiar. A mistake happens. A decision does not produce the intended result. A teammate sees the moment differently, and emotions begin to rise. The athlete must then choose how to respond. Choosing not to act is still a choice, and every choice shapes what happens next.

Young athletes spend countless hours developing physical, technical, and tactical abilities. Yet they may have fewer intentional opportunities to slow down, examine their choices, explain their thinking, listen to another perspective, and determine what they will do differently next time.

TSLA was created to provide those opportunities.

I have seen athletes who can give the expected answer but struggle to explain how they reached it. That distinction matters. Leadership is not demonstrated by repeating the right words. It becomes visible when an athlete can read a situation, make a choice, understand its effect, adjust—and begin living the decisions that shape their character.

The objective is not to eliminate mistakes. Mistakes are part of learning, competing, leading, and becoming. The opportunity lies in helping athletes recognize what happened and decide how they will move forward.

Meet the founder

Jamie Schock

Founder and Education Director of The Sports Leadership Academy.

Why Guided Discovery

Experience before explanation.

TSLA does not begin by handing athletes a lecture or one correct response. Voyagers encounter a challenge, notice what happened, consider different perspectives, and build understanding through reflection and purposeful questions.

01 — Encounter

Experience a challenge before being told what to think.

02 — Examine

Notice choices, reactions, communication, and consequences.

03 — Reflect

Capture discoveries in the Navigator’s Log.

04 — Adjust

Choose a Next Step to practice in sport and life.

One connected development path

Discovery becomes practice.

Expedition Launch

A 6–7-hour, in-person experience where Voyagers participate, communicate, reflect, and begin seeing leadership through their own choices and visible behaviors.

Eight Weekly Sessions

Eight 30–40-minute development sessions where Voyagers revisit discoveries, apply them in everyday situations, reflect in their Navigator’s Log, and choose their next step.

Experience behind the experience

Built from decades of developing people through sport.

I’ve had the privilege of building a career across two competitive sports: soccer and alpine skiing. For more than 40 years, raising the bar has been a hallmark of my work as a mentor and coach. I challenge athletes to move beyond what feels comfortable, pursue their full potential, and turn their ambitions into purposeful action.

Players I have coached have gone on to win national titles, represent their national teams, and attend university. For some, attending university meant becoming the first in their family to do so.

40+ years

Developing athletes across multiple sports, along with coaches, teams, clubs, and programs.

25,000+ athlete engagements

Across youth-development and competitive environments.

Coach education

USSF A License, USC Premier Diploma, National Youth License, and U.S. Soccer Coach Educator.

Organizational leadership

Experience leading organizations serving 200–2,500 athletes.

40+ years in alpine skiing and coaching

As a certified alpine ski instructor and race coach.

International multisport competitor

Experience learning, competing, coaching, and leading across disciplines.

The Founder’s Promise

Meet Voyagers where they are. Help them see where they can go.

Every athlete arrives with different experiences, strengths, questions, and ways of seeing the world. TSLA will challenge and support them without defining them by a mistake. We will create room for honest reflection, encourage ownership, and help each Voyager pursue their individual best.

Read the situation. Make a choice. Reflect. Adjust. Move forward.

— Jamie Schock

Continue the conversation

Choose the path that fits you.

For athletes and families

Individual

Join the Voyager Interest List to hear when course dates and locations near you are confirmed. Parent or guardian: please enter your own name and email.

We use this information to respond to your interest and understand potential course locations. We do not sell personal information.

For coaches, athletic directors and club leaders

High School or Club

Bring an Expedition Launch and the eight-week path to your athletes. Please use your work email.

TSLA will review your information before sending the appropriate Partner Overview. Submitting this request creates no obligation.

Expressing interest is not registration and creates no obligation. A parent or legal guardian should submit information for an athlete under 18.

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