While members of the Hackley community suffered through countless snowstorms and perpetual ten degree weather last winter, one student worked on his game at a prestigious tennis academy in sunny Florida. Last year, junior Teddy van Eck left Hackley to train at the IMG Academy Bollettieri Tennis Program in Bradenton, FL. He was exposed to all kinds of new experiences, including working with top trainers and participating in a program designed by International Tennis Hall of Fame member Nick Bollettieri.

The fact that Teddy had been to IMG Academy for tennis camps before made his decision to train there for a year easier. He was familiar with the regimen and environment, and he enjoyed the tennis program. He is very serious about his training, and moving to Florida for a year allowed him to focus on his growth as a player and a student without compromising his education or his passion for tennis.

His commute to tennis practices in New York was sometimes up to 45 minutes one way.  “Down there, there’s a difference between the training. Even though there’s good training up here, because you have so much time on the court and you have access to courts at all time, you hit a thousand balls a day, whereas up here, because it’s indoor, there’s not as much court time available, because a lot of people want to hit on the same five courts,” Teddy said.

The admissions process wasn’t too complicated. “As far as tennis goes, I had gone down there for camps before, so they knew how I played, and my possible potential,” he said. “But, really, it’s just applying to the school,” Teddy added.

Even though the application process to IMG was similar to Hackley’s application process, once Teddy arrived at IMG, the similarities to Hackley ended. He started school on August 20th, and didn’t have the option of taking any minor classes. Each class was an hour and a half long, and he only had three classes every day, from 1:15 p.m. to 6:10 p.m.

With a permission slip, students were allowed to leave campus at any time, as long as they were back on their floors by curfew, which was 10:00 p.m. In their free time, students could take an Uber or a taxi with some friends on school outings. On weekends, they would take occasional trips to Universal Studios or Busch Gardens.

IMG Academy makes a big effort to make sure everyone is comfortable, both inside and outside of the classroom. Student athletes learn how to properly balance schoolwork and sports. They know when to focus and work hard, but also how to relax and have fun.

Many of the dorm mentors, similar to RAs found on college campuses, have played college sports, so they know what the students are going through, and can help them through the fast-paced life that is studying at IMG Academy.

“I really enjoyed my overall experience, I did like the people a lot and had fun with them because they were all, like me, striving to do well in their sports. They were trying to reach their goals, so they were always working hard. I would do it again, it was a lot of fun, and I would recommend it to anyone who’s trying to play D1 sports, or possibly become a professional,” said Teddy.

Infographic by Chris Chon and Benjy Renton.