BILLINGS — Athletes in Billings and the surrounding area chasing college scholarships have a new opportunity to gain a strategic edge.
Extra Innings Leadership Academy is an educational and fitness program for high school-aged athletes hopeful of advancing to the next level.
“This is where we’re going to be doing sprints, all of our exercising … and then on the other side of that wall we have our kitchen where the kids are going to meal prep," co-founder Isiac Hammer told MTN Sports while offering a quick tour of the facility. "Then they’re going to come back out here for their classroom style.”
Inviting both boys and girls in any sport, classroom sessions will also include recruiting and financial strategies taught by local leaders.
“I just like how it’s going to get you ready for college — like, that money aspect and food prepping and just saving money,” said two-sport sophomore Preston Schicktanz of Billings.
Registration is under way for the program that starts in January. The cost is $1,245 for the 12-week module, which is driven toward teaching daily success tools to student-athletes.
“They don’t (always) know how to budget, they don’t know how to have time management, how to have that critical thinking ... deal with mental health issues at the collegiate level,” Hammer said.
Each weekly module offers a different learning entity.
“A big focus for us is that first-generation college student (who) might have a single parent or grows up with a grandparent. So, now they go, 'Well, I’m on a scholarship but my mom hasn’t really helped me out or my grandpa hasn’t helped me out to get there because they don't know,'” Hammer continued.
Sessions, scheduled each Thursday at 421 N. 24th Street in downtown Billings, will follow a similar pattern.
“You’re going to come in, work out for about 45 minutes based on your sport. And then each of our students will be put into teams and they’re going to cook dinner for their other teammates based on budget friendly (choices) and high calorie count (options) for their sport,” Hammer said.
Shane Vigus is the academy's additional co-founder.
“We’d like to do four modules a year, or four sessions a year. And it’s important because they (students) all struggle with the same things,” Vigus said.
Community leaders in finance, nutrition, strength and other intangibles are scheduled to teach individually during separate sessions.
“Now you can come in and learn from fellow college athletes," Hammer said. "So many kids, especially on the athletic side ... they end up at college and they don’t know that they have an entire building based for student resources. So, we’re bringing individuals from MSU Billings and Rocky (Mountain College) in to teach these students where these resources are located.”
