Parent Testimonial: Jamie Glanz

My name is Jamie Glanz. My son's name is Brice Glanz, and we've been with GForce. He just completed his first year with GForce.

How was your son’s first year at GForce Sports Academy?

He's really enjoyed his time with GForce. I've seen a lot of personal growth, both academically and definitely from a skill set in his hockey career. It was a really great experience for us.

What was your favorite part about GForce Sports Academy last year?

He was able to take away those things that, maybe over the weekend or over a tournament, he wasn't exactly thrilled with and then go to school the next day and actually work with the skills team there to improve or create some new opportunities in that area. As a parent, while you always want to hear that academics are the favorite, the reality of it is, for him, a lot of it was being able to hone in on his skills and really work on those things he felt he needed support with.

How has GForce helped your child grow and develop?

I would say, and I know this probably sounds interesting when you're talking about school, emotional intelligence for him. He went from having teachers tell him when to do things and when things were due and having to catch up, to actually having to take ownership of his own day and figure out how he was going to get the work done based on his upcoming schedule. They also provided him the opportunity to deal with a sports psychologist. So he had somebody guiding him — not to do the tasks or to do different things he needed to do to maintain his performance and stay balanced, but actually somebody giving him the insight on how to do it on his own. He went from not being a great student to actually improving and being an honor roll student. I also saw a great bit of growth in his hockey performance. He went from playing on the third or fourth line to being the top line on his team.

What would you tell another parent who is considering GForce for their child?

Candidly, I went into this not a fan. I have four kids. My other three kids went to traditional schools, and I was very passionate about having them in that traditional school format. What I found with Brice, and the reason I let him try GForce, is that traditional school format, for a kid playing at a high level of any type of athletics, is hard to balance. He was always behind the eight ball, always catching up, and it just really created a ripple effect of him struggling in school. Transitioning him over to GForce, and like I said, developing that emotional intelligence and being able to figure things out, he then started to work ahead of time. In those classes where he was struggling to keep up, the teachers would meet with him one-on-one weekly and help him organize his day in a way that worked for him.

What did you see as the driving factor in your son’s growth?

I definitely think it was the ability to not always be behind and to be able to manage his day and be proactive. The other thing I saw with GForce, which some of the other online schools we had looked at just didn't offer, was both the classroom teachings, like virtual classrooms, and also the one-on-one support. GForce is kind of next level. There are tutors available at the school, and then the academic platform also provides tutors. I couldn't have been more pleased with the platform, and I think that's why his academics improved the way they did.

What improvements has your son made in his sport?

Strength and endurance. I've seen both of those. I've also seen him become more aware of his eating habits, making sure he's eating a balanced diet and getting good sleep. Some of those secondary things that improve your game, I've seen him start to focus on them. The best example I have is when the coach asked him to start playing center. He had been a winger for quite a while and was having a hard time winning when they dropped the puck on his right side. He specifically went in and said, "I need some help in this area," and the skills coach gave him the help. Then he started winning more and more of the draws. I can't imagine that he would be where he's at now if he hadn't spent the year focusing the way he did. I'm very proud of him and very grateful for the opportunity at the academy.