Skyhawks Sports Academy has acquired the exclusive rights to Nimbus Esports Academy programming and curriculum. This partnership will see Skyhawks introduce Esports enrichment programming to kids around the world!

 “We are thrilled to see our team's vision to add Esports to the Skyhawks offering come to life through our partnership with Nimbus Esports Academy,” says Jason Frazier, President of Skyhawks Sports Academy. “Our combined effort brings a whole new dynamic to the Esports world by focusing on the positives of gaming while also teaching life lessons through sports and physical activity. Together we provide a safe, fun way for kids to practice teamwork and social skills while also learning to think strategically.”

 Nimbus Esports Academy’s program centers around the smash-hit title, Rocket League, with plans to integrate other age-appropriate Esports titles along the way. Much like a Skyhawks soccer or basketball program, participants work on coordination, focus, and the ability to problem-solve in dynamic environments through game-based drills and play. 

“We couldn’t be more excited to join efforts with the historic Skyhawks Sports Academy brand,” said Cody Dragon, Nimbus Founder, and former Co-Founder and Esports Director at Ghost Gaming. “Esports and video gaming are on the rise, and we plan to meet children where they are at. Our holistic program is custom-tailored to promote critical thinking, teamwork, and sportsmanship all within the exciting world of video games."

 Virtual Esports + Play camps are now open for registration and will be running through June 29th - August 15th in conjunction with VOIP partner, Kast. Players of all ages and skill levels are encouraged to sign up and participate in the inaugural launch of the Skyhawks/Nimbus Esports partnership. For more information and/or to register visit www.skyhawks.com/esports.

In-person camps, classes, and after-school program offerings will reopen in accordance with state guidelines for reopening post-COVID-19 and will follow strict CDC directed health and safety guidelines.  Please click here to learn more about our Summer 2020 Protocols and Policies in Response to COVID-19.

Bordering on becoming the 5th season, smoky days from wildfires in July, August, and even into September have become an unfortunate new norm. Your child’s health is Skyhawks’ top concern and we have a number of steps in place to evaluate smoky days and to keep your child safe. 

On smoky days, Skyhawks uses the AQI (Air Quality Index) and the EPA’s AirNow Air Quality Index (AQI) conditions as a reference for determining the need to relocate, reschedule, or cancel camps. According to the EPA, there are six air quality categories that range from Good to Unhealthy and Hazardous. When the “Unhealthy” range is reached, Skyhawks works with our partner organizations to try and find an indoor location if possible and avoid cancellations. Generally speaking, moving to an indoor location will provide a healthy enough environment for our campers when the AQI is in the “Unhealthy” range. However, ordinances in some areas require the cancellation of outdoor activities for youth once the AQI reaches the “Unhealthy” level. No matter what, when the AQI passes into the “Hazardous” range even moving inside won’t provide a healthy enough environment, and that’s when we start canceling camps for the day.

If you have a child in a program that needs to be relocated or canceled, Skyhawks customer service will be in contact with you via email or phone. We’ll let you know as soon as is possible so you can plan accordingly. 

If you have any concerns about your child’s upcoming camp(s), please give us a call at 800.804-3509 and one of our customer service representatives will be happy to answer any questions.

Skyhawks Franchise Group is hitting the road in 2018 with the opening of the first international SuperTots franchise in Suzhou, China in partnership with Amigo Sports Academy! Initial programs including SoccerTots, HoopsterTots, and PartyTots, in the Suzhou area will be available in early 2018.

Ms. Adel Xu, CEO of Amigo Sports Academy said, “We are very thrilled to begin a partnership with Supertots for the greater China region. Supertots is a leading American brand in sports instruction, and its high-quality program is a huge hit among Chinese audiences. Supertots will be a great addition and we are confident of taking our visions to the next level, delivering audiences more inviting programming and engagement opportunities in the years to come.”


About Amigo Sports Academy (ASA)

Amigo Sports Academy was established in 2016 and is dedicated in providing sports training and spreading American sports culture to aspiring youth. Amigo Sports Academy partners with Major League Baseball (MLB), and has collaboratively set up the MLB Suzhou Learning Center. We are aiming to bring American sports culture and trainings to students who love sports. In addition, we also have a partnership with the prestigious sports academy IMG, to promote all kinds of American sports, providing talented Chinese students with well-rounded sports trainings and opportunities

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last 3 months, you’ve no doubt been getting an eye and an earful about next week’s solar eclipse. Depending on where your child’s program is location and their program’s schedule next week, your child may have a perfect opportunity to view the eclipse! Feel free to send them with the correct protective glasses or filters/viewers. If you’re planning on sending your child with glasses and/or filters to view the eclipse: here’s a couple things to remember from NASA's eclipse page:

  - Glasses and viewers must be designated as ISO 12312-2.

  - Glasses and viewers must be less than 3 years old and not have any scratches or cracks on the lenses.

Before you drop your child off at their program, remind them of a few things: 

  - Stand still and cover your eyes with your eclipse glasses or solar viewer before looking up at the bright sun. After looking at the sun, turn away and remove your filter — do not remove it while looking at the sun.
  - Do not look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or other optical device.
  - Similarly, do not look at the sun through a camera, a telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while using your eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will damage the filter and enter your eye(s), causing serious injury.

All Skyhawks programs are continuing as scheduled, and we’re excited for to kick off the week’s programs with this rare event! If you have any questions regarding your child and their program next week, please call our customer service department at 800.804.3509

The following is a guest post written by Jacob FIll, returning Skyhawks coach in San Jose, CA.

My birthday is coming up this summer.  I’d say I’m pretty lucky to have a summer birthday, especially as a college student.  One of the great things about a summer birthday for me is that I get to spend it with my family.  One of the bad things about spending it with my family is that my mother, every year, forces me to look through her old scrapbooks of my childhood.  Every year we sit down, against my will, and look through some embarrassing pictures of me as a child, but every year I take an extra long look at one picture in particular; it’s a picture of me as a toddler, being held up by my father to dunk on a plastic Fischer-Price basketball hoop.  This picture in particular is special to me because it symbolizes my love for sports.  

I have played sports my entire life, both at a highly competitive level and at a recreational level in college.  Once I realized my basketball playing days would be over after high school, my initial thought was, “How can I continue participating in sports without playing at the college level?”  I quickly realized coaching was what I wanted to do.  Having good and bad coaches throughout my playing career helped me realize what makes a good coach.  My good coaches taught me what works well, and my not-so-good coaches taught me what doesn't.  In addition to my basketball coaching knowledge, my love for working with kids had ignited in me a desire to coach. There’s just something about being able to pass along my love for sports and make a positive impact on a young athlete’s life that makes me excited to get up every morning and go to Skyhawks camps.  

I had worked as a volunteer sports camp counselor near home before, but that doesn't come close to comparing to how Skyhawks operates.  Skyhawks is a very unique summer camp organization.  In my opinion, Skyhawks’ best attribute is their ability to give each and every child individual attention.  When I volunteered previously, I saw some kids being left behind in certain games or activities.  For example, one time I noticed a child struggling to shoot the basketball, and I knew exactly how to fix the problem, but because of the unfavorable child-to-counselor ratio, I wasn't able to take time to give him individual coaching.  As a Skyhawks coach, this is never a problem.  When something like this happens, there is always at least one coach available to teach the child how to properly shoot the basketball.  And let me tell you, the feeling you get when a camper takes your advice, makes a shot, and his/her face lights up with excitement, is absolutely priceless.  

As a junior in college, I could have taken a lot of different routes this summer.  I could have chosen a full-time paid internship.  I could have chosen to work at a restaurant and make tons of spending money off of tips.  I could have chosen to take summer classes.  Instead, I chose to come back as a Skyhawks coach.  What better way to make money than to do what you love every single day? I come home on Fridays knowing I made a difference in some child’s life that week.  I come home feeling good about how I was able to pass along my love for sports to the next generation of athletes.  At the end of the day, I come home on Fridays glad to be a Skyhawks coach.  

This article was written by Skyhawks Franchise Owner Brett Gardner and is cross-posted from Redwood City Parks, Recreation & Community Sevices blog. Click Here To View The Original Aricle.

Much has been written over the past several years about specializing in one sport vs. letting kids play as many sportsas possible. There is all this literature that benchmarks what age kids should be when they specialize. I come down firmly in the camp of NEVER. Unless your child is an elite gymnast or dancer, there is no argument to be made for specializing in a sport. Ask professional athletes how many of them “specialized” in the sport they now play. I’d hazard a guess that the answer is none.

But, sports have gotten really out of hand thanks to the business model behind competitive sports. Coaches are hired to develop players for college sports programs. That’s what they are paid to do. I hear parents talking about this even with a team of eight-year-olds!

If you are reading this and you have teenagers, I hope you’re nodding your head in agreement. Parents of younger children, read on. Sports is not a career for your child. It’s an activity and it should be one of many.

But, more importantly, not all kids like sports. As the parent of two very athletic children and the owner of a company that runs sports camps, I should be shouting from rooftops about the benefits of sports. But, I have also seen what happens when kids are pushed too hard.

I am a big believer in the “try everything” model of parenting. You never know what’s going to stick. When my kids were little, we tried it all — from ball sports to gymnastics to theater to martial arts to dance.  Some of it stuck and much of it didn’t. The questions we asked our kids were, “was it fun?” and “did you learn anything worthwhile?” Next, we asked them if they wanted to do that activity again.

With child number one, the answer was invariably, yes. With the other one, it was almost always, NO! Different kids, different interests. Even though child number one seemed to like everything and child number two seemed to hate most things, I still think the try everything model was good for both of them.

With limited time during the school year, we often used summer camps to let our kids try different activities. Many families didn’t understand why we would do this. If my daughter was “an athlete,” why weren’t we sending her only to sports camps? She plays ball sports nine months out of the year. Does she really need more sports at age eight? We thought it was far more important for her to experience different things. So we encouraged her to try science camps, cooking lessons, etc. She loved some of them and was less enthusiastic about others. But, she got to try something new, which was the most important thing.

As summer is looming, think about things your kids have never done before.  It could be a new sport, like flag football. Or, it could be dance or robotics. Try everything. You just never know what will stick!