National Volleyball Champ Takes Her Game Abroad

National Volleyball Champ Takes Her Game Abroad

Stuart, FL – December 2, 2010 - There’s no doubt about it: Ariel Chandler’s got game. After the 14-year-old volleyball phenom from Stuart and her partner Lauren Galinis of Delray Beach won the girls' U14 National division at the USA Beach Junior Tour Championships on Fort Lauderdale Beach this past August, Chandler didn’t go to Disneyland—she went to Perugia, Italy to train with top-level coaches, immerse herself in a foreign culture and learn a brand new language to boot.

“We live in a competitive, global society,” says Joe Coito, president of Travel Sport Camp (travelsportcamp.com), the sport-specific study abroad program Chandler’s family chose for her. “It’s no longer enough for students to get a 4.0 grade point average and work on the yearbook. The students who really stand out to college admissions directors are the ones who make getting an exceptional, well-rounded education a priority.”

Indeed, Chandler’s experience in Perugia is one to which few American students could relate. For starters, she lives at the Istituto Sant’Antonio in Perugia (managed by the Franciscan Sisters of the Child of Jesus) and studies at the prestigious Liceo Linguistico “A. Pieralli”. Each weekday she attends three to four hours of Italian language instruction, completes online study requirements in order to stay on track to graduate with her classmates when she returns to the US, and spends another several hours training in her sport. Organized day trips to Rome, Siena and Florence help round out the cultural experience.

Study abroad may seem like an extravagance few can afford in the current economy, but Chandler’s mom Dianne Chandler insists that the TSC price tag isn’t much more than the family would have spent traveling around the US to attend Ariel’s numerous competitions. “This has been an amazing experience for Ariel,” her mother says. “We can already see that living on her own in a foreign country has made her more confident and independent. This program is an excellent way to help her prepare for college and beyond.”

Chandler already has made strides toward her dream of pursuing a pro-volleyball career. In addition to having a national championship under her belt, she was named Club Indoor MVP for her club team, the Volleyball Institute of Palm Beach (VIP; vipfl.webs.com). For two years running she was named MVP at St. Vincent Ferrer School in Delray, and was given the Florida 2010 Coaches All Star Camper Award by the University of Florida, Gainesville.

For more information about Travel Sport Camp please contact Joe Coito at jcoito@travelsportcamp.com or

(888) 511-2267 (toll free). To arrange an interview with Ariel Chandler please email Dianne Chandler in Historic Downtown Stuart at Dianne@iOnStuart.com

TSC launches one-of-a-kind programs for student athletes

Hi Everyone,
TSC programs are full service, Sport Training and Education based camps, boarding schools, custom team and group tours.  Our clients travel abroad to participate in what many just dream about.  Our Affiliated Language Schools, International secondary and post-secondary Schools and Professional Sports trainers, coaches and facilities are second to none. 

We are in the early stages of launching an extensive list of Sports Training, Education and Cultural Programs for you to participate in.  Before year-end we will introduce our first programs in England and France.   The West Coast of England will host two exciting Adventure Camps and Cannes, France will be our Mediterranean host for two Multisport Camps.  Soon thereafter we'll tell you about our Boarding School Programs - both full and half Academic-Year options will be available.  We'll host these programs in England, Italy, Spain and the US.  If you've dreamt about living and studying abroad while earning school credit, playing and training in your favorite sport and experiencing different cultures, then TSC if for you.  Check out our website (www.travelsportcamp.com). Visit us often over the next few months.  We might just have your “Experience of a Lifetime”.

The TSC Team.

EduKick Expands International Sports Boarding Schools with Travel Sport Camp

EduKick Expands International Sports Boarding Schools with Travel Sport Camp
by Joey Bilotta
November 10, 2008
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Nov. 10, 2008) - EduKick, a leader in academic year international soccer schools and language immersion soccer camps, introduces Travel Sport Camp (TSC) for other student athletes.

Non-soccer-playing students now also have the opportunity to study abroad through these international sports boarding schools, combining language immersion and academic study with daily training in tennis, basketball, volleyball, handball, cricket, cycling or even table tennis.

"We found that EduKick really filled a need with our yearlong international soccer boarding schools," said Joey Bilotta, vice president and co-founder of Travel Sport Camp. "We wanted to expand that to include other sports as well, and give non-soccer-playing student athletes the unique opportunity to travel abroad, learn a new language and culture while training daily in their favorite sport."

Bilotta and his business partner, Joe Coito, saw the need for international sports boarding schools beyond soccer. Travel Sport Camp was created to fill that niche.

Travel Sport Camp caters to student athletes between the ages of 11 and 23. Academic year sports boarding school options include tennis, basketball, volleyball, cycling, handball, and table and paddle tennis. Boarding schools are available in Mexico, Italy, England, Spain, and France. Travel Sport Camp plans for new venues in Switzerland and Canada beginning in 2010.

Students with Travel Sport Camp can look forward to the same quality language immersion opportunities that EduKick players receive. Travel Sport Camp also uses the same established directors and city venues as EduKick sports boarding schools.

"The partnerships that we've formed through EduKick have been immensely helpful in establishing these sports boarding schools," said Bilotta. "It makes us much easier to maintain the same level of quality in both sports training and language immersion."

It's not just sports training and a new language that student athletes have to look forward to. Students will be entirely immersed in the culture of the country they choose. The international sports boarding schools and camps, associated language classes or academic study, and cultural excursions foster "intercultural competence" (IC) for both high school and university student athletes.

"Empowering our children to broaden their perspective is crucial in our shrinking world," said Joe Coito, president and co-founder of Travel Sport Camp. "With the increasing trend toward globalization, our programs emphasize intercultural competence, the ability to understand and communicate clearly with other cultures. This is a vital aspect of the Travel Sport Camp international academy experience for our young participants.

"Students will interact with peers from all over the world on a daily basis. This international travel experience builds a level of intercultural competence that youth can only achieve by traveling outside their home country."

The academic year international sports boarding schools start in September 2009 and run to June 2010. Register to reserve your place today at http://www.travelsportcamp.com/.

About Travel Sport Camp
Travel Sport Camp was founded in 2007 by Joey Bilotta and Joe Coito after the success of EduKick and its international soccer boarding schools. Bilotta and Coito are long-time business associates and good friends from Santa Barbara, California. Their goal: To bring the proven structure and excellence of EduKick to a variety of other sports. Today, Travel Sport Camp programs provide professional sports training combined with quality academic study , foreign language instruction and chaperoned cultural excursions in order to maximize a young player´s experience abroad.

Contact Information

Joe Coito, President & Co-Founder
Santa Barbara, Calif.
(805) 682-3500
info@travelsportcamp.com
www.travelsportcamp.com

Joey Bilotta, V.P. & Co-Founder
Toronto, Ontario - Canada
(905) 469-5661
Toll-Free: 1(866) Edu-Kick (338-5425)
jbilotta@travelsportcamp.com
www.travelsportcamp.com