At Texas Sports Academy in the Lake Travis area, the traditional school bell has been replaced by a whistle — and a mission to revolutionize how students learn. Blending cutting-edge educational technology with athletics and real-world skill-building, TSA is one of several campuses launched by the 2-Hour Learning Organization that are turning the conventional classroom model on its head.
“We just have divergent views on what education should be,” said Jamal Gross, Director of Launch and Legacy at TSA. “We think it’s crazy to spend six hours in a classroom having mediocre experiences. Kids aren’t learning deeply, they’re not developing real-life skills and they don’t love school.”
At TSA, the academic day runs from 9 a.m. to noon using the Pomodoro method — short bursts of AI-driven coursework broken up with physical movement. The rest of the day is devoted to workshops that teach public speaking, financial literacy and critical thinking through experiences like sailing or pitching marketing ideas to the Miami Heat.
“The idea is to make academics more efficient and use that time savings to focus on life skills,” Gross said.
The school’s student profile isn’t limited by academic ability.
“Whether a student is ahead or needs to catch up, our commitment is that they’ll learn twice as fast as the national average — in two hours a day,” Gross said. “We serve kids motivated by movement, by sports, by purpose.”
That includes a coaching staff of elite athletes — former NFL, NBA, and Division I players — who mentor students on mindset and discipline.
“Our staff has done rare things, and they bring those experiences directly to the students,” Gross said. “It’s not just coaching; it’s character-building.”
TSA currently serves grades K-8, with future plans to expand and add full-scale sports facilities on newly acquired adjacent land.
“We want to build a place where academics, athletics and life preparation coexist naturally,” Gross said. “We’re returning the gift of time to kids and families.”
For Gross, the end goal is clear: “We’re not outsourcing learning to robots. We’re re-centering school around the things that make kids want to show up every day.”
Learn more atsportsacademy.school.
"We want to build a place where academics, athletics and life preparation coexist naturally."