Firelands Health Partners with International Sports Academy

Cedar Fair and Firelands Health are partnering with the International Sports Academy (ISA) to offer student-athletes in grades 9-12 and postgraduates an elite basketball program to help them compete at the next level.

ISA contracted with Cedar Fair to use Cedar Point Sports Center facilities as their home site for the basketball academy. Students are housed at a newly renovated Explorer Rest & Recreation property on Cleveland Road. They can receive in-person instruction by attending St. Mary Central Catholic High School or pursue their education online. Postgraduates can attend area colleges or take courses online.

The students play at Cedar Point’s Sports Center basketball facility. Firelands Health offers sports performance training and physical therapy for ISA athletes at the Lee C. Jewett Sports Medicine Center, which is adjacent to the building. “We provide strength and conditioning, injury prevention, and recovery programs for them,” explains Troy DeLamatre, MS, CSCS, USA-W, Strength and Conditioning Specialist at Firelands Health. “I work with them three days a week, focusing on functional strength, agility, flexibility, and power development. We provide them with individual plans to help them achieve their goals.”

If the student-athletes require additional care, they are referred to Matthew Widmer, D.O., who specializes in Primary Care, Sports Medicine, and Concussion, or Kevin Bailey, D.O., an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine.

Troy is working with 20 students from several countries this school year, including Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Some are high school students, and others are taking a year off between high school and college. “It’s not uncommon for athletes to spend a year improving their skills before they apply to college. They gain more experience and quite a bit of playing time. It’s a development year for them,” says Troy. “Here, they can concentrate solely on basketball and their goal of reaching the next level. They play against academies and colleges throughout Ohio and other states, providing them with competition experience.”

Because the Firelands Health Lee C. Jewett Sports Medicine Center is located next door to Cedar Point Sports Center, it is an ideal fit for ISA. “The ISA athletes have been a great addition to our sports performance program, allowing us to offer our services to another faction of the sports community,” says Shelly Jordan, PT, Cert. MDT, Director of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech-Language Pathology at Firelands Health. “We enjoy meeting the young people in the program and helping them advance in their basketball careers. It’s added a whole new dimension to our services.”