Students of the Month

The United States Sports Academy’s January Student of the Month is Anthony Fletcher of Santa Barbara, Calif. Fletcher is member of the United States Air Force Air Force, with seven deployments as an Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance operator. He is also an Academy student seeking his bachelor’s degree in sports strength and conditioning and hopes to use his education to propel his goals to work as CSCS and Tactical Fitness and Conditioning Specialist or continue his education and become a Doctor of Physical Therapy after retiring from the military. Fletcher found out about the academy while researching exercise related training opportunities and discovered a bachelor's program that met all of his interests. He is a qualified instructor who has flown over 2,250 combat hours providing critical intelligence to Special Operations Forces and joint battlefield commanders [...]

Like many United States Sports Academy students, Hassan Dakroub is currently working in the sports profession and hopes to use his degree to take the next step in his career. Dakroub, who is seeking his Bachelor of Sports Science degree in sports coaching, is currently working as an assistant football coach at Fordson High School in Dearborn, Mich. He hopes to use what he learns from the Academy to move up in the ranks among football coaches. He discovered the Academy after watching an interview with Mississippi State head football coach Mike Leach, who holds a Master of Sports Science degree from the Academy. “I was watching football videos online and found a video where Mike Leach was giving his team a pep talk,” Dakroub said. “The speech inspired me, [...]

Dr. Steve Wachs is already an accomplished teacher, podcaster, sports psychologist, and researcher, but now that he has a doctoral degree from the United States Sports Academy, the institution’s latest Student of the Month hopes to expand his reach with more speaking engagement and presentation opportunities. Wachs recently successfully defended his dissertation, which researched the impact of social media on young athletes. For the mentorship portion of his Academy doctoral program, Wachs started a podcast that revolves around basketball in the Southern California area and includes discussions of sport psychology, coaching, and parenting. In addition, Wachs has also presented at conferences like the Association of Applied Sport Psychology-West Region and he hopes to be able to use his Academy education to find similar opportunities. “The Academy’s distance learning program really [...]

Karthik Anand is well on his way to reaching his dream of playing tennis on the professional circuit and becoming a role model for aspiring young athletes from India. But when his playing days eventually end, Anand will be prepared for a career as a coach because of his education from the United States Sports Academy. A native of New Delhi, India, Anand is the Academy’s latest Student of the Month. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Sports Science degree in sports coaching while living and training at the Walter Grunfeld Tennis Academy in Barcelona, Spain. There, he has worked his way up the ranks in tennis with his eyes set on qualifying for International Tennis Federation (ITF) play and eventually becoming a regular on the ATP Tour. Like [...]

A lifelong painter with no real interest in sport growing up, Melissa Hadley wasn’t sure at first that pursuing a degree from the United States Sports Academy was right for her. Now, the Academy’s latest Student of the Month says the school’s bachelor’s degree program has shown her that sport is inextricably linked to just about every other industry in the world. Hadley was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and is now a resident of Daphne, Ala., where she works for the Academy as its Operations Manager. She is pursuing her Bachelor of Sports Science degree in sports management. Once she earns that degree, she hopes to work in the facilities and event management field. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure about it at first,” Hadley said. “When a [...]

After working as a figure skating coach in Southern California for more than two decades, Lexie Hernandez decided it was time to take her skills to the next level with a sports coaching degree from the United States Sports Academy. A resident of San Diego, Calif., Hernandez is the Academy’s latest Student of the Month. The mother of two and professional figure skating coach is seeking her Bachelor of Sports Science degree in sports coaching from the institution. “I have been skating since I was about five years old and coaching for the last 20 years,” Hernandez said. “I basically went from competitive skating as a teenager right into coaching as a young adult and never took the time to get a degree. Now that I have all of that [...]

Acasio Roche III has spent more than two decades working as a firefighter in the Milwaukee, Wisc., area. Now, Roche hopes to use his education from the United States Sports Academy to transition into a role he’s always wanted: head collegiate soccer coach. Roche, who is pursuing his Bachelor of Sports Science degree in sports coaching, is the Academy’s latest Student of the Month. In addition to fighting fires, he’s spent time coaching soccer at the youth, regional, club, high school and college levels. Roche is currently a volunteer assistant coach for women’s soccer at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where the late Academy founding president Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich once served as director of athletics between 1969-1972. Rosandich was instrumental in launching the school’s original sports programs and building athletics [...]