BUILDING FUTURE CHAMPIONS THROUGH EDUCATION AND TRAINING
THE VISION
As parents of serious middle school athletes, we all know how packed their schedules are, how much is demanded of them, and how hard it is to fulfill the rigorous and often trivial requirements of having them enrolled at a traditional M-F brick & mortar school.
We long for an educational community that understands the time & energy that goes into being part of an elite travel sport, but also values high academic success.
We love the motivation that comes with being in an engaging academically challenging environment, but also need the flexibility of doing schoolwork on the road or at home without getting penalized for it. We want our kids to be part of a positive peer group, with other students who want to learn how to be servant leaders on their teams and in life. We wish our teenagers were being taught more applicable real-life skills and organizational habits. We want our kids to be held to high standards; that discipline of thought, speech, and behavior was still the norm in our schools.
Yes, we want our kids to reach their highest athletic potential, but not at the cost of lifelong physical injury or sacrificing their academic capacity.
We want them to learn about healthy nutrition, sleep, and basic hygiene, and see the importance of building good habits in those areas during their middle school years.
We want them to be pushed outside of their comfort zone, not only academically and in their athletic training, but also when it comes to communication & taking individual responsibility for their lives.
We are building a community of families who understand that the high level of dedication competitive sports require can a valuable stepping stone to great success in whatever future endeavors they undertake, and it is worth the investment in a unique environment like LPAA. Our hope is to create a space that helps support them through the immense pressure of combining a strong athletic drive with academic success.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to create a high-achieving environment where middle school student-athletes come together to prep for L.I.F.E.:
Developing critically-thinking, servant-minded Leadership skills, living with Integrity in all facets of their lives, building a solid foundation of regular physical and mental Fitness, and seeing the value in performing with Excellence in everything they do.
MEET THE TEAM
LAURA PAULESCU
DIRECTOR OF LIFE PREP ATHLETIC ACADEMY | ACADEMIC INSTRUCTOR
Laura has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with a political science minor in International Studies from Western Oregon University. She has been an active substitute teacher for the East Whittier City School District since 2022.
Her husband, Sam Paulescu, is the Athletic Director at Whittier Christian High School, in La Habra, CA. They met while Sam was playing football at Oregon State University. They were married in 2009, and Sam had the opportunity to play in the NFL over 5 years with the Denver Broncos, the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Redskins, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the San Francisco 49ers.
They have two daughters, Tessah and Lucia, who keep them quite busy with their academic & extracurricular activities! Tessah plays club basketball & golf and Lucia plays softball. Laura enjoys being a lifelong learner and has a passion for helping young student athletes develop healthy habits for whole life balance.
CADE MCGEE
LEAD ACADEMIC INSTRUCTOR
Cade McGee has been teaching and coaching in Phoenix for the last few years. He loves sports- playing football, basketball, and volleyball in high school. While earning his degree, he played 2 years of division 1 volleyball and 3 years of NAIA. He has his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration along with a post bacc in Secondary Education. In 2022, Cade married his high school sweetheart, who is also a teacher. While not in their classrooms, Cade and Ashlynn enjoy spending time with their families, serving at their church, trying new food spots, and attending the games Cade coaches at. Cade‘s passion lies in coaching and the opportunity to teach students that are also athletes is a privilege. He loves getting to watch his students and players learn and grow throughout a season. He is excited for the opportunity to partner with driven middle school athletes as they better themselves both academically and athletically.
PANOS STAVROU
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH
NATA BOC ATC | NSCA CSCS | NSCA CSPS | HMS-Brookbush INST. | USAW – LEVEL 1 COACH
Panos is a highly experienced athletic trainer with a sports science background. His success is in his ability to recognize dysfunctional movements through screening and special ortho tests; to discover and identify neuromuscular imbalances; to correct in partnership with a solid strength and conditioning program. His passion is to help athletes become injury resistant while reaching their highest potential.
He has been an athletic trainer and strength & conditioning coach for USC track & field, Westcliff University, the National Volleyball Association, along with multiple high level local sports teams & professional volleyball athletes. He has his BSc degree in Kinesiology from Cal State Long Beach with a concentration in Athletic Training, and his Masters in Applied Exercise Science from Concordia University Chicago, with a concentration in Human Movement Science.
“Learning is not merely the accumulation of information to pull from mental mothballs for aptitude tests. The ability to work well with others; to receive ideas and input from family, friends and colleagues; to access information from experts and put it to use- honing these collaborative skills may be the most important work we do.”
Julie Bogart, “The Brave Learner”