The Future of Sports Education with Pam Adamson and Elite Performance Prep Academy

In this episode of Nice to Meet You, host Rob Pene interviews Pamela Adamson, founder of Elite Performance Prep Academy Georgia. Pamela discusses her innovative approach to education that combines personalized academics with professional athletic training in a microschool setting. 

This model aims to solve the hectic scheduling challenges faced by families with competitive student-athletes while providing high-quality education and character development.

About Our Guest

Pamela Adamson is a longtime youth sports advocate with over 24 years of experience in developing youth basketball programs. As a mother of three grown children and grandmother to nine, she understands firsthand the scheduling demands placed on families with children in competitive sports. 

Pamela and her husband previously founded a nonprofit basketball organization focused on competitive skill development and character building. She splits her time between managing a performance training center in St. George, Utah, and launching the new Elite Performance Prep Academy in Metro Atlanta.

Episode Highlights

• [02:10] Pamela shares how her family's sports background led to creating a nonprofit basketball organization 24 years ago
• [05:08] How Pamela discovered Elite Performance Prep and decided to bring it to Atlanta
• [06:09] Plans for the Georgia location to open in August in the Gwinnett County area
• [10:38] A detailed walkthrough of what a school day looks like at Elite Performance Prep Academy
• [14:11] What makes this model unique compared to other alternative education options in Atlanta
• [16:44] Information about Georgia's scholarship program that can provide over $6,000 toward tuition
• [18:09] The emphasis on teaching leadership and entrepreneurship skills to students
• [21:07] Pamela's message to parents considering this option for their student-athletes

Key Takeaways

1. Elite Performance Prep Academy combines academics, performance training, and sport-specific skill development all under one roof
2. Students complete academics in approximately half the time of traditional schools
3. Small class sizes (approximately 10:1 student-to-teacher ratio) ensure personalized attention
4. The curriculum emphasizes leadership, entrepreneurship, and practical life skills
5. Professional coaches provide specialized athletic training tailored to each student's sport
6. Georgia families may be eligible for scholarship funding to help with tuition costs

Connect with Elite Performance Prep Academy

• Website: eliteperformanceprepacademy.com
• Contact: Pamela Adamson at 435-619-1007
• Location: Opening August 2025 in the Buford/Suwanee area of Gwinnett County, Georgia

Nice to Meet You Podcast interviews busy professionals and the interesting things they're doing in their local communities. Hosted by Rob Pene.

Transcript

Rob Pene (00:00.937)

All right, welcome everybody. This is the Nice to Meet You podcast where I interview busy professionals and the interesting things that they're doing in their local community. This is Pam Adamson, who is kind of changing the game in her local area in terms of education and alternative education, micro schooling, the whole shebang. It's really important that kids get the necessary attention that's required for them to grow. And it sounds like that's what Pam's doing.

in our area. So welcome, Pam. Thank you for joining.

Pamela Adamson (00:33.49)

Thank you for having me.

Rob Pene (00:34.917)

All right. Now, can you tell me a little bit about yourself and then how you got into this whole micro schooling movement?

Pamela Adamson (00:45.614)

Okay, so I have three grown kids and nine grandkids. yeah, so my three grown kids, two of them, well, all of them played sports. So we made them play almost every sport till they discovered what they really wanted to play. But the amount of...

Rob Pene (00:53.263)

Whoa!

Pamela Adamson (01:12.722)

structure and in order to be competitively great nowadays has changed tremendously. The amount of time kids spend training, speeded agility performance training, then their skill training and so forth has like, it's almost you have you need to do it in order to be competitively great. And so

We my husband and I started actually about 24 years ago we Developed our own nonprofit basketball organization So it's a club organization and we have it was for the boys to be able to provide competitive

allow them to get greater planning experience other than what they're having in their high school or middle school. And then also one of the main reasons was we highly encouraged our coaches to be character developers.

So that was our, our main thing was there's a lot of great ones in Atlanta and there's a lot of strong programs in Atlanta. But we just at the time found that there needed to be more character. It's, we asked our question and a lot of parents might want to ask themselves.

Okay, you're turning your child over to someone to teach them something. Who do you want them to teach? You know, they're gonna learn something from the basketball skills and training. Are they really being taught the right things that were really allowed to be strong athletes and competitive athletes, but also good sportsmen and great teammates. So

Rob Pene (03:14.697)

Mm.

Pamela Adamson (03:16.117)

We've been running that well then my boys eventually decided they wanted to be athletic trainers. So they're currently athletic trainers in Saint George, Utah. And they also we expanded our basketball program there, so it's called reach our Kings and Queens, but. The we found that so now fast forward to I have grandkids coming up.

Rob Pene (03:24.04)

Wow.

Pamela Adamson (03:43.885)

and I'll just mention my one grandson who's 11 and he plays soccer and he had he really needs to do the performance training and the skill training and he's at the highest level club so his time is 100 consumed he's he's he's consumed with training he's consumed with his this is his goal

and he's 100 % on board, but it allows little time for the family. It allows little time for him to be a child. It allows less time for him to just sit around and be creative and learn other things in life. So when I learned about the school, because the school came to our facility in Utah,

and the boys are the trainers for that school. And I said, I want to bring this to Atlanta, Georgia, where I mean, my grandsons are, my daughter is, because this is so much needed in order to give him very much the things that we're going to develop for the school. And that we'll get into that later. But that's kind of how it came about. So now I'm on fire to open this in Atlanta, Georgia.

Rob Pene (04:41.437)

Mm-hmm.

Rob Pene (05:08.797)

Nice and how did you come across Tasha and Elite Performance Prep?

Pamela Adamson (05:14.379)

Right, it was because they approached us at our facility in St. George, our performance facility that we have there and said, can we bring elite prep and can you or boys train them? So that's how it came about and I met her and then I said, I absolutely want to bring this to Atlanta, Georgia.

Rob Pene (05:29.033)

Rob Pene (05:36.155)

Nice. When are you starting the Georgia facility?

Pamela Adamson (05:40.717)

We are going to start in August when school starts. We are planning to be in the Gwinnett County area and I think they start around the 4th and we'd like to start right around then so families aren't, you know, if they have younger kids or so forth, everybody's starting at the same time.

Rob Pene (06:02.409)

Yeah, yeah. And how did it go in St. George? How old is the St. George location?

Pamela Adamson (06:09.523)

Our performance training center is three years old, although the boys have been training there for like seven years. We had a different location, but now we have our own. The schools only started in February there, so they started just recently.

Rob Pene (06:17.161)

Okay.

Rob Pene (06:27.025)

Yeah, nice. Nice, nice. And how is it going in the facility in St. George?

Pamela Adamson (06:33.709)

Yeah, that's great. The students love the speed of joke. So in other words, I know you're going to ask this, the main thing is so you do, it's kind of, it's a micro school. So it's good for homeschoolers or people in school that say, don't want to be in this traditional school anymore. I would like an option where my child gets encouraged.

learns life values, gets their studies done in half the time, and then can also during that Monday through Thursday time period get their performance training in and get their skill once a week, you know, once a day four times a week in, which then would allow them to have more free time and the parents less time running them everywhere.

Rob Pene (07:28.957)

Yeah.

Pamela Adamson (07:29.703)

spending so much time, which is my daughter's life, like in the car, in the car, in the car.

Rob Pene (07:39.515)

What do you expect to be different in the Atlanta facility? Or do you do you see it being kind of similar rollouts?

Pamela Adamson (07:48.233)

It will be similar in that we'll have the microschooling, homeschooling option with an academic, they call them an academic mentor. So it's like homeschooling only we have already onboard an extremely.

Rob Pene (08:01.993)

Mm-hmm.

Pamela Adamson (08:11.036)

highly qualified person who I have been friends with their family for, I don't even know, 20 years, who has a BA in early childhood education, an MA in school counseling, an educational specialist in technology and education, and a master's in information systems. So, but she was looking...

Rob Pene (08:15.081)

Hmm.

Rob Pene (08:23.913)

Mmm.

Pamela Adamson (08:35.693)

for another alternative to really impact kids in a more holistic way. So that's who we, you know, I'm just going for, and our performance trainer is one of the best in the country in Atlanta. He's trained thousands of professional college and youth athletes. So I have a great, great team that's already ready to go.

Rob Pene (08:51.357)

Wow.

Rob Pene (09:01.587)

Yeah.

Now, are you in Atlanta or Utah?

Pamela Adamson (09:06.997)

So I...

Rob Pene (09:09.009)

Both.

Pamela Adamson (09:09.229)

I kind of have split time because we just built that facility two and a half years ago. So I'm helping my boys. I'm mentoring them through the entrepreneurship of owning the building. And so I'm there helping teach them and set standards and so forth. So we have tenants there too. And then we have all kinds of clubs. And so I've been going back and forth for two years, but I will be focusing all

Rob Pene (09:21.118)

Yeah.

Pamela Adamson (09:39.263)

lot more in Atlanta when this opens, but I have the flexibility to do both with just being the person operating the school.

Rob Pene (09:42.025)

Mm-hmm.

Rob Pene (09:49.255)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you started just youth sports a long time ago and you have a passion for it. Did that come because of your children or did you grow up passionate about sports and education?

Pamela Adamson (10:02.069)

So both my husband and I were passionate about sports. I've played a lot of sports. I played tennis for, gosh, I don't even know, 20-something years. We've played volleyball. Actually, my husband and I met playing co-ed softball. So we are very much a sports-minded family. And then the boys just loving sports took us to a whole nother level.

Rob Pene (10:18.313)

Yeah.

Rob Pene (10:28.615)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's great. Walk me through what a potential school day would look like in your Atlanta facility.

Pamela Adamson (10:38.443)

Right, so it basically they would come in probably eight to eightish, let's say they come in and then you do a few things as a group and then you'll break up. And so we try, we're gonna try and keep the classrooms like 10 to one. So the first 10 or so students in each group, now if there's 40 students, then they'll be double.

Rob Pene (10:57.245)

Mm-hmm.

Pamela Adamson (11:06.359)

groups going, we have room to train them in individual units. But so the first, the 10 would go to say speed agility strength training for an hour and a half. That other group stays and does their academics during that hour and a half. And then they do a switch and the one group does their speed and agility. And the other group that already did theirs will do their academics.

then they would have their lunch period. And then after that, they kind of have a group where they work more on projects or leadership skills and different things. Then they'll have, then they'll go and have an hour of skill training. So if they are a soccer player, they'd have an hour of skill training with the soccer trainer. If they're basketball, they'd have an hour with their basketball trainer. Football, same thing. Volleyball, same thing.

Rob Pene (11:55.239)

Hmm.

Rob Pene (12:02.857)

So those would be different coaches that you would hire. So the child could, if you have one soccer player, it could be a literally one-on-one with that soccer coach.

Pamela Adamson (12:03.529)

And then they

Pamela Adamson (12:08.365)

Correct.

Pamela Adamson (12:15.501)

We hope not because that will be a bad use of the...

You know, because we pay our coaches well, our trainers well, and we're not going to vary on that. it's actually what you know, they have only a few basketball in St. George right now, but the person is committed. He comes in and he trains those those couple players for that hour. it's. Either way, the one to 10 is very manageable to get a lot of good training in.

Rob Pene (12:22.888)

Yeah.

Rob Pene (12:40.52)

Yeah.

Rob Pene (12:49.671)

Yeah. Wow. So you as an owner, are you going to be on site every day or you're going to be focused on growing?

Pamela Adamson (13:01.101)

So I will be more the, I will be the mentor, just like I am in my boys facility. So I will mentor.

Rob Pene (13:08.969)

Mm-hmm.

Pamela Adamson (13:10.953)

I will mentor the teacher, as far as not how she does it or whatever, I will help mentor her to make sure I'm providing everything the classroom needs to be successful. I will be mentoring and make sure all the coaches are there and present and that we're following everybody's in sync and in a community to follow

the plan that's best for the students. So everyone will get an idea of what's happening and that everything can be, certain lessons can be reinforced whether you're training or whether you're in the classroom situation. So it'll very much be a community of teachers and coaches training that adult.

Rob Pene (13:55.091)

Hmm.

Pamela Adamson (14:09.429)

I mean, treating the student.

Rob Pene (14:11.441)

Yeah. Atlanta's kind of like a hotbed of culture and sports. Are there other similar models of alternative education in Atlanta?

Pamela Adamson (14:25.869)

So there are similar models of schooling like there I think there's a few micro schools. There's obviously homeschool groups and so forth. What what were

Rob Pene (14:38.099)

Sure, yeah.

Pamela Adamson (14:41.613)

trying to focus on because I have such top performance training ability and we've been doing it for so long is to give the student athlete this opportunity homeschooling if you're homeschooled what you have to go find it usually you have to go then then again you have to take your child to go do this then take your child to go do that and if they're a high level athlete even like even my grandson at 11

he, you've got, you should need to be doing this in order. I say it's like you're taking the student and you're going to shine them like a diamond and allow him to be the best student and athlete that he can be. And this is just a great thing because so many parents that I know are looking for this opportunity of a one stop shop. Like.

Rob Pene (15:14.61)

Right.

Rob Pene (15:39.656)

Mm-hmm.

Pamela Adamson (15:40.351)

You know, we heavily invest like we we will do individual learning plans. Same thing will will be like what do they want to do? Do they want to go to college with their sport? Do they want to be a professional athlete? Do they not even they just want to stay fit and play in high school and so forth. So whatever their goals and ability, we're going to help them try and realize.

that they, how they can do it and have them be the best that they're possibly able to be.

Rob Pene (16:16.145)

Yeah, yeah, this it makes a lot of sense too, because if you're, let's say, an elite club, you know, athlete, and you go to regular public school, you're still paying for private training at a high cost. But then if you went through the the academy, your academy, the and let me know if this is true or not, the government would subsidize some of that cost for the training, right? Like their scholarships.

Pamela Adamson (16:44.479)

Right, as far as I know in Georgia right now there are there is a scholarship and it allows I believe something like it's over 6,000 6,400 or something like that. I'm not I don't have it in front of me but and it's open now so we need to get the word out now because they need to apply because it closes I understand April 15th.

Rob Pene (17:07.88)

wow, yeah.

Rob Pene (17:14.014)

so they need to be enrolled now.

Pamela Adamson (17:14.583)

So we need to get this now out like anyone interested or even considering it that they apply and get that and then, know, and because if they don't apply, they're not going to get the grant. I don't know if it opens later. You know, I don't, since we're just starting, we're a little new in what it is, but it's open now and it supposedly closes April 15th, but.

Rob Pene (17:31.165)

Yeah.

Yeah.

Pamela Adamson (17:39.957)

Yes, so part you can like I literally pay $500 a month ish for the speed agility training in the in the private skill training for my grandson. Like that's something we do for all our grandkids. But so that now becomes just part of the school and you get homeschooling and education and.

Rob Pene (18:01.747)

Mm-hmm.

Pamela Adamson (18:09.503)

And the great thing is being my background with entrepreneurship because that's what I've done since I used to be a computer consultant. it's where we're very, the school is very, very heavy in teaching leadership and entrepreneurship, which is not taught in school at that age. They will learn.

Rob Pene (18:32.136)

Yeah.

Pamela Adamson (18:38.551)

how to schedule and manage a project, how to be a productive team member, what basic accounting means, how to do money management, what are the principles of...

Rob Pene (18:46.737)

Mmm.

Pamela Adamson (18:52.561)

to turn something into an asset rather than a liability. this, they, if they get this, they will succeed hugely in life in whatever role they want to go on to do or position they want to hold.

Rob Pene (18:56.105)

Mmm.

Rob Pene (19:11.665)

Yeah, it's tangible skill sets they can use in their day to day. Yeah, that's amazing. What's the name of the school in Atlanta?

Pamela Adamson (19:16.726)

Right.

Pamela Adamson (19:20.557)

It'll be elite performance prep Academy, Georgia Right So we the first one like it's like I said, I think will be in Gwinnett County should be the Buford, Suwannee area and then we will expand and grow as

Rob Pene (19:20.979)

Thank

Rob Pene (19:26.035)

Georgia.

Pamela Adamson (19:42.679)

people identify and people are wanting this in different areas. So we will be servicing the whole Metro Atlanta area eventually, but we're gonna focus on this and then take the best of the best and then grow from there.

Rob Pene (19:47.774)

Yeah.

Rob Pene (19:53.619)

Wow.

Rob Pene (20:02.993)

Yeah, yeah, that's good. That's good. And you have your own Instagram account? I think.

Pamela Adamson (20:09.439)

Yes. I know. Hopefully you get into this, but, gosh, I don't remember because we just, we just made it. yeah. Okay.

Rob Pene (20:21.215)

okay. Okay. That's okay. I'm sure I'll find it. And then I'll put it in the show notes. Yeah. That's good. Since there's very little time for people to apply for the grant. What is your message to them?

Pamela Adamson (20:42.285)

My message to people is are you wanting an alternative? Have you ever thought of doing homeschooling but you work full-time or you're in your mind you say I am NOT a teacher or you say I don't want to teach my own kids because someone else teaching them needs to enforce them, force other learning that they listen to.

Rob Pene (20:56.968)

Hmm.

Rob Pene (21:05.81)

Yeah.

Pamela Adamson (21:07.885)

Are you driving your student-athlete who wants to really be competitive and excel? Are you driving them a million places or haven't or can't drive them a million places so they're lacking the speed agility performance strength and skill training that they really need to excel on their club teams or on their high school team if so

Rob Pene (21:25.161)

Yeah.

Pamela Adamson (21:34.807)

contact us right away so that you can get an application to apply for the grant money. if you don't need the grant money, make sure you contact us either way to reserve your spot because there will be only so many spots available when we open because we want to keep that.

Rob Pene (21:58.089)

Mm.

Pamela Adamson (22:02.221)

close to 10 to 1 ratio. So apply, get with us. We can answer any questions that you might have and take back control of you having your child taught what you agree with and want them to learn and take back control of who teaches them. What kind of role models and mentors are you handing your child over to?

Rob Pene (22:13.043)

Hmm.

Rob Pene (22:28.296)

Yeah.

Rob Pene (22:31.655)

Very good, very good. So I will find your Instagram and then put it in the description so people can click there. But is there another easier way they can get a hold of you? If they have any questions.

Pamela Adamson (22:43.501)

Yes, they may also just call me. This number is my business cell phone number and I keep it with me all the time. So it's 435-619-1007 and I know that's a Utah number but it's because I get a lot of phone calls for the facility out there.

Rob Pene (23:06.439)

Yeah, very good. good. Well, I appreciate your time, Pam. Thank you. Yeah, this has been good information and we'll make sure people can visit the Instagram or give you a call if they have any questions. Okay. Thank you.

Pamela Adamson (23:10.241)

Thank you so much for doing this.

Pamela Adamson (23:19.413)

Okay, thank you. Appreciate it. Okay.