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So youre a college grad? Or maybeyou opted tolearn a skilled trade? Or whats that youve got a PhD? Thats allgood or your career and your bank account, but i you really wantto urther your education to help your body and your soul, weveound nine sports schools and ftness camps thatll ast-track yourathletic ambitions. Who hasnt spent some time wondering whetherthey could handle the demands o a proessional stuntman, a prosurer, an Olympic pipe skier or a luge racer? Well, heres yourchance. Its time to get schooled.

Fitness

FantasiesIf your athletic aspirations have you hanging it all on the edge,weve got 9 fantasy camp options thatll make your dreams a reality.The motto for any of these might be: Suck it up, buttercup!

BY MICHAL KAPRAL, SENIOR EDITOR

Thrillfactor:The adrenaline

rush o a ull minute o reeall at terminal velocity rom

12,500 eet..

Theres probably no greater

exhilaration than plummeting

in a reeall. Tony Goodmans

Skydivextreme course,

located in Perris, Caliornia,

not ar rom San Diego, oers

some o the highest reealls

on the West Coast. Youll be

leaping rom an altitude o

12,500 eet (2.3 miles or 41.6

ootball fields) and pulling

your chute at 5,000, or abouta minute o liberating reeall.

Goodman spent 25 years

in the British Army and has

completed more than 6,000

jumps, so youll be learning

the ropes (and chutes) rom

one o the best.

Goodman trains students

in Accelerated Freeall

(AFF), a program thatll take

you through eight levels o

certification, beginning with

six hours o ground training,

where youll receive instructions on equipment, aircrat

procedures, canopy control

and the everimportant land

ing techniques. The program

has access to an indoor sky

diving simulator and vertical

wind tunnel to finetune body

position and smooth out any

problem in your orm.

Ater the AFF program, you

can work on obtaining your

A license, which will allow

you to jump solo. Once youve

completed 25 jumps, including five with a coach and one

lowaltitude jump, youll be

ready to fly. Youre actually

flying your body through the

air, Goodman says. Its the

only time when youll be ree

o Mother Earth, with nothing

around you. You may be all

ing at 120 mph, but as Buzz

Lightyear put it, Youre alling

with style.

Web: skydivextreme.com

Skydivextreme Skydiving School Loco: Perris,Caliornia

D: All year

Duro:As long as it takesto get through eight levels o

skydiving instruction

Co:$3,000 or a

25jump license package

(including USPA member

ship and gear rental)

TonyGooDMAn

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BetterRideDownhillMountainBike SkillsCoachingthrllfcor:Flying

down technical slopes

on a sweet double

suspension downhillmountain bike and

surviving it.

Ater realizing there

were no existing

coaching classes or

developing downhill

mountain bike (MTB)

skills, Gene Hamilton,

a ormer proessional

snowboarder and snow

boarding coach, created

the BetterRide program.

Beore that, even the

pros were let to try to

figure everything out on

their own. Fastorward

13 years and now Hamil

ton is a veteran downhill

coach, having helpedguide many top racers

to World Cup podium

finishes. (Hamilton is

himsel a solid rider,

with 16 seasons as a

pro and two medals at

the UCI World Masters

Championships.)

Thanks to Hamiltons

vision, now you too can

master the techniques

or saely blasting down

the side o a mountain

on a bike ater taking his

skills coaching camp.

Youll learn all the core

skills or a smoother,

aster and saer ride,

including correct body

position, proper vision

skills, ideal bike setup,

advanced cornering

technique, how to use

your brakes or speed,

jumping large obstacles

and pumping the trail

or ree speed.

Web:betterride.net

thrllfcor:Feeling the

power o a 600hp stock

car engine. You may be

able to walk away with an

incar video.

Want to eel the thunder

o the 600-hp engine right

through your viscera as

you receive ongoing in-car

eedback rom some o the

best racers in the world? Do

you want to have your head

spin as you circle a NASCAR

oval, doing hundreds o

laps on multiple tracks?

With this immersion

school you can boast you

belong to an elite raternity

InternationalStunt Schoolthrllfcor:Jumping out o buildings,

flying in the air on guide wires, running

around while ully enguled in flames,

pretending to kick people in the head.

And action! I youve ever wondered

what its like to be a movie stuntman, this

intensive course by the United Stunt-

mans Association could get you there or

real. It requires a three-week commit-

ment out o your summer (now you

know how to use up all o that vacation

time), and while the training is intense,

the payo is huge. Ater successully

completing 150 hours o instruction and

practice on everything rom high alls,

martial arts and stair alls to fire burns,

unarmed combat and precision driving,

you may be fit or some Hollywood block-

buster action scenes.

The course itsel is almost nonstop

action, with 12 instructors and two assis-

tants training students at three rotating

stations. One group o students will be

running around with their backs on fire

at one station, while another is driving

stunt cars or high-speed chase scenes

and a third is working on ratchet stunts.

The school sets up cameras on the set

so that you can see how realistic your

stunts appear on film, and youll receive

coaching or improvement in making the

action appear more true to lie. Theres a

classroom component, in which partici-

pants receive valuable inormation about

the stunt industry, how to network, and

protocols to ollow while on set.

While it looks like a blast, its intendedor those considering a career as stunt

perormers, so youd better be in peak

orm beore you enroll. I you

do well, theres always

the Aerial Intensive

down the road.

All equipment

is included in the

enrollment ee. Par-

ticipants must be 20

years or older.

Web: stuntschool.com

Loco:BoulderCity, Nevada; Northstar,

Caliornia, and Moun

tain Creek, New Jersey

D:June, July and

September 2013

Duro:3 days

Co:$719 (or $799 or

camps with guest coach

Greg Minnaar)

Notre Dame Football Fantasy Campthrllfcor:Rushing into the end zone or a touchdown at the

historic Notre Dame Stadium.

Paul Hornung, Joe Montana, Joe Theismann beore launching

their careers in the NFL each let a little skin and blood in Notre

Dame. And you can join them by living out your dream o playing

or the Fighting Irish (maybe not i you attended USC) at this our-

day camp, led by none other than Notre Dames legendary coach

Brian Kelly. A true antasy camp in that its as much about history

and tradition as it is about ootball, and campers get personal in-

struction rom Kelly, his assistants and ormer Notre Dame players.

The coaches guide you through the same grueling training routine

as the Fighting Irish. O-the-field eatures include tours o assorted

hallowed Notre Dame athletic acilities.

Youll gear up in the blue and gold uniorm, meet with coaches

and once your training is complete, the camp culminates in a Blue-

Gold championship game. Kelly will deliver an inspirational locker

room pep talk beore you head out to play at the 80,000-capacity

stadium. On the way toward the tunnel to the stadium, dont orget

to tap the iconic PLAY LIKE A CHAMPION TODAY sign.

The price tag or a camp may seem a little steep, but i youre a

ootball an, its an experience thatll keep you motivated or years to come.

The package includes our nights o accommodation, all meals, practice gear and other

goodies.Web: und.com

Richard Petty Fantasy Racing Camp

Loco:

University o Notre

Dame, South

Bend, Indiana

D:June 2013

Duro:4 days

Co:$4,495

Loco:

Seattle, Washington

D:August 2013

Duro:3 weeks

Co:$4,200

Loco:

Concord,

North Carolina

D: TBD or 2013

Duro:4 days

Co:$9,500

by having learned stock car

driving techniques known

only to a ew.

The Petty camp begins

with in-class sessions,

but pretty soon youll be

zipping into a fire suit and

helmet and buckling into

the seat o a NASCAR Cup

car and getting personal

instruction rom pros such

as Marcos Ambrose, Randy

LaJoie, Dale Inman and

the man himsel, Richard

Petty. Starting with short-

track driving skills on the

quarter-mile track, youll

graduate to medium-track

driving and then onto a

Happy Hal Hour (30

minutes o riendly compe-

tition) and finally a 30-lap

extravaganza.

The antasy camp also

includes a behind-the-

scenes tour o the Bank

o America 500 race at

Charlotte Motor Speedway

and a prime view o the

race rom some o the best

seats in the house at Turn 1

Condominium.

Space is limited to a lucky

12 participants.

Web: drivepetty.com/

fantasyracingcamp PHoToCoURTESyoFRiCHARDPETTyDRivinGExPERiEnCE(RACinG);APPHoTo/JoERAyMonD(FooTBALL);SHUTTERSToCk

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Loco: Lake

Placid, New York

D: April 2013

Duro:2 days

Co:$2,000

(part o which is

tax deductible)

Access TripsMorocco Surf Safarithrllfcor:Combining the thrill o big

wave surfing with a mountain hike and

cultural tour o Moroccan villages.

Not your typical antasy excursion

camp, this Moroccan surfing adventure

combines exotic travel and cultural

experiences with expert big-wave surfingcoaching. Morocco is home to some o

the best surfing in the world, and this in-

structional tour will take you to all the key

spots, including the amous Anchor Point,

considered one o the top point breaks on

the planet.

Because Morocco is home to a wide

range o breaks, the camp oers coaching

to all levels o surers rom beginner to ex-

pert. All participants receive instruction on

how to track wave patterns, currents and

tides, and how to spot potentially danger-

ous situations. On the water, coaches work

with small groups based on level o ability.

The beginner group learns the oundations

o surfing, including board paddling, duck

diving, controlled wipeouts, fluid stand-

up movements, and ront and backside

turning. The intermediate and advancedprograms ocus on refining your surfing

technique with skills like drop-os, bottom

turns and moving your board rom a slow

section o wave into a ast pocket.

The eight-day trip begins with a relaxing

tour o Marrakesh, but quickly ramps up

to challenge your fitness with three ull

days o surfing action, ollowed by a hike

through ancient Berber villages high in the

Atlas Mountains.

Web: accesstrips.com/sports/

morocco-surf

Loco:Various

locations in Morocco

D: September 2013

Duro:8 days

Co:Starting

at $2,140

USA Luge

Fantasy Campthrllfcor:Reachingspeeds o up to 55 miles per

hour lying on your back on a

small fiberglass sled.

As you hurtle eetfirst down

an ice track at up to 55 miles

per hour (the Olympians hit

closer to 90!), lying on your

back with your head mere

inches rom the ground, youll

eel the adrenaline screaming

within you. You may even eel

like the biggest stud on Earth

when youre upright again. At

the two-day USA Luge FantasyCamp on Whiteace Mountain

at Lake Placid, the site o the

1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic

Games, youll quickly get up

to speed on the astest sport

on ice.

Using the state-o-the-art luge

track that was added to the

site in 2000, youll get lessons

on sled control and saety

rom coach Gordy Sheer, 1998

Olympic silver medalist. Its

probably the easiest and quick-

est way to immerse yoursel in

the sport, Sheer says. Startingyour first run about a third o

the way up the track, youll

progress urther up the track

based on your comort level

and ability, always under close

monitoring rom coaches.

Some campers have pro-

gressed up to the junior start,

about halway up the ull track.

Its plenty quick, Sheer adds.

Youre not used to moving at

that kind o speed. Its sensory

overload or the first ew runs.

Then you start to learn the eel

o the sled.The experts will film your

luge runs to review them with

you to help hone your skills.

Fantasy campers are housed in

the U.S. Olympic Training Cen-

ter, where many top American

Olympians train or a variety

o other sports. You might be

sitting down at the dinner table

with an Olympic gold medalist,

Sheer says.

Web: usaluge.orgSHUTTERSToCk/DAiniSDERiCS

SHUTTERSToCk

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DwyaneWadeFantasy

Campthrllfcor:Lets see how aboutplaying ball with D-Wade himsel?

Dont dream it, bring it. Thats what

Dwyane Wade says in his introduction

letter to the Dwyane Wade Fantasy Camp.

While Michael Jordans Flight School

ocuses on kids, the Dwyane Wade camp

is or big boys only you must be at least

35 years old to get in.

And what do you get or the luxe

$12,500 enrollment ee? Youll experi-

ence the thrill and the challenge o what

its like to play ball at the top level with

some o the biggest names in the NBA.

Flash himsel will be right there interact-

ing with you. Other coaches include Tim

Hardaway, Tom Crean, Buzz Williams,

Jason Williams and Jim Larranaga. Last

year, Miami Heat guard Wade played a

game with the campers, and that alone is

probably worth the price o admission.

Web: dwyanewadefantasycamp.com

Loco: Whis

tler, British Co

lumbia, Canada

D: July 2013

Duro:9 days

Co:$2,508

Momentum Ski Campthrllfcor:Getting bigtime air coming o the halpipe, with stunning

views o the Rocky Mountains.

Mogul lanes, tabletop jumps, rails, a halpipe and two giant airbags those are but a ew

o the reasons you want to consider rockin the slopes o the site o the 2010 Winter Games

at the aptly named Camp Momentum. Coached by Olympic and World Cup skiers in moguls

and slopestyle (a jumping tricks competition in the Winter X Games thatll make its debut as

an Olympic event in 2014), this nine-day camp in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada takes

place on a huge private terrain park atop Blackcomb Mountain. The camp consists o morn-

ing and early aternoon ski instruction on the glacier and aternoon activities in the valley,

plus plenty o evening partying with other skiers rom all around the globe.

Coaches at the 2012 camp included Olympians John Smart, Tami Bradley, Scott Bellavance

in moguls and 2014 Olympic hopeuls Mike Riddle, Matt Margetts and pro skier Rory Bush-

field teaching slopestyle, and organizers say more top-tier talent will be coaching in 2013.

The price includes all lit tickets, six days o coaching with video review, water-ramping and

trampoline practice in the evening and eight nights o accommodation at the spectacular

Blackcomb Lodge in the Olympic Village, as well as round-trip bus are rom Vancouver

airport to Whistler. Web: momentumskicamps.com

Loco:Miami

Beach, Florida

D:August 2013

Duro:4 days

Co:$12,500