Grind Session · SIAA · Grades 9–12
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Three team levels. A schedule that includes IMG, Montverde and Hamilton Heights. And athletes who sign — to Division I, to Iona, to FIU, to junior college programs that send players up.
3
Team levels
Varsity National, Varsity Regional and Junior National — so every athlete has a level that fits and one to climb toward.
40+
Scholarship placements
Student-athletes placed in college on scholarship over our head coach’s career.
6
College commitments
Recent signing classes — Division I and junior college. VERIFY COUNT AND CLASS YEARS.
2024
Grind Session All-Star head coach
Our director of girls basketball was selected to lead the Grind Session All-Star team.
The program
WE PLAY THE BEST GIRLS PROGRAMS IN AMERICA
IMG Academy. Montverde. Hamilton Heights. AZ Compass. Bella Vista Prep. Winston-Salem Christian. Those are not aspirational names on a wish list — they are opponents on our girls schedule, home and away.
Athletes train and compete on a full school-year calendar while carrying a college-preparatory course load, including dual enrollment. Nobody here chooses between the classroom and the gym. The academic day, the practice plan, the travel schedule and the recruiting calendar are built as one thing.
Three team levels mean a ninth-grader and a senior are both in the right gym, on the right night, in front of the right coaches.
Three team levels
FIND THE LEVEL. THEN OUTGROW IT.
Flagship · Grades 11–12
Varsity National
Our national team plays the top girls prep programs in the country, with national showcases and tournaments built into the calendar for maximum exposure.
Grind Session member · SIAA affiliate · National showcase circuit
Grades 10–12
Varsity Regional
Full varsity competition against regional and national programs, plus regional and national tournaments and showcases — with the same practice standard as the national team.
SIAA competition · Regional and national tournaments
Grades 9–10
Junior National
Built to prepare underclassmen for varsity and national selection, against high-level junior varsity and varsity opposition — and competing in regional and national events from year one.
SIAA affiliate · Promotion pathway
Coaching staff
FORTY GIRLS INTO COLLEGE ON SCHOLARSHIP
Our girls program is run by one person with one job: get these athletes to the next level with a scholarship in hand. He has done it more than forty times.
Carlos Figueroa
Director of Girls Basketball and Head Coach
Has helped more than forty student-athletes reach college on scholarship.
Head coach of the Grind Session Girls All-Star team, 2024
SIAA Regional Coach of the Year, 2020–21
Florida Christian League middle school champions, 2022
Runner-up, Liga Puertorriqueña, 2019
Runner-up, Liga Atlética Interuniversitaria, 2012
Two years as athletic director at a private high school
Eight years as a professional basketball player
Season schedule — VERIFY SEASON YEAR
THE SCHEDULE IS THE RÉSUMÉ
Five states and Washington, D.C. IMG home and away. Montverde. Hamilton Heights. AZ Compass. Winston-Salem Christian. The She Got Game Classic in D.C. and a World Championship in Chicago. This is what a national girls program's calendar actually looks like.
ORLANDO — HOME
IMG Academy
TPLS Christian Academy
DME Academy Post-Grad
SEPA
New Sports — Brazil
FLORIDA — AWAY
IMG Academy
Dr. Phillips High School
Cardinal Mooney Catholic
Downey Christian
DME Academy
SEPA
DAYTONA BEACH, FL
Dream City Christian
Elite Prep
Recruiting Booster — VERIFY
One further opponent — VERIFY
ATLANTA, GA
Hamilton Heights Academy
Christian Academy of Knoxville
AZ Compass Prep
WASHINGTON, D.C.
She Got Game Classic
Atlantic Academy
WINSTON-SALEM, NC
Winston-Salem Christian
Bella Vista Prep
Bond Academy
CENTRAL FLORIDA — NEUTRAL
Montverde Academy
The Rock Academy — Gainesville
CHICAGO, IL
Fort Erie
One further opponent — VERIFY
CHICAGO, IL — GRIND SESSION WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AND ALL-STAR FESTIVAL
Opponents and dates are confirmed each August. All games are streamed and filmed for recruiting distribution.
Where they go next
THEY COMMIT
Our girls sign. Not offered, not in conversation with — signed, with a scholarship, at named institutions.
COMMITTED
Ndeye Astou
Florida International University — VERIFY
Johanna Flores
Iona University
Dunja Miletic — VERIFY SPELLING
Monroe College
Constanza Aravena
Miami Dade College
COMMITTED, CONTINUED
Valentina Gonzalo — VERIFY NAME
Eastern Florida State College
Catalina — VERIFY FULL NAME
5’6″ point guard, Chile — VERIFY SCHOOL
Meredith Venner
Offered: Florida Atlantic · Pittsburgh — VERIFY
Add class year, position and height for every athlete before publishing.
The training week
FOUR DISCIPLINES, EVERY DAY
Team practice. College-level practice structure and volume, run by the staff that coaches the games.
Skill development. Position-specific individual work outside team sessions, on Dr. Dish machines and with coaches.
Strength and conditioning. Physical development staff, a full fitness center, and a program built around injury prevention as much as output.
Film and recovery. Individual and team film. Cryotherapy, compression and massage available by reservation with training staff.
Travel, hotels and tournament lodging for the out-of-state schedule are included in the boarding program — not billed back to families mid-season.
Equipment and support
Dr. Dish shooting machines
VertiMax resistance training
Raptor training system
FitLights reaction training
Full game streaming
Academy gear package
Recruiting evaluations and scout reports
In-house photo, video and social team
Campus and housing
WHERE THEY TRAIN. WHERE THEY LIVE.
A regulation court, a full fitness center, classrooms and a computer lab on one Orlando campus — plus supervised residential homes minutes away, with scheduled transport between them.
A HOME, NOT A DORM
Boarding athletes live in supervised residential homes in East Orlando — full kitchens, living space, outdoor space — rather than in institutional dormitories. For a fifteen-year-old moving from Santiago or São Paulo, that difference matters.
Vans run scheduled routes between housing and campus for classes, practice and travel departures. Meals are chef-catered, three per day, Monday through Friday.
Academics
THE HALF OF THIS THAT DECIDES THEIR LIFE
Every basketball athlete here is enrolled in our full-time college-preparatory high school. Not a partner school. Not an online correspondence program bolted onto a training academy.
The curriculum carries dual enrollment for college credit before graduation, and applied electives in sports management, financial education and social media management — built for athletes who will negotiate, brand and budget for themselves.
NCAA eligibility is tracked from grade nine, and our athletes graduate with the core-course record college coaches need to see.
Tuition — CONFIRM ACADEMIC YEAR
PUBLISHED, NOT QUOTED ON REQUEST
Families comparing academies are comparing numbers. We publish ours.
Boarding · Domestic and international
$59,450
USD, full academic year
Tuition, college-prep academics and dual enrollment
Supervised residential housing
Chef-catered meals, three per day, Monday to Friday
Daily transportation between housing and campus
Full basketball program and gear package
Tournament travel and lodging
Commuter · Central Florida families
$26,450
USD, full academic year
Tuition, college-prep academics and dual enrollment
Full basketball program and gear package
Tournament travel and lodging
Admissions · CONFIRM ACADEMIC YEAR
ROSTERS CLOSE BEFORE THE SEASON DOES
Applications for the girls basketball program are reviewed on a rolling basis. Evaluation film and transcripts can be submitted with your application.
Or reach the girls basketball staff at info@theacademycfl.com · 1865 N Econlockhatchee Trail, Orlando, FL 32817