BUSINESS FEATURE
BY DANIEL WEEKS
Kids participating at GSA will experience a range of athletic and educational activities.
COURTESY GIFTED SCHOLAR ATHLETES OF AMERICA
GIFTED SCHOLAR ATHLETES OF AMERICA SUMMER CAMP GSA o ers a series of summer camps at the Ankle Breaker Gym. Registration is available on the organization’s o cial website. Dates: June 5-July 28 Time: 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
Laone Taylor is the co-founder and chief operating o cer of Gifted Scholar Athletes of America, founded in 2016.
Gifted Scholar Athletes of America is headquartered at the Ankle Breaker Gym, where daily practices and large-scale tournaments are held.
DANIEL WEEKS COMMUNITY IMPACT
COURTESY GIFTED SCHOLAR ATHLETES OF AMERICA
Gifted Scholar Athletes of America Pearland-based basketball gym inspires excellence in academics and athletics G ifted Scholar Athletes of America was not always an organization based at an a seventh-grade team on April 6 traveled to Anaheim, California, for a competition. “My son was like, ‘The competi- tion is going to be so high that we’re going to be breaking their ankles!’” Laone said. GSA currently hosts 19 di erent
Cost: $150
Gifted Scholar Athletes of America 14724 Almeda School Drive, Houston 281-703-0880 www.iamathletics.org Hours: 6 a.m.-11 p.m. daily
expansive gymnasium with hun- dreds of attendees; Laone Taylor, co-founder with husband James Taylor, or Coach James, said the business has come a long way since its humble start in 2016. “We actually started o at the Pearland Independence Park with ve kids,” Laone said. Now, GSA, with almost 250 kids playing basketball, hosts daily practice, tournaments and other events that bring children from across the country, including teams traveling from other cities in Texas, Arkansas and Georgia. Laone said
Laone, who grew up in Botswana and is the chief operating o cer for GSA, said hard work and sacri ce brought the business to where it is today. GSA moved operations into a new location in 2021 when the owner of a struggling sh processing plant gave Laone and James the space to be repurposed as a basketball facility. The space, called Ankle Breaker Gym, got its name from Laone’s son, in reference to a move in basketball where a player outmaneuvers another, breaking through a defen- sive line or causing a defending player to brie y lose their balance.
basketball teams across a variety of ages, mainly elementary school-age children. Laone said she hopes participating kids do not lose sight of their educa- tion goals. The organization o ers tutoring and mentoring services in various subjects on top of the collaborative basketball programs. “For us, it is bigger than basket- ball,” Laone said. “It’s also about molding that character … We want them to be the next leaders when they are done with us.”
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PEARLAND FRIENDSWOOD EDITION • APRIL 2023
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