SPIRE Academy provides an environment for student athletes of all skill levels that enables them to meet and exceed goals within their sport, excel academically, master life’s necessary personal skills, and access emerging career opportunities. To that end, SPIRE has assembled a broad-based support network for its student athletes that includes coaches, trainers, house parents, teachers, health and wellness partners and high-performing professional athletes that serve as “Ambassadors”.

SPIRE Ambassadors play a key role in the development of the Academy’s student athletes, occasionally working one-on-one with SPIRE’s athletes to help them enhance their personal performance, improve athletic ability and gain a competitive advantage. In addition to this mentoring, SPIRE Ambassadors work with the Academy’s integrated team to help develop the innovative, leading-edge programming only available through SPIRE Academy. They also offer their insights to SPIRE’s coaches and performance training staff to perfect a program of exceptional coaching, reporting, testing and assessment for every Academy athlete to ensure they are ready to perform at the next level.

SPIRE’s corps of Ambassadors includes 12-time Olympic medalist and swimming world record holder Ryan Lochte, two-time Olympian and three-time gold medalist in track and field Tianna Bartoletta and three-time Olympian, Olympic team captain and swimmer Elizabeth Beisel. Last week, American freestyle and butterfly sprint swimmer Caeleb Dressel committed to supporting and mentoring SPIRE’s student athletes along with Lochte, Bartoletta and Beisel. Dressel, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and 13-time World Champion, is well known not only for his impressive achievements in the pool, but also for his work ethic, sportsmanship and focus.

Dressel says, “I am excited to join the work SPIRE is doing for athletes all over the world, and I’m especially honored to work with these other great Ambassadors in helping to mentor and provide programming direction for the swimming Academy. The opportunity to work with student athletes, as well as top-notch coaching staff, checks a major box for me and I’m ready to get started!”

A former student at Clay High School in Green Cove Springs, Florida, Dressel trained with The Bolles School, a private college preparatory day and boarding academy in Jacksonville with a reputation for swimming excellence. A former Junior World Champion, NCAA All-American and multi-time National Age Group Record Holder, Dressel won seven gold medals at the 2017 World Championships, tying Michael Phelps for the most won at a world championship meet.

At the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Dressel surpassed his previous record, winning eight medals at a single swimming world championship. For the second time in his career, the 24-year-old University of Florida graduate won three gold medals in one night, shaving 0.32 seconds off Michael Phelps’s world record in the 100m butterfly. He is one of four children, all competitive swimmers. His interests include boating, wake boarding and being outdoors.

SPIRE is under new ownership/leadership, after having been purchased in December 2019 by Axxella, LLC, a Baltimore, Maryland-based investment firm owned by Blue Ocean.

“Caeleb is a champion of a person and a champion swimmer, and we’re really excited to see him hands-on with our student athletes, sharing his passion and drive for the sport while remaining dedicated to personal growth,” said Blue Ocean President and CEO Jonathan Ehrenfeld. “We are humbled to have him as a SPIRE Ambassador and look forward to seeing his continued growth and success with SPIRE for years to come.”