About Academy 48
Where Flexible Schedules Meet Championship Dreams—Balancing Elite Training, Academic Excellence, and Family Time.
Our Mission
Academy 48 empowers student-athletes through a world-class academic and athletic program. By providing a unique, structured environment that integrates practices, games, and studies, we eliminate the need for late-night practices and time-consuming commutes, creating athlete life balance.
Pillars of Success
Athlete-Life Balance
We believe family is the heart and foundation of our student-athletes’ lives. Late-night practices and long commutes rob families of precious time—which is why we reject them. Everything we do revolves around building balance, with family at its core.
Prepared to Win
We don’t just train champions—we build leaders. At Academy 48, education and athletics go far beyond “core” principles. We prepare students to win on the field, in the classroom, and in life through intentional character development.
The Academy 48 Story: Where Passion for Sports Meets Athlete Life Balance
Academy 48 began as a simple P.E. program for homeschooling families—a grassroots effort to keep kids active and connected. It was an introduction to an alternative to the traditional education system.
At the same time Coach Steve was coaching club soccer and middle school baseball. During this time he noticed something powerful: when athletes played school sports, their grades soared, their confidence grew, and they actually loved showing up to class.
But here’s the twist—traditional schools weren’t built for today’s youth sports programs. After pitching district administrators, principals, and athletic directors to blend club-level training and teams with school life, and striking out, Coach Steve said, “Fine, we’ll build it ourselves.”
Cue Academy 48.
Starting with a homeschool baseball cohort, we paired online academics with daytime training—giving families their evenings back, building teams that flourished, and an alternative to the daily athletic grind. Fast-forward a year, the demand exploded. Elite coaches flocked to us, eager to rewrite the playbook on youth sports.
Now, we’re a micro-school for athletes, offering traditional students a stress-free alternative to the “always-on” athlete lifestyle.
Our mission? Athlete-life balance.
Our Staff
Coach Steve – Head Coach
“My favorite people call me coach.”
As a former 4-sport athlete, growing up sports were everything. While I have 2 master’s degrees, I credit all my success as an adult to my times on the court, the field, or the pitch learning how to work with others, lead teams, work hard, and learn from failure.
I worked in K12 for nearly 10 years seeing the struggle of students in the current schooling system. Learning to memorize for tests and exams, the real-world skills were a second thought. As I started to coach school sports, I saw the impact school sports have on young individuals.
A few attempts at building high school programs, the right way failed because of red tape and a lack of district understanding, I decided to build a microschool to help educate and train my favorite students, athletes.
Moving into year 2, I have seen many sports academies popping up as the next evolution of “travel baseball.” My belief is this is not solving the real issue in education, just expanding on the hope and dreams of families for their kids to play D1 at a price point only a few can afford.
Academy 48 will be the only tuition-free academic focused sports academy in Arizona.
Roman Pena – Baseball Head Coach
Drafted at the age of 18 by the Cleveland Indians in 2005, he quickly made a name for himself as a power-hitting outfielder. Over seven thrilling years in the minors with the Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers, he showed that hard work and passion truly pay off.
After his minor league career Coach Roman took his talents to the Mexican League—where he not only dazzled as an outfielder but also sharpened his skills as a pitcher—before wrapping up his professional career in 2022.
Now, Coach Roman is all about giving back. He’s at the helm of multiple travel and school teams. His mission? To unlock each kid’s potential and make baseball fun and accessible. With his real-world pro experience and infectious enthusiasm, Coach Roman builds confidence, teaches solid fundamentals, and transforms raw talent.