Key Takeaways
- SPIRE Academy’s national basketball team will play four games against professional international teams during a 10-day October tour of Rome and Barcelona
- Legendary coach Kevin Boyle, who secured four NBA first-round draft picks in 2025 alone, leads the tour and SPIRE’s inaugural Nike EYBL Scholastic League season
- Global Sports & Events designed the itinerary to combine elite competition with cultural visits to sites including the Vatican, Colosseum, and Sagrada Família
- The partnership extends GSE’s three decades of Division I international tournament experience to the high school level
- SPIRE Academy operates on 800+ acres in Northeast Ohio with more than 850,000 square feet of indoor athletic facilities
Bringing Division I Tournament Models to High School Athletes
Global Sports & Events (GSE) and SPIRE Academy announced a 10-day international basketball tour for SPIRE’s national high school team this October. The trip marks the first time GSE has applied its Division I tournament model to a high school academy program.
SPIRE’s team will compete in four games against professional international teams across Rome and Barcelona. GSE has coordinated similar experiences for collegiate programs for over 30 years, building a reputation for combining high-level competition with educational programming.
Sean McShane, Partner of Business Development at GSE, said the partnership with SPIRE represents a natural expansion of the company’s existing work. “Together, our missions center on shaping athletes who grow just as much off the court as they do on it,” McShane stated in the announcement.
Kevin Boyle’s Return to High School Coaching
SPIRE Academy hired Kevin Boyle in March 2025 as Director of Basketball and National High School Head Coach. Boyle has accumulated eight national championships during his coaching career and has coached more than 25 players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
Four of Boyle’s players were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. He will lead SPIRE’s inaugural season in the Nike EYBL Scholastic League, a circuit featuring prospects headed to Division I programs and professional leagues.
“International travel and competition at this level are rare for high school players,” Boyle said. “It’s an incredible opportunity for our team to build chemistry, gain experience, and develop as people.”
The tour occurs during the lead-up to SPIRE’s first season in the EYBL Scholastic League, one of the most competitive high school basketball circuits in the United States.
Cultural Programming Alongside Competition
The 10-day itinerary balances athletic competition with visits to historical and cultural sites. In Rome, the team will visit the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, and the Pantheon. In Barcelona, programming includes tours of FC Barcelona’s Spotify Camp Nou stadium and the Basílica de la Sagrada Família.
GSE structures its international experiences to expand student-athletes’ perspectives beyond competition. The company specializes in coordinating logistics, competition schedules, and educational programming for athletic organizations traveling internationally.
Steve Sanders, CEO of SPIRE Academy, said the tour aligns with the school’s approach to student development. “This trip aligns with our commitment to preparing students for college while creating meaningful opportunities for personal growth,” Sanders stated.
Strategic Positioning in Youth Basketball
SPIRE Academy operates as an international boarding school and athletic training facility on more than 800 acres in Northeast Ohio. The campus includes over 850,000 square feet of indoor space and hosts full-time academy students, performance camps, club teams, and national events.
The school positions itself as an integrated system rather than a traditional prep school model, coordinating academic scheduling, athletic training, recovery protocols, and residential life around high-level competition.
The partnership with GSE provides SPIRE with access to international competition typically reserved for college programs. For GSE, the collaboration opens a market segment below Division I athletics while maintaining the company’s operational model.
Both organizations draw student-athletes from international markets. SPIRE’s full-time academy and camp programs attract participants from multiple countries, while GSE’s global network spans three decades of international sports event coordination.
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