Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Garza.
Hi Alexandra, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Interviewee: Alexandra Garza, Ignacio Garza, Ricardo “Rick” Sanchez and Sylvia Sanchez.
Alexandra:
LFG Academy was born out of equal parts vision and necessity. As parents and professionals, we saw firsthand that the traditional education model wasn’t preparing kids for the rapidly changing world — a world where AI, entrepreneurship, and adaptability matter just as much as academics.
I come from a background in law and real estate, and I’ve spent my career building complex projects that start with a blank piece of land and a bold idea. This time, the “project” is generational.
We wanted to create a place where elite academics meet elite athletics — where kids learn to think, build, and lead, not just memorize. When we couldn’t find that model locally, we decided to build it. LFG Academy started as a conversation around our kitchen table, and it grew into a 200-acre vision backed by educators, veterans, athletes, and families who all said, “There has to be a better way.” LFG Academy officially opened its doors in August 2025, welcoming our first group of students into this groundbreaking model.
Today, that vision has taken shape as a world-class academy offering a groundbreaking AI-powered academic model, a Special Forces–inspired life-skills curriculum, and pro-level athletic development. Our AI platform recognizes learning and concept patterns in students, allowing them to learn up to 2.5x faster — reflected in our most recent MAP test results.
Our proof is in the students. Kids who started the year behind academically caught up within months — some moving from struggling to excelling in a matter of weeks. They’re not just improving; they’re mastering their grade level, building confidence, and finally experiencing what learning should feel like.
Students complete all academics in a two-hour academic block, broken into 30-minute sprints with 10-minute resets. There is no homework — because learning is individualized, efficient, and mastery-based.
And at the heart of our student experience is our Guide, Dakota Anderson, who leads students through their academic schedules and life-skills development each day. Dakota helps them set intentions, build leadership habits, and practice emotional intelligence, teamwork, independence, and grit in real time.
These daily micro-lessons — from problem-solving to communication to how to navigate challenges — are where the transformation happens.
Ignacio:
From my 28 years in the U.S. Army — including more than a decade in Special Operations — I learned that real leadership is built, not born. It’s forged through discipline, emotional control, resilience, and teamwork. Those principles are infused into everything we teach at LFG.
We’re preparing students not just to succeed — but to stay composed in adversity, to adapt when plans change, and to lead with confidence and integrity.
Our athletic program is just as intentional. Under former Dallas Cowboys player Victor Butler, students learn how nutrition, sleep, recovery, mindset, and daily habits impact athletic and personal performance. Students train inside our 5,000-square-foot Spartan Sports Performance Center, which will soon be open for community sports training and specialty sessions.
Whether they go on to be athletes, entrepreneurs, or innovators, the ability to stay resilient, self-aware, and focused is a transferable life skill they’ll use forever.
Rick:
When Ignacio and I were looking for land for the performance center — while watching our kids play at a water park — we said, “Why not build a school too?” From there, it took on a life of its own.
Having served on school boards for years, I’ve watched how slowly the system moves. Meanwhile, kids desperately need entrepreneurship, critical thinking, teamwork, and financial literacy to survive in the real world.
LFG Academy bridges that gap. It gives kids what the traditional system doesn’t:
• Independence
• Leadership
• Resilience
• A strong work ethic
• Life skills they will actually use
We’re not just teaching them subjects — we’re preparing them for life.
Sylvia:
I’ve spent my career helping organizations grow by investing in people, and that philosophy carries directly into LFG. Everything we do centers on developing the whole child: academically, emotionally, and physically.
Our life-skills curriculum is taught through activities such as training and running a Spartan race, typing, starting a business and learning how to operate it, learning how to give and receive feedback, cooking, swimming, resume creation, job interviews, budgeting, to name a few. The curriculum is customized for each student at the time of acceptance.
We want kids to understand not just how to succeed — but how to handle failure, how to adapt, how to communicate, and how to step into who they are meant to be.
We’ll also offer summer camps that bring all these elements together — AI academics, athletics, leadership, and mindset — giving even more students access to what makes LFG special.
Quotes to Highlight:
Alexandra: “We didn’t wait for someone else to build the future we wanted for our kids — we built it ourselves.”
Ignacio: “We’re not raising followers. We’re raising leaders with the mindset and grit to face anything.”
Rick: “Kids don’t just need academics — they need independence, resilience, and real-world skills. That’s what LFG delivers.”
Sylvia: “When students learn who they are, they stop doubting and start leading — that’s where transformation begins.”
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Alexandra:
It’s been a journey of persistence, faith, and constant problem-solving. Transformational ideas rarely have smooth paths, and building a school that blends AI, athletics, and life-skills training came with unavoidable challenges.
But every setback sharpened the vision and strengthened the mission.
Ignacio:
In Special Forces, there’s a saying: “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” That mindset continues to carry us through.
We learned to pivot, adapt, and stay mission-focused. The goal never changed — our strategy just improved.
Rick:
When a project impacts future generations, the stakes are high. Whether it was zoning, financing, timelines, or construction hurdles — every challenge reminded us that worthwhile things take time.
Sylvia:
Every moment of uncertainty pushed us to realign with our purpose. We prayed, we problem-solved, we persevered.
And every time, the right people, answers, or opportunities showed up exactly when we needed them.
Quotes to Highlight:
Alexandra: “Purpose-driven work isn’t supposed to be easy — it’s supposed to elevate you.”
Ignacio: “We stayed calm in the chaos, because leadership requires it.”
Rick: “We kept going even when the path was unclear — because the mission mattered.”
Sylvia: “Setbacks weren’t signs to stop. They were signs to deepen our faith.”
We’ve been impressed with LFG Academy, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Alexandra
LFG Academy is a first-of-its-kind private school where AI-powered academics, elite athletics, and life-skills development come together under one mission: to create the next generation of leaders. We don’t believe in the traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach to education. Instead, we’ve built an environment where students learn at the pace of their potential — not the pace of a classroom.
Our AI academic model personalizes every lesson to each child’s learning pattern, allowing them to learn 2.5x faster than in traditional schools. In just the first few months after opening in August 2025, students who started the year behind in academics caught up completely — and many are already on track to master their entire grade level.
But academics are just one piece. We also specialize in a Special Forces–inspired life-skills curriculum focused on:
Leadership
Teamwork
Independence
Emotional intelligence
Financial literacy
Entrepreneurship
Grit and resilience
These are the skills that shape confident, capable human beings — skills traditional schools rarely teach.
Ignacio:
Athletically, we operate more like a youth performance institute than a school. Under the leadership of our Athletic Director, our students receive professional-level coaching in mindset, nutrition, injury prevention, strength, agility, and sport-specific performance.
Our 5,000-square-foot performance center gives students access to state of the art technology and the kind of training and recovery usually reserved for college and pro athletes — and we’ll soon be opening it to the public for sport-specific bookings, camps, and specialty sessions.
We are known for creating mentally tough, self-aware, physically capable kids who know how to handle challenge, pressure, and competition — both in sports and in life.
Rick:
What sets us apart is simple: we’re building leaders, not just students.
We combine cutting-edge technology with timeless values. We integrate financial literacy with academics. We fuse elite-level athletic training with character development. We give kids real-world experiences like public speaking engagements, entrepreneurship labs, community leadership opportunities, and business mentorship.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud that families tell us the same thing over and over again:
“Our kids are happier, more confident, and more capable than we’ve ever seen them.”
That’s the brand. Positive transformation. Real growth. Results you can see at home, not just on a report card.
Sylvia:
What I want readers to know is that LFG Academy is more than a school — it’s a community. A place where kids are known, supported, challenged, and celebrated.
Our students are led daily by our Guide, Dakota Anderson, who helps them build emotional intelligence, set goals, practice leadership moments, and develop independence. It’s the kind of attention and mentorship you simply can’t get in traditional classrooms.
We also offer summer camps, leadership intensives, community athletic programs, and future plans for a 200-acre campus that will house academic facilities, athletic complexes, equestrian programs, and year-round development opportunities.
Our brand stands for excellence, resilience, innovation, and integrity — and every part of our model reflects that.
What matters most to you? Why?
Alexandra:
Legacy — not in buildings, but in people.
We want a generation of kids who know how to think deeply, lead boldly, communicate clearly, and solve problems with creativity and grit.
Our Guide, Dakota, plays a huge role in this. He leads students through daily reflection, goal-setting, independence-building, and emotional intelligence — the life skills that matter far beyond childhood.
We believe children thrive when they feel accepted, challenged, and free to explore who they are. Our model is designed so students spend most of their day outdoors, engaged in activities that push them to think, move, lead, and discover their natural gifts.
Ignacio:
Character and resilience.
I want our students to walk into the world prepared — mentally strong, emotionally intelligent, and capable of leading under pressure.
Rick:
Impact.
If our students leave LFG ready to build businesses, manage money, take responsibility for their choices, and overcome adversity — we’ve succeeded.
Sylvia:
Transformation.
Watching a child go from uncertain to confident, from shy to capable, from dependent to independent — that’s the heart of what we do.
Quotes to Highlight:
Alexandra: “We’re building future leaders with courage, discipline, emotional intelligence — and the grit to rise to any challenge.”
Ignacio: “You can teach skill — but you cannot teach purpose. You cultivate it.”
Rick: “Legacy is who we equip, not what we leave behind.”
Sylvia: “Confidence grows when kids discover who they truly are — that’s when learning becomes life-changing.”
Pricing:
- Pricing is custom based on the student and their activities. Please contact us for a quote
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lfgacademy.org
- Instagram: @lfgacademytx
Image Credits
Matthew Hoover for some of the photos
Lauren Hilty for some of the photos
Ignacio Garza for some of the photos
