Pro Performance

Velocity gyms offer serious training for athletes of all ages

(Wednesday, March 31, 2004) - Forget sending your kid to the local recreation center or YMCA; Velocity Sports Performance gyms aim to give your child professional-level sports training.

So far, it seems parents - always looking for an athletic edge for their child - are willing to pay. So are professional football players and even individuals. Two Velocity Sports facilities opened in Highlands Ranch and Centennial in November, with another to come online in Broomfield this spring or summer. The gyms join 14 others across the country and more than 70 now in the works.

The Atlanta-based chain was co-founded in 1999 by former Olympic track and field coach Loren Seagrave.

Richard Plumery, the business director and owner of the facility in Centennial, says interest in the gym, located in a nondescript business park, was immediate. About 400 athletes use the facility. Of them, 70 percent are ages 8 to 18.

"This gives kids professional training at early ages," Plumery said. "Sports are competitive now. Dads can't play with kids in the back yard anymore. They're working."

Parents are kept behind glass at Velocity, limited to a row of seats where they can watch - but not interfere - as their children work out in the 20,000-square-foot gym with its 32-foot ceiling.

On a recent visit to the Centennial gym, rap music was blasting as two women - one with a baby awaiting her on a blanket - worked out with personal trainers. They danced across the mats in energetic bursts, lifted weights and stretched.

More typical, though, would be a group of six or fewer young athletes doing a 1 1/2-hour workout guided by a certified and degreed coach.

The facility features 32 yards of turf, a middle school-size basketball court, a volleyball court, a 60-yard track with electronic timing, a weight area and "weight balls" that can be hurled against a wall.

Velocity Sports Performance differs from a health club in some essential ways: Health clubs target strength-building by focusing on large muscles, while Velocity emphasizes small muscle groups and efficient, "explosive" movements, Plumery said.

"This is not a treadmill," Plumery said. "This is movement. Strength through a range of motion."

Velocity coach Loren Lando, a trainer for many high-level athletes in the metro area, came to Velocity from an area athletic club. He describes Velocity as a "one-stop shop" for motivated athletes.

Sixteen-year-old Lauren Miller, a varsity field hockey and tennis player at Kent Denver School, followed Lando to Velocity. She'll soon travel to Holland to play field hockey on the future elite team. She's curious to see how her workouts at Velocity Sports have improved her game.

She said she enjoys the fact that she can get training either individually or in a group. She likes being "with athletes as good as you or better."

"It's an opportunity to push yourself," Miller said.

Greg Critchett, Cherry Creek High School's football coach, enrolled some of his student athletes at Velocity Sports with parents footing the bill. The students go to Velocity Sports twice a week. Critchett said the gyms at Cherry Creek High are often full.

"As a coach, you want to find every resource you can find," Critchett said.

Young people also get an opportunity to work out alongside great athletes, including young men participating in the NFL draft.

Plumery tracked the improvements of a group of 16 players at the NFL Scouting Combine, held in Indianapolis. One unnamed wide receiver ranked second-highest of all the 330 combine players in the vertical jump after improving nearly 10 percent in his jump at Velocity, to 41 inches from 37. The same player was tops in the broad jump after improving nearly 7 percent at Velocity Sports Performance, Plumery said.

In fact, Velocity Sports Performance guarantees results for clients enrolled in the top-tier program, which involves 24 sessions. If goals aren't met, the client gets eight more sessions at no cost.

Plumery says the prices are "affordable" for professional-level training.

The cost for 8- to 11-year-olds ranges from $500 to $650, and go up to $995 for 12- to 18-year-olds. Team group rates range from $12 to $20 per session with a minimum of 12 sessions.

Four months after opening, the Centennial Velocity hasn't recouped its capital investment - the facilities cost $500,000 to $750,000 to open - but Plumery said it won't be long before that happens. And the franchise broke even operationally in its first month, he said.

"You can make money in a lot of businesses, but not often in something that affects people like this," he said.

Velocity Sports Performance
• Business: Professional sports training - a "one-stop shop" for motivated athletes
• When: Atlanta-based chain founded in 1999 by Loren Seagrave; opened in Colorado in November 2003
• Where: Gyms in Highlands Ranch and Centennial, among 16 nationwide
• Cost: For 8- to 11-year-olds, from $500 to $650; for 12- to 18-year-olds, up to $995. Team group rates range from $12 to $20 per session with a minimum of 12 sessions.
• Web site: www.velocitysp.com

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