In the past, the thinking was that you only had to practice sports-specific work off of the field to improve performance on it. That includes working on drills such as passing, shooting, tackling, swinging, etc., as well offensive and defensive strategies.

As far as athleticism, you were either had it or not. No amount of coaching or training was going to get you any faster or quicker…but the coaches’ game plans and strategy sessions were what were going to make you successful on the field. And forget about working on getting stronger, because that was just going to slow you down. Focused sessions on improving an athlete’s skills were thought to tire them quicker or lead them to injury.

However, over the last 30 years or so, coaches and trainers started realizing that the opposite was true. The mindset of these individuals began to evolve and they realized that what they were doing simply was not enough.

This is where sports performance training (SPT) was born. The main objective of SPT is to improve an athlete’s overall athletic foundation and apply it on the field. Over the past 20 years, more and more teams, trainers, and coaches now design training programs in order to just that. They set aside specific time to have their athletes work on core skills, such as speed, quickness and strength, then move on to a typical sports specific practice routine.

Today, this is the exception and not the rule when comes to preparing physically for the big match, game, or meet. But this is not just for the elite athletes or teams out there…it is for everyone. There are 73 million individuals in the United States alone who actively participate in athletic training, 35 million of which are youth under age 14. By 2020, the number of youth between ages 5-17 is expected to balloon to 84 million! For better or worse, the reality is that engaging in some sort of sports performance training is a prerequisite of all athletes, no matter the skill level.

In this $4.1 billion industry, what was once the domain of independent outlets and non-profits is now becoming part of the fabric of the corporate fitness industry. Competitors like Gold’s Gym, Parisi Speed School, and Velocity Sports Performance vie for large portions of the space in this market, while smaller, boutique gyms and fitness studios continue to pop up and grab their share of the sports performance wave. All of these companies have their different philosophies and differences, but they do share one thing in common. They realize the need of this specialized training and recognize the demand.

From historical roots in bodybuilding and physique, to performance and lifestyle, this fitness segment is constantly reinventing itself and has integrated itself into the cultural mainstream. One cannot travel too far from home to see another gym, training center, jogger or bicyclist—not simply for physical fitness but for enhancing quality of life. It’s to this ideal, therefore, that USIndoor is devoted.

While theories and techniques abound on the best ways to achieve elite athletic stature, it’s the business side where USIndoor’s expertise and community of sport and fitness centers reside, forming our inextricable connection and purpose to the sports performance community. It is our goal to bring you cutting information on the training and business opportunities that SPT can provide, so you can stay up to date on this growing segment of the fitness industry. If you are not taking advantage of the business opportunities of sports performance training, chances are your competitors are. So keep checking this area of our site to ensure your facility is offering what more and more of your customers are looking for…groundbreaking, cutting edge training that can be a differentiator for your business.