Fitness for kids used to mean running around outside, shooting hoops with friends or joining a club or school team. But today, a market for individualized athletic training is reaching kids as young as seven years old.
Brailey Morrow is a 14-year-old rising high school freshman with dreams of earning a scholarship to play soccer in college. After a knee injury, Morrow went to D1 Training, a membership-based fitness company that offers group classes and individualized training with a focus on developing youth athletic skills.
“My confidence has built back up, and I am stronger, too,” Morrow said of her experience with D1 Training. “I was able to last longer [in soccer].”
D1′s new Denton facility opened this month and joins 21 other locations in Texas and more than 85 open facilities total. The company, founded in 2001 in Franklin, Tenn., is expanding, with more than 200 additional locations in different stages of development, according to a statement.
According to a 2022 report by Allied Market Research, the market size of sports training is estimated to reach $18.85 billion by 2031. The analysis found that in the sports training market, which includes companies that get athletes ready for their best performance, training for soccer had the highest market share, and North America was the highest revenue contributor. The market segment of sports training for kids is expected grow at a rate of 6.2% from 2022 to 2031.
Bob Heere, a professor of sport entertainment management at the University of North Texas, sees two factors coming together in the market for youth athletic training.
First is a push for improved athletic performance in an increasingly competitive sports environment. Second is the fitness center industry’s goal to diversify its programs and market to younger customers.
Add on the population and economic growth of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and Heere sees an opportunity for training concepts to expand.
“Youth sports [are] extremely competitive, everybody’s looking for an edge,” Heere said. “It’s all about performance. They’re always looking for new things to add to the program to make the kids better … athletic training is now part of that.”
The growing market is not an indication that more youth are involved in sports, Heere said. In Texas, less than half of kids ages 6-17 participated in a sports team or lesson in the past year, according to a 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health.
“Youth sports is not growing. In fact, participation overall is declining,” Heere said. “But what we see is a stronger focus on performance within youth sports … Kids that stay in sports, that can afford to stay in sports have all these extra amenities and extra programming to make them the best they [can] be.”
D1 Training seeks to develop young athletes, but has programs for people of all ages and athletic backgrounds, including for professional and college athletes.
Their programs include a “rookie” level for ages 7-11, a “developmental” level for ages 12-14, “prep” level for ages 15-18 and “D1 Adult” for those over 18. The facility has a viewing bar for parents to watch their kids train, a 20-yard turf and weight room for strength and conditioning.
Abhishek Srivastava and Nikita Patel, the owners of the new Denton location, said trainers work with each individual to set goals and monitor their progress, recording and comparing metrics such as speed, weight-lifting ability and vertical jump. Patel also said their programs focus on training correctly to reduce injury risk.
“It’s not like just walking into a gym and doing your workout and going back. Our coaches know each person’s individual goals,” Patel said. “Improvement is tracked on a regular basis. They do individual goal-setting and regular check-ins with each athlete, whether it’s to improve their fitness or improve in a sport.”
Brailey’s mom, Brittani Morrow, said athletic training wasn’t as popular when she was in school for kids not involved in athletic programs.
“When I was growing up, we were playing outside all the time,” the 34-year-old mom said. “So all these athletic places and other facilities opening up to help kids chase their dreams — I think it’s awesome.”
Morrow said she pays $180 a week for two sessions with a coach.
But D1 is not the only fitness company marketing to younger athletes, and Brailey has several teammates who also have personal trainers with other companies and coaches.
Strong Fitness in Farmers Branch has classes for kids as young as 4, with membership tiers ranging from $95-165 every four weeks. Cooper Aerobics, a wellness center in Dallas, offers personal training for teens as young as 13. OAKFIT, a Dallas gym, has athlete performance programs for youth athletes.
NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal opened his Drive Nation youth sports complex specializing in youth basketball and volleyball near DFW International Airport. That facility, opened in 2017, has nurtured professional stars such as Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons and Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Mady Kendrick is a head coach at the Denton D1 Training location, which charges $60 a week for group classes and more for personalized training.
“Sports are only getting more competitive as we get into high school, college and pro level,” Kendrick said. “So having that extra time with a coach one-on-one or in a group setting only helps benefit them more … I think that parents are starting to realize that a lot of athletes and kids need to start earlier on.”
Heere thinks parents are motivated to help their kids obtain athletic scholarships and by a belief that participating in sports makes one a better person. There’s also pressure on parents to keep up with others.
“It becomes more and more expensive,” Heere said. “One parent does this and the other parent feels like their kid should do it as well to keep up.”
