Division 1

Division 1 Training helps athletes – and everyone else – swing for the fences

High school student-athletes hoping to get a scholarship offer.

Weekend warriors who want a little extra boost at their next pick-up game.

Top college athletes looking to make the transition to the pros.

The 50-yard turf field inside D1 Training helps all of them achieve their fitness goals and challenges them to be the best they can be.

The not-so-typical workout facility offers athletic-based training that is modeled after the training practices of Division 1 athletic programs. Hour-long workouts feature a warmup followed by a performance based on on-field skills. That includes plyometrics, cone drills, sled pushes and box jumps.

That is followed by strength training focused on building lean muscle mass, as well as cardio and a cool-down period.

No two 60-minute circuit workouts are the same, according to Joel Stewart of D1 Training. He added individualized training is incorporated into the group workouts, and any skill level or athletic ability can participate.

That includes children as young as 7, high school athletes looking to improve skills, college athletes needing elite-level training and non-athletes who simply want a different, challenging workout.

“You don’t have to be an athlete to train here,” he said.

Though those goals can be varied, helping athletes get better at their craft is a focus. For high school athletes, that includes working on in-game skills, but also the challenges of collegiate sports. The workouts, Stewart said, are intense, but show teens the commitment and determination needed to achieve collegiate goals.

“We’re prepping them for college, and giving them Division 1 style workouts,” he said.

That also includes balancing other commitments.

“You’re still student-athletes, you’re not athlete-students,” he said. “The time commitment for sports is a lot, but in the end,  academics is why you’re at college.”

In addition to training, Division 1 Training is the only location to offer Standardized Athletic Test scores using Zybek Sports testing. That testing not only determines where additional work is needed for the athlete but shows how they compare to tens of thousands of other athletes across the country. 

The certified and experienced team of coaches and trainers also plan to host sport- and position-based camps and clinics. Recently, they partnered with Seneca Valley graduate and Cranberry native Don Barclay, who played several seasons in the NFL. An offensive lineman, his camp helped young lineman learn the skills they need to be successful. 

D1 Training, located at 20111 Route 19, Cranberry Mall, offers weekly memberships that offer classes six days per week, as well as individual and team training. Visit their website, D1 North Pittsburgh