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Pumping Up Kids

Jason Behnken / staff

Jacob Register, 13, works out his triceps with the help of Aaron McClain at NexLevel Sports & Weight Management. McClain was working with youth football players on sport specific excercises.

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By NINA BARRINGER, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 14, 2007

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BRANDON - Not long ago, former pro-baseball hopeful Aaron McClain Jr. insisted he would not involve himself in a sport he could not play at the highest level.

Never say never.

For the fitness and agility coach, much has changed since the fateful day in January 2004 when a knee injury ended his baseball career.

"One minute, I was running for a fly ball, and the next, my career was done," McClain said of the college game that altered the course of his life. "My mom said she knew I was done when I couldn't get up."

McClain said the injury left him depressed and in need of some serious soul-searching.

"But I'm a religious guy, and I believe things happen for a reason. This was God's way of sending me a message that baseball isn't everything," he said.

McClain translated that message to mean he should start training youth athletes, with a partial focus on obese children. A certified strength and agility trainer, the 2001 Riverview High School graduate had the support of his parents and wife, Natalie, to start a business.

And so NexLevel Sports and Weight Management, now on East Brandon Boulevard, was born.

NexLevel primarily serves athletes younger than 18, who increasingly are seeking sport-specific training.

Gerald Barron of Tampa enlisted McClain's services when son Alex dedicated himself to making Robinson High School's varsity baseball team after being cut.

"His strength and speed weren't there," said Barron, a middle-school physical education teacher who has coached Little League, T-ball and baseball for 16 years. Given the sometimes sticky dynamics when parents try to teach their children, Barron said he felt he could take Alex only so far.

Barron had heard of McClain's reputation as a former ballplayer and as a coach, and he set up a meeting.

"Ten minutes into it, I knew he was the guy," Barron said. "Aaron has to feel like he can help you and that you're serious. Others will take your money regardless, but he's not like that. He cares."

Alex Barron, who made the Robinson team and excelled as a pitcher, committed in July to play for Southeastern University in Lakeland, the reigning NCAA II champions.

McClain has training connections to Academy of the Holy Names, Bloomingdale, Durant, Gaither, Newsome and Riverview high school baseball, football and softball teams.

Newsome softball coach Jessi Kowal said her players have brought back to the team more endurance, speed, agility and strength after training with McClain.

"He knows how to structure and tailor the players' workouts based on the position they play. Over the years, I have seen a growing number of players who are getting private and semiprivate lessons from coaches," Kowal said. "When the girls work in groups with Aaron, they build friendships, learn to work together, encourage each other, and this creates friendly competition."

Parents, Kowal said, decide to hire McClain, and training takes place at NexLevel's personal training studio.

For groups of three or more, hourlong sessions cost $20 a person. For groups of two, sessions are $25 each an hour. Individual sessions cost $35 an hour.

McClain said he has built his business strictly through word of mouth. Next year, NexLevel's personal-training studio will move from its 1,450-square-foot space to a nearby facility about 50 percent larger.

Two trainers have been hired, including one who specializes in self-defense, to help NexLevel keep up with growing demand.

McClain's approach in business and training is to set short-term goals while emphasizing the physical, mental and spiritual.

As he tells his young clients, "The chances of going pro are slim.

"The real rewards are in building character, being a good person and focusing on education."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: NexLevel Sports and Weight Management

WHERE: 1051 E. Brandon Blvd., Brandon

COST: For groups of three or more, hourlong sessions cost $20 a person. For groups of two, sessions are $25 each an hour. Individual sessions cost $35 an hour.

CONTACT: Aaron McClain Jr., (813) 363-3646

Nina Barringer can be reached at ninarbarringer@yahoo.com.

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