Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Pinckney.
Hi Justin, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
With two parents serving 20+ years in the military most of my childhood was spent traveling and experiencing different cultures. Tucson, AZ is where I was born but grew up splitting time between Okinawa, Japan (Kadena AFB) and Clovis, NM (Cannon AFB). My journey into coaching and love for athletics started with my father. He is from the birthplace of basketball, Springfield, MA, and with 3 high school state championships under his belt plus dozens of other accolades in a few different sports my brother and I had a great father to guide us through our own journeys.
I started my collegiate basketball career at Abilene Christian University then finished at Dallas Baptist University. After getting my BA in Psychology, I decided to pursue a career in sports performance by earning an M.Ed. in Kinesiology and obtaining my CSCS (certified strength and conditioning specialist) certification. In grad school for 2 years, I was a full-time grad assistant for the basketball team, 2 internships, and a full course load year-round. I loved every second of it! My next job out of grad school was at Alabama State University as an assistant strength & conditioning coach where I was in charge of over 12 different teams.
After 2 years there I experienced some health problems and moved back to the DFW area to pursue a rehab career at AIRROSTI. Over the next 3 years, I was around some of the best medical minds for soft tissue-based injuries and physical rehab. Besides having athletes as patients, I continued to work with athletes outside of the clinic fill that “itch” of performance training. Altogether I spent 4 years in the medical field where I obtained one of my specialties; reduced risk of injury and return to play expertise.
After medical, I took a position as head of performance for a small, local sports performance company in the Prosper/Frisco area. This is where I starting working with athletes from 7yrs old to NFL, MLS, US Men’s National Soccer Team, pro basketball, etc. The main clientele I saw were high school and middle school athletes but it’s the pros that really opened my eyes to what the industry is missing, which is what sparked me to create SPEER Performance
Every one of the pro athletes I’ve worked with did not have a fundamental understanding of the “what and whys” behind most of their exercises and drills. For years they’ve been told what to do but not why. High-level athletes are often treated as commodities and without proper understanding, you cannot maximize intent. What is effort without intent? So, once I started educating athletes on anatomy, showing in depth their movement patterns, asking them about their sports and adjusting drills to their positions, etc. the amount of appreciation they showed was amazing. Then it only makes sense to give our youth athletes the same training experience so they can take ownership of their careers and more importantly their health. After a few years at this company, I left in 2020 right about when COVID hit and started my company, SPEER. I was eager to educate and empower athletes, coaches, and parents.
I predominately went the virtual route so more people can have access to high-quality and affordable training. Most cannot afford in-person sessions, which is also an option. The other main reason is pros get traded away and HS athletes head off to college so providing a constant communication is huge! Again, it’s another way of empowering athletes by providing a high-performance coach in their pocket via an app. I’d say we specialize in 3 major categories: first is a reduced risk of injury protocol called “Athlete Insurance Program” which tackles the biggest problem in sport, injuries, an issue that training programs rarely if at all address. The other is the most requested skill, Soccer Speed Program. SPEER also specializes in catering to professional and collegiate athletes to supplement or provide a complete training experience.
A few months after the creation of SPEER I accepted my current role at FC Dallas becoming the first Head of Performance for the UMB Bank Performance Center. Starting another job during early COVID (July 2020) was another hurdle. It’s been a fun and rewarding challenge helping build something from the ground up. In 2 years, we’ve grown to having sold-out sessions this summer widely due to word of mouth. It has been an awesome experience working with such a highly regarded sports organization who’s been doing big things in the international soccer scene.
I am driven by passion and helping people achieve their goals. Another way I describe my job is helping people achieve their dreams. No matter the level they achieve, it is special being a part of the process.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m sure like most first-time business owners running a 1 person show, you run into unexpected obstacles. Time for sure is the largest obstacle with getting married to my wonderful wife, starting my own business, and starting a new job as a director all in about 4 months during early stages of the pandemic. The other hurdle for performance coaches like myself is fighting misinformation from several different sources. The fitness industry if full of great marketers with bad advice and no substance.
As you know, we’re big fans of SPEER Performance. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
SPEER stands for :
Solutions
Performance
Empower
Education
Results
After years of sports performance training, I started to notice how little athletes were taught in regards to their own performance and health. This was especially true for the professional athletes I’ve worked with, there are so many injuries that could’ve been prevented and careers prolonged if only they knew more about their bodies and simple training methods.
We specialize in virtual sports performance training. I predominately went the virtual route so more people can have access to high-quality and affordable training. Most cannot afford in-person sessions, which is also an option. The other main reason is pros get traded away and HS athletes head off to college so providing a constant communication is huge! Again, it’s another way of empowering athletes by providing a high-performance coach in their pocket via an app.
I’d say we specialize in 3 major categories: first is a reduced risk of injury protocol called “Athlete Insurance Program” which tackles the biggest problem in sport, injuries, an issue that training programs rarely if at all address. The other is the most requested skill, Soccer Speed Program. SPEER also specializes in catering to professional and collegiate athletes to supplement or provide a complete training experience.
My medical background with physical rehab, creating rehab protocols for multiple clinics, and even consulting in the field gives me a leg up when it pertains to reducing risk of injuries. Without understanding the mechanism of an injury, you are at a major disadvantage at actually reducing the risk of said injury. I also have coached a lot of return-to-play athletes from ACL and other major injuries.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see the sports performance industry growing in the virtual training sector. Training apps are improving and the need for quality coaches is only growing. While the majority of training will most likely still in person with the youth population, pricing alone will disqualify many families so an affordable route is very important.
Training for females both athletes and general pop will get better too. There is more readily available information regarding female health and its role in performance, energy levels, injury risk, and nutritional demands to name a few.
I also believe we will see a gradual blend with performance and physical rehab/therapy style of training. Overuse injuries are only increasing and with more athletes playing 1 sport year-round it won’t change. So instead of playing multiple sports to keep youth healthy and actually more athletic, we will need to rely on quality performance training to combat some of the problems of overuse issues.
Pricing:
- $39.99 per month for most online programs
- Inquire for pro athlete and personalized virtual programs
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Speerperformance.com
- Instagram: Speer_performance
