A method, not a sales pitch
Coach Aaron Larmore founded Athlete Academy after more than twenty years of coaching young athletes, around one conviction: the players who last had someone deliberately building the athlete, not just the player.
The method
Baseline first. Nobody trains what they haven't measured.
Then train exactly what the numbers point to, at a dose the athlete's growth stage can actually absorb.
Then measure again, share the change with the family, and adjust. The unit of progress is a season, not a week.
What we believe
Technique rides on an athlete. Clubs coach the technique; the athlete underneath needs an owner too.
Claims need numbers behind them. Where we can't measure, we don't promise.
A parent should never need a glossary. If we can't say it plainly, we haven't understood it yet.
All of this runs on a named system — the Athlete Academy Standard™ — built around a single promise: a family that shows up confused about development leaves with clarity. That work happens in person across North Carolina's Triangle, and online.
Background
BA in Health and Human Physiology, University of Iowa. University of Iowa Strength and Conditioning Coach at Iowa Football and Olympic Sports. Consultant to Northern Illinois football (MAC West champions, 2010) and Carleton College women's basketball (MIAC champions, 2008), and time alongside strength coaches from the Big Ten, the SEC, the NFL and Major League Baseball — which is where the standards came from.
Selected in 2022 to the Altis mentorship with Dan Pfaff — eighteen coaches from three hundred and fifty-five applicants.
Twenty-plus years coaching young athletes. More than 15,000 workouts programmed and over 20,000 coaching hours logged.
Certifications
- Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (2008)
- Youth Fitness Specialist, Levels I & II — International Youth Conditioning Association (2008)
- Functional Movement Screen Instructor (2009)
- USA Track & Field Club Coach, Level I (2009)
- StrongFirst Instructor, Levels I & II (2014)
- Certified Functional Strength Coach (2015)
- CrossFit Kids Instructor (2019)
- CrossFit Instructor, Level II (2022)
- Adult and paediatric First Aid, CPR and AED (2021)
Two of those are specific to coaching children rather than adults. That distinction matters more than the rest of the list.
What that has produced
- 150+ athletes earned college scholarships
- 100+ went on to Division I programs
- 14 High School All-Americans
- 13 National Team members
I came to Aaron to increase athleticism and power. He helped develop my functional movements as a professional basketball player — increasing my performance while decreasing my chance of serious injury on the court. He was a big proponent of ankle mobility, which was new for me and something I had not concentrated on before. I only wish I had found him earlier in my career.
My daughter wanted to physically prepare herself to compete at the DI level in basketball. She came away with real knowledge of strength and speed training, which she believed helped with injury prevention. Several people commented that she looked quicker on the court, and I noticed growth in her confidence. She believes her training with Aaron was a turning point in her development as an all-around athlete.
Bring us your questions
The method explains itself best when it's applied to your own player.
Start with Evaluation Day