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.

Coach Aaron Larmore walking through the training floor, smiling — Coach Aaron Larmore, Apex, North Carolina.

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.

Coach Aaron Larmore demonstrating a plank row on the gym floor while an athlete watches — Nothing gets loaded until it has been shown, then repeated back.

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

My daughter was a young gymnast with big goals. We knew that to give her a chance at reaching them, she needed to add a strength and conditioning program to her training. We saw improvements in her strength, quickness and confidence — all so important in gymnastics — and I believe adding a strength program helped keep her healthy. Aaron created a challenging program but kept things fun.

Maggie KrobParent · daughter Greta, U.S. Gymnastics National Team

I came to Aaron to increase strength and fitness to help further an elite gymnastics career. What mattered most was a consistent conditioning routine and nutrition education — strength and power building, plus prehab and maintenance to keep my body feeling its best. He was able to modify and focus on what my individual needs were.

Erika BriscoeElite gymnastics

Why a gymnastics site? Because gymnastics families live a gymnastics reality — more weekly hours than any youth sport, landings from height, and growth plates doing the accounting. This property speaks the Athlete Academy method in gymnastics' language.

Bring us your questions

The method explains itself best when it's applied to your own player.

Start with Evaluation Day