Got Little Athletes? Get Them To This Amarillo Hidden Gem Now

The youth athletics scene in Amarillo is growing relatively rapidly.

With that, people start to look for different ways to grow their athlete. Private lessons to improve skillsets in their particular sport, ways to teach how to mentally prepare for battle, and the strength and conditioning side of things.

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Coming from Austin, we had a plethora of this available to us. My boys had a private hitting instructor for baseball, their own pitching coach...and we could choose from hundreds available in the area.

One thing they didn't have (that I always wanted to find) was a strength, speed & agility coach. I may not have found that perfect hitting or pitching instructor yet, but I have found the PERFECT conditioning place and coach.

Allow me to introduce you to Jayton Washington at World All Star Academy. Tucked away behind the car dealerships off of I-27 on Maverick St. is a little place hidden in a little strip mall type of area, and it's not easily found.

Let me tell you though that hunting it down has been the best thing for my boys and their burgeoning athletic careers. They've got great baseball mechanics, but man did they need help with maximizing their speed, getting through tough, long stretches of baseball at a high level and being quicker to the baseball.

We're currently three sessions in with Jayton over at World All Star Academy, and I can honestly tell you I see a difference in them already. They pop to the baseball better in the field, they get down the line to leg out a base hit faster than I've seen before.

If you're not seeing Jayton yet, it's time to. They work hard as hard can be for an hour, but at the same time they have an absolute blast doing it. Jayton will push them to their limits, but make it fun and keeps them engaged.

Here's some photos and videos of the things my boys do at World All Star Academy.

It all starts with a good 10 minutes of warmup and getting loose. Simple exercises that get their muscles loose for what's ahead.

Then comes the fun. The activities that make them stronger, faster and more agile.

A lot of high legs, sprinting and pumping those legs high enough to get over the barriers. Forward, backward, shuffle. Teaching them how to maintain solid speed and balance through any shift in direction. Here's an idea of what it looks like.

Looks like fun doesn't it?

These yellow barriers come out A LOT in the training, but it forces them to keep moving so they don't trip over any of them. Understanding how to use your legs is such a key point in their training.

They don't just go over them as you can see. Staying in between them, using their balance and awareness to shuttle back and forth between them.

This one was one of my favorites to see. Using both legs to catapult themselves over the barriers then really learn how to load up and explode on the jump. I've never seen my boys test themselves so hard.

Here's another one that was all about understanding your feet and how to be quick on your toes. There was a sequence they had to achieve with this, not just one foot in, one foot out.

Trust me, it looks like it should be easy to do...but it's not. Concentration and the agility to remember what to do with your feet it a lot harder than it seems.

This was one of the hardest ones for the boys, and still is. However, they love trying to nail it. They'll get down on all fours, a tennis ball in one hand, the other on the ground. The concept is to toss the ball up in the air, then switch hands to catch it. They still haven't come close to mastering this one but they keep trying, no matter how frustrating it can be to them.

Now this one was a favorite of the boys. Being baseball players, any time they can catch the ball they're in. However, combine moving sideways while hurdling and not looking down so you can focus on catching the ball is SUPER difficult. They started to get the hang of it though.

The end of the session is the part they love the most though. Not because they're gassed and are finishing up, but because they get a reward at the end by sliding down a huge inflatable slide. What they seem to forget though is they have to climb all the way to the top. After 50 hard minutes of training, using those legs and feeling that burn, they find a second wind to be able to do this.

I can't recommend Jayton and World All Star Academy enough. Please don't delay in reaching out to them at 806-443-2589 or check out their website here. They've got some incredible camps coming up with current and former NFL players, as well as summer camps.

And just to give you a little more of what goes on in a one hour session, check out a couple more videos below.