EASTERN HANCOCK — For some athletes, training ends when practice ends. When the coach blows the final whistle, it’s time to hit the showers and go home.
But not the elite, said Kendra Gilbreath, owner of Hancock County’s Positive Performance.
The most dedicated of student athletes put in the extra hours during their off season and even the summer, sacrificing time sleeping in and playing video games for box jumps and wind sprints.
Gilbreath, a graduate of Eastern Hancock, said her business helps the most dedicated athletes sharpen their skills through strength and agility training; she’s been training athletes from Knightstown, Eastern Hancock and beyond for one year now, she said.
Positive Performance is a training service that she’s seen benefit athletes of all disciplines, whether it’s basketball, football, track or soccer, she said.
Gilbreath’s business often caters to Eastern Hancock students, and she donates a percentage of her business’s income to their athletic fund, so she is able to host private sessions for her clients on the practice field behind the high school.
A typical practice involves running ladder drills, rounding cones and racing across the practice field. After disciplined practice, several participants said they have testified to seeing rapid results.
Daniel Denny, a sixth grader training with Positive Performance, said he motivates himself to make it to the extra athletic training sessions because he knows it makes him a better athlete. He’s seen his results improve before his eyes, noting that he’s tracking on better movement with his footwork and jumping.
He even managed to knock a full second off his 40 yard dash time in a matter of weeks, he said. He attributes the improvements to his attitude and performance to his coach.
“Kendra’s a great person, you’ll never see her down,” Daniel said. “You always see a smile on her face, and she’ll do anything to make you laugh.”
Jacob Johnson, a sophomore at Eastern Hancock, said that Positive Performance has taught him to be more explosive, a trait that is difficult to learn without extra hours of practice.
“It’s really helped me with jumping and cutting, just overall getting faster,” Jacob said. “It’s really about dedication. You have to work for it if you want to get better.”
Core strength is another factor that is universally important in athletics, because you use core muscle groups in every sport, Gilbreath said. So student athletes can always anticipate her assigning them extra crunches and planks at the end of any given workout.
The namesake of the business comes from Gilbreath’s training philosophy, she said.
Success always means you’re moving forward, never looking back.
She does quarterly testing on the athletes that she helps train, analyzing their performance in jumping, lifting and running, keeping a positive point of view all along the way.
“Life is great, and there’s no need to be negative, you know,” Gilbreath said. “There’s enough negative in the world. I feel that teaching these kids to stay positive with their sports, moving forward, they can do anything as long as they keep a good head on their shoulders.”
Witnessing the speed of their progress is the most rewarding part of her job, Gilbreath said.
“It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever gotten to do,” Gilbreath said. “It really is a matter of if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. This is all I do and all I want to do.”
