Sports
Multiple local athletes head to ‘Empowerment’ in off-season
The grind for several student athletes never stops when they’re chasing their dream. But it’s always where and how are they challenging themselves to get better day in and day out? One local gym is becoming a hot spot for several top athletes looking to get to the next level.
And what started out as an idea, quickly turned into something major right here in the Coachella Valley. Two brothers, Shaine Boyle and Devin Jones moved to the desert and opened up Empowerment over on Ramon Road in Cathedral City. It’s a gym that’s seen some top tier talent across the Valley. But they tell NBC Palm Springs, it’s much more than just a gym, it’s a lifestyle.
“We want to empower the youth… empower somebody that may not be inspired to work out to just do better and get better,” says Coach Devin. And it’s a sentiment that’s shared across the board.
As Coach Shaine says, “It’s up to coaches, it’s up to us to get those kids to believe in that stuff. You know you come out here, one thing we’re going to teach is swag. You know, you can never have too much of that. And when you leave from here, we’re expecting you to have the same thing.”
Even some standout athletes who are punching their ticket to compete at the next level like Marjourie Lopez say Empowerment has helped her grow both mentally and physically.
“I think I’ve gotten the best performance out of all my seasons due to the empowerment gym. Mentally, I feel like they’ve helped me boost my confidence by making me stronger… and they’re always so supportive of what you accomplish outside of the gym or anywhere,” Marjourie says.
The future University of Southern California Trojans says,” I show a lot of gratitude towards them because I’ve probably PR’d more than a minute since being here, so I’m very thankful for them.”
Noah Scott, who will be hitting the gridiron for Western Oregon University in the Fall, calls Empowerment a ‘lifestyle.’
“You know, what you put in is what you really get out of it… It’s just one of them things, you know, it’s a family. You just come and grow from there. I tore my ACL last Spring unfortunately. So I’ve been strengthening my legs here, physical therapy– just working you know. And I got myself to college, so that’s what matters most.”
But Coach Shaine and Coach Devin both pride themselves on ensuring they instill more than just strength in each athlete, they want to make sure they all believe in themselves.
“To see them grow has been amazing. And you see them come from youth and then just elevate themselves and go off to college and everything, that’s been amazing,” Coach Devin says.
Palm Desert Aztec Dawson Johnson came to Empowerment when he was transitioning his focus from the soccer field to the football field.
“I came over here when I was switching over from soccer to football, because I wanted to take football more seriously and I wanted to come with the best in town. I had buddies who told me to come out here and ever since then it’s been a blessing.”
And when it comes to reaching that next level, Dawson kept it simple saying, to play with the best of the best, you’ve got to train with the best of the best.
“They put that football mindset in me. They’ve played at the best level. So just the impact they’ve had on me has brought me to become a greater football player to where I am now. It’s the family environment, we have all the best athletes in the valley and all come together to make each other better… Iron sharpens iron.”
So what’s they key in being able to successfully train all these different kind of athletes from different corners of the Valley?
Well Coach Shaine says, you have to know what these kids want.
“If a kid is coming here whether it’s track, volleyball, football — no matter what sport it is. It’s our job to go in and study it and learn it to make these kids better. Like I said, we build from embracing the kid and allowing them to know that ‘it’s in you, you can do it… and we believe in you.”
For more information on Empowerment and what they do you can click here.
By: Talialaina Letoi
July 21, 2023
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