We were lucky to catch up with Lorraine Eloms recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lorraine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

My husband- Corey and I are ex track and field collegiate athletes. Prior to 2018 when we started our business, we spent many years coaching football, basketball and track and field (Corey) and track and field for me. In 2018, Corey raised the idea of us starting our own performance training business for all sports based on the most common needs of athletes. We determined the most common areas that athletes need support in is speed, agility and core. After we came up with the pillars of our training we determined how we wanted to train athletes. We decided to start out with speed camps but before we launched our first camp, we did the training with our own kids who are athletes to see what worked and what didn’t.
We had 5-10 athletes at our first camp in 2018 in a park right in our own community. With the success of that first camp, we gained momentum by holding more camps. Each camp, we determined what was effective and what wasn’t to improve the quality of our training program. In 2019 we started doing private training for those who needed more personal instruction, still using outdoor facilities.
When COVID hit in 2020, we were faced with challenges around keeping a safe environment for our athletes. During that time, we trained indoor and outdoor requiring distance guidelines and masks when athletes needed to be in close proximity. After COVID became less severe, we were able to resume normal training.
Post COVID, I felt the need to put a greater emphasis on supporting athletes with improving their mindset. The pandemic was traumatic for everyone and when you add the stress of performance during competition it made a lot of sense. I began studying practices on the best way to support athletes along with applying tools that I used from my own experiences as an athlete. This is something that we weaved into our training so that it was more organic opposed to introducing mindfulness by itself to athletes who may not respond to the unfamiliar.
Moving to 2025, we now hold speed technique clinics and team training for athletes of all sports teaching them the ‘why’ and ‘how’ for performance training. We have found great success in serving the athletes in our community by leading with intention in our training.
I believe that the most successful launches include planning, always looking for ways to improve and being intentional about whatever you are trying to launch.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

The Top Speed training experience is tailored to meet the specific needs of each athlete, making the initial consultation essential. Our aim is to introduce and enhance exercises and concepts that improve both physical performance and mindset.

We begin with fundamental exercises and drills relevant to any sport, allowing us to understand the athlete’s unique needs as we explore what works best for them.

Our training philosophy emphasizes intention, encourages curiosity, and views mistakes as valuable learning opportunities. We incorporate techniques such as visualization and competition simulations to help athletes prepare both mentally and physically for their events.

By educating athletes on the reasons behind their training, we foster a sense of empowerment and confidence. Our goal is for every athlete to leave our sessions more knowledgeable and self-assured than when they arrived.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I believe that our reputation was built on consistency and compassion for the athletes that we serve. We understand how impactful a coach or teacher can be on a person’s life, so we take the opportunity to train very seriously. Being a business owner is not about being perfect but more about the care that you put in the experience for the customers that you are serving. They feel that and appreciate that.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of gaining new clients has been referrals from our current clients and the reputation that we have with those who we already serve. We use social media to promote our services, but the biggest driver has been referrals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://coachup.com/me/topspeedathletics
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/topspeedathletics?igsh=MWVtMXZrNTUwMnAxdA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/topspeedathletics?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/top-speed-athletics-aa7403344/
• Twitter: topspeedathlete
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@topspeedlife4321?feature=shared

Image Credits

book cover photo credit to: PHOTOSBYROTIMI