BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A3 Sports Performance is working hard to change the lives of hundreds of people in Kern County, from young athletes to elite performers and everyone in between, including approximately 260 adaptive athletes who call this place home.
"Let’s go ahead and do our Frankenstein, Elijah..."
Dustin Young is one of the coaches at A3 Sports Performance. "How many different adaptive athletes do you work with? Oh, man, throughout the week, I have up to maybe 30-40," said Dustin Young, a coach at A3 Sports, "today we’re going to be doing some squats, Elijah loves squats, doesn’t he?"
"They range anywhere between 6-or-7 years old, all the way up to senior citizens,” said Ryan Beckwith, the owner of A3 Sports,"like Hector, who was in here, cerebral palsy, we have children, teenagers, and adults with autism, a wide range of people with different abilities.”
More than 260 adaptive athletes... like Daniel.
“How do you like this? I love it,” said Daniel du Toit. We first met five years ago during COVID in a story on distance learning.
"Do you look forward to coming to this? Yes, every day," said Daniel. He has Jansen-de Vries syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. And while it might slow this 16-year-old down in some areas, it can’t stop him in here.
"I love Dustin, He’s the best trainer in the world... Why? Because he teaches me to do deadlifts," said Daniel.
"He's been with me for close to a year now, from the first day I had him to where he is today, you know, I’ve really appreciated his willingness to trust me," said Dustin.
"He just recently got into the 200 club," said Ryan, "he knows he can do it, and he's just continuing to grow."
The program has been 'lifting' up local athletes for more than a decade, through a partnership with Kern Regional Center. And the results... are inspiring.
Beckwith says many of these kids actually went on to compete for their elementary, junior high, and high school teams.
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