How do trainers work? Meet Kyle Ohman | Exercise.com Learn: Your Fitness Business Resource

How do trainers work? Meet Kyle Ohman

Lauren Smith is a contributing writer for Exercise.com and is passionate about nutrition and holistic health (how the body, mind, and emotions intersect). She lives in Baltimore City, where she writes, plays music, embarks on long power walks through the park, takes contemporary dance lessons, and enjoys healthy, flavorful cuisine. Lauren has written for a literary journal called Skelter and for�...

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UPDATED: Jul 1, 2021

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Kyle Ohman is a basketball trainer and the co-founder of Basketball HQ. Basketball HQ is an online headquarters that has transformed the way this sport develops skilled players and coaches. On their website, you’ll find tons of training videos and other resources from experts in the basketball training and coaching world.

Many of Basketball HQ’s resources are free, and they offer their online training programs at an affordable cost.

Kyle’s background as a college and professional basketball player led him to start Basketball HQ. Check out my interview with him to learn more about his athletic journey and his company, which continues to benefit players, coaches, and parents of young players — from all over the map!

Kyle, Let’s Get Started With Your . . .

Location: Tampa, FL
Years of Training Experience: 10
One Word to Describe Your Personality: Competitive

Tell me about your athletic background. How did you get into the basketball training world and help establish Basketball HQ?

I started playing basketball when I was 11 or 12, and I remember never wanting to leave the gym. I played in high school but didn’t receive any athletic scholarships. I played at a smaller private school and never attended any camps or played AAU, so my exposure was limited. My dream was to always play Division 1 basketball, so I decided to try and walk on at Liberty University.

To make a long story short, I ended up able to walk on, get a scholarship, start more than half of the games I played in my career, become a thousand-point scorer, and be one of the best shooters in the country!

I also played a little bit professionally in Europe and the ABA league. Basically, the reason I wanted to start Basketball HQ was to give people a chance at the opportunities I had. So my brother-in-law Ryan Pannone and I, along with a couple of others, founded BasketballHQ.com.

What does your company offer, and how are you revolutionizing training both for coaches and players?

Basketball HQ offers expert training videos that can be accessed all over the world. Anywhere that you have access to the internet, you can watch college and professional coaches break down every aspect of the game. We aren’t just one trainer teaching a few different drills, but we have over 60 different college and pro coaches that contribute to our content.

Along with offering all of this content, we have custom basketball training groups that will give a player or coach working with their team everything they need. A training group includes videos, text, the number of sets, reps, time, and a discussion board. It has never been easier to get expert training right at your fingertips from anywhere around the world.

What business skills have you developed since starting this company?

The great thing about the internet is that you can pretty much learn anything. I only knew basketball when I started, but along with growing and becoming a better trainer, I have also learned: SEO, social media, content, networking, and so much more.

Describe your personal approach to motivating athletes: How do you help them crush their performance goals?

Different athletes are motivated in different ways, so there is a lot of individual motivation techniques that you can use based on whether an athlete is a self-starter, needs someone to get on them, etc. One thing I have found to really transfer from athlete to athlete, though, is that the better you explain something or why it is important, the more likely the athlete will apply what they are learning.

So, when I am explaining a drill to emphasize something, I want to do a good job of making sure the player understands the value of what I am coaching.

Tag a teammate to try this tennis ball drill with.

A post shared by BasketballHQ.com (@basketballhqcom) on

How has running Basketball HQ improved your own basketball performance and coaching skills?

I have probably learned more from Basketball HQ than any of the coaches and players who use our site. A good amount of the content is mine, but there are so many other great coaches and trainers who contribute content to the site, and I get to watch and read everything that goes up. I am always learning from the other coaches on the site.

How did your staff learn about Exercise.com?

Exercise.com is becoming a well-known brand and service for fitness people all around the world. With the owner being my older brother, I actually had the inside lane on Exercise.com, and I was able to learn about all of its awesome features firsthand!

How has our training platform been the most helpful for you guys?

For a while now, we have been looking for a great way to provide an all-encompassing experience for players. The customization features of the White Label Exercise.com platform have allowed us to do that, creating the perfect marriage between our expert content and all of the really cool features that help separate us from the rest of the competition.

See for yourself - Meet with the Exercise.com Team today

Train Anyone, Anywhere in the World.

Who’s your basketball role model or mentor? How has this person impacted you?

I have had a lot of great coaches and mentors who have positively impacted me over my basketball career of playing and coaching, but I would have to say that my brother-in-law Ryan Pannone (the co-founder of Basketball HQ) helped me develop my basketball knowledge and grow when I was a player and now as a coach and trainer.

Some in-person trainers are apprehensive about online training. From a business standpoint, why would you recommend that they give it a try?

We actually have several trainers who work with kids in person and then also use our training groups for their players as take-home work or stuff they can do when a coach is not able to always be with them.

From a business standpoint, you can make added income by selling these plans for your players, and then ultimately, you will look better as a trainer because your players are going to get better on their own time as well as with you. And when they have success, that means more recognition for you as a trainer.

What’s on the horizon for Basketball HQ?

There are a few things on the horizon, but the biggest thing we are excited about is our player training groups! Not only are we going to work with individual players, but we will also set up personalized groups for different teams that will allow them all to work in the offseason, even when coaches can’t be in the gym with them.

You can find Kyle on Facebook and Instagram. He also writes online; check out his list article here.

Note: This interview has been edited for clarity.


Lauren Smith is passionate about nutrition and holistic health (how the body, mind, and emotions intersect). She lives in Baltimore City, where she writes stuff, plays music, embarks on long power walks through the park, takes contemporary dance lessons, and enjoys healthy, flavorful cuisine. Lauren has written for a literary journal called Skelter and for Honestbodyfitness.com.

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