Nekton Sports Performance of Hutchinson wants its clients to keep moving forward, to stay hungry in every aspect of life, and to attack life head on.
“That’s a big part of our culture,” said Hutchinson native Jake Larson, who owns the business with his wife, Hailey Larson.
The Larsons’ philosophy is why they named their business after the nekton, a classification of aquatic animal, which includes sharks, that is able to swim and move independently of water currents.
The sports performance training facility opened in early 2021 west of Hutchinson, just off State Highway 7 on 190th Street. Nekton Sports Performance primarily serves kids age 8 through high school, as well as some college athletes who return. In addition to private and small group training, it offers team training, attracting numerous local sports teams from both McLeod and Meeker county school districts.
Nekton offers speed, strength and skill training among its services, as well as athletic evaluations, posture assessments and even reflex assessment and training.
“What we do is more tailored to the individual,” Jake said. “We’re more private. We work with them one on one on their needs.”
Jake has a degree in exercise physiology and a minor in coaching from Gustavus Adolphus, which helps him tackle the physical needs of clients.
Hailey holds a master’s degree in child development from Liberty University, and degrees in psychology, religion and public health from Gustavus Adolphus. That helps her helm the neurological side of Nekton’s offerings, which includes targeting tactile and sensory issues.
THE ROAD BACK HOME
Jake, who was born and raised in Hutchinson, describes himself as a “huge, huge sports guy growing up.”
“I tried every single sport,” he said. “I was a big football guy. Our family had season tickets to Gophers games since before I was born. It was just a part of me.”
He recalls bringing his footballs to show and tell in second grade. There were 24 of them.
“I was just pulling them out, pulling them out,” Jake said.
He fell in love with hockey as well, but when he was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease — idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura — issues with blood clotting meant he needed to narrow his athletic pursuit to one sport season. He picked hockey.
“This is the Lord testing me and the reason I now give back to athletes,” Jake said. “It gave me perspective. It helped me grow into the person I am.”
After graduation from Hutchinson High School in 2014, he went on to Gustavus Adolphus, where he met Hailey. He graduated in 2018, and had started his career through a college internship at ETrain Sports Training. He also worked with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
By that time, Jake was in his early 20s, looking to earn enough money to support a family while working as a trainer part time and going ministry work. He started chasing opportunities to make more money instead of chasing his passion. Around that time, COVID hit, and a friend got a job as a strength coach in Alexandria.
“I remember feeling really jealous. I was like, ‘Man, that’s really awesome,’” Jake said. “I knew I was passionate about working with kids. I know I was passionate about human performance. I knew I had to change. But I didn’t know what that would look like.”
At that time, he and Hailey had moved to Hutchinson to live with Jake’s parents, and get out of their lonely metro apartment in the midst of the pandemic.
“We decided we really loved Hutch,” Hailey said. “I said, ‘I think I want to start our family here.’”
The pair knew there were many training facilities in the Twin Cities, and that many rural kids drive to them for sports performance training. Jake had once been among them.
“We got this idea to start the gym and we took off from there,” Hailey said.
“We saw there was an opportunity here in Hutchinson,” Jake said.
A year and six months after opening, Jake said business has been good.
“We’ve touched a lot of lives, a lot of kids. Everything we’ve been told is positive. They love coming here,” he said. “We’re a Christian business. That’s first and foremost what we do. Our mission is to glorify God. We try to incorporate that into everything we do.”
Jake and Hailey’s daughter, Adeline, was also born in that period. She’s eight months old.
In addition to its two owners, Nekton Sports Performance has an intern and two other trainers, as well as another trainer who comes in from time to time when needed. Hutchinson native Claire Wheatley, a physical therapist with her own business, BeyondPT, can also be found there.
Looking ahead, Jake and Hailey hope to one day expand the business to serve adults. They plan to add a practice field next year, and one day another building. In the meantime, they hope the kids who come to them for training know they’re welcome any time.
“We tell the kids we are a life gym,” Jake said.
