Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Potts.
Hi Joseph, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Over the past 18 years I’ve had the privilege of training multiple Super Bowl champions, World Series winners, and some of the best soccer players in the world.
Much of my career was shaped by my experience as a collegiate football player where I experienced firsthand the negative elements of generic, non-individualized strength & conditioning. That lack of personal investment from coaches pushed me to explore alternative training methods and learn from leaders in the field like Joe DeFranco. I took control of my athletic development and ultimately earned a roster spot in professional indoor football. While a serious leg injury cut my playing days short, it set me on a path toward something bigger.
I returned to school and was doing exercise-based research while working towards a master’s degree in Lawrence, KS when I had the opportunity to collab with a local high school. That high school just happened to have several of the top recruits in the country on its’ roster and their athletic performance skyrocketed with my training methods. That led to media attention from outlets like Rivals.com, Sports Illustrated and Yahoo News. That media coverage led to the Kansas City Royals reaching out to me about an open position on their staff and ultimately launched my professional coaching career.
Throughout the years I remained obsessed with the science of performance. I’m driven by a deep curiosity about how speed, strength, power, and movement efficiency come together to create elite athletes. That curiosity along with an intense work ethic has helped me build a reputation for intelligent programming, achieving eye-popping results, and instilling resilience among the athletes I coach.
I founded TopSpeed Strength & Conditioning to bring that vision to life—a facility designed to be more than just a gym. TopSpeed is a high-performance environment where athletes train with intensity, purpose, and intention. We blend biomechanics, speed development, injury prevention, and individualized programming to deliver measurable performance gains.
I’ve worked with athletes at every level—from rising high school prospects to seasoned professionals in the NFL, MLB and NWSL. No matter the athlete’s sport or stage, our goals remains the same: to unlock each individual’s full potential through intelligent and intense training methods.
I’m a lifelong learner and a committed coach. Whether I’m reading the latest research, mentoring young coaches, or collaborating with others in the performance field, I’m always looking to evolve and grow. My mission is simple: inspire excellence and raise the standard of performance coaching through relentless attention to detail, evidence-based practice, and a passion for helping athletes succeed.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
A career in coaching, especially at the professional level, is typically nomadic at best. I believe there’s a statistic out there that says a majority of performance coach move to a new job every three years on average. That wasn’t a lifestyle I wanted for my family which is why I pivoted to working in the private sector when the opportunity presented itself.
What I found was that building a business comes with it’s own ups & downs. One of my former NFL clients had his own technology business and would often say “we call ourselves business owners but the truth is the business owns us”. I found that statement to be quite true – I don’t think I took a single day off in the first three years TopSpeed was in business.
Another common challenge was battling against outdated training mindsets. As someone who believed deeply in individualized, science-driven programming, I often found myself up against institutions and coaches who still clung to cookie-cutter methods. Early on there was also a stigma against athletes going to outside sources to further their development.
Trying to introduce new ideas in environments that are resistant to change can be frustrating. But over time, the results spoke for themselves. Athletes got faster, more explosive and stayed healthier. That was hard to argue with and these days we have a good relationship with many of the high school and college coaches in the area, so much so that they’ll even refer athletes in to us nowadays.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I work with athletes to help them become faster, more explosive, and more resistant to injury. My focus is on optimizing performance through a combination of biomechanics, speed development, and strength training, all grounded in evidence-based methods. Over the years, I’ve coached athletes at every level, from rising high school stars to Super Bowl and World Series champions.
What I specialize in is individualized performance programming. I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all training. Every athlete has their own movement capacity, individual needs, and may not respond the same to a given stimulus. My job is to assess that, break it down, and build a system that’s specific to them—not just for performance gains, but also for long-term durability and injury prevention.
What sets TopSpeed apart is a combination of our staff’s experience, education, and the non-traditional methods we use to achieve the results we see. Because of those factors we are able to help athletes train even through injury setbacks which might otherwise rob an athlete of valuable time in their development.
What I’m most proud of is the trust my athletes have in the TopSpeed staff and the reputation we’ve achieved in the industry. Whether it’s a professional sports team calling for a consultation or a kid trying to earn a college offer, they know we can help them achieve the results that’ll get them where they want to be.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My longtime business partner Lori Archer helped get TopSpeed off the ground and my former boss with the Kansas City Royals helped supply a lot of the equipment we still use to this day. Without them TopSpeed would’ve faced a much tougher road than we had. TopSpeed’s top notch staff include coaches Cassius Sendish, Jaylon Radel and Jake Owens. The success of TopSpeed is a byproduct of its’ staff and the athletes who commit to the process. We’re also fortunate to have parents in the area who are smart enough to see the value in what we provide and refer others in to use our services, that word-of-mouth network is critical to our continued success and future growth.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.TopSpeedTraining.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/topspeedllc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TopSpeedSportsPerformance/
- Twitter: https://x.com/TopSpeedLLC
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JosephPotts
