Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tyree York. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tyree , thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.
As a former collegiate basketball player at Roosevelt University in Chicago IL, I always knew basketball was my true love and passion. Once I graduated from school in 2015, I had the potential to play at a professional level overseas but by that time I had became a bit burnout with basketball. At that point in time, I didn’t understand who I was without that orange round ball in my hands. Basketball was my world since I 8 or 9 years old. Graduating college gave me the needed separation from basketball that allowed me to discover myself outside of court.
I got my first big boy job as a front desk agent at the W Chicago City Center Hotel two months prior to graduating college. Equipped with the leadership abilities and core values that were instilled in me from my basketball career, after one year in my role, I was quickly promoted to the Food & Beverage Manager. This was such an awesome experience! At the age of 22 years old, I was placed in a position that pushed me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to learn on the fly. SINK OR SWIM, it was my choice to do the latter.
Fast forwarding a bit, I ended up spending 2 years as a food and beverage manager then I transitioned into Real Estate where I worked for AMLI Residential as a leasing agent where I was able to reach 3 million dollars in overall sales in 2 years. By this time, Im about 4 years removed from the basketball culture that I was so used to. At the end of 2018/beginning of 2019, I set out on a fitness & basketball journey where I began going to the gym more to workout and play ball. I started posting videos of myself at the gym working out, getting up shots, doing drills, etc. I could see the impact it had on me, and also those who were around me witnessing the transformation. I knew this could be my new life and I had the potential to make a business out of. So I sat down and began thinking of names that was acronym and stood for something that I truly believed in. Thats where G.R.E.A.T-Training was developed. At the time, it stood for ‘Getting Right Everyday At Training’. I knew I was on to something because I lived it. Great Training mission was and still is to teach the fundamentals of the game and life!
My nephew, Josh Howard, who was 6 years old at the time, began to play basketball for a local youth league. So I began training him 2-3 times out of the week in January 2019. It was here where I begin to discover my love for basketball coaching/training. Watching and coaching him gave me a tremendous amount of satisfaction being able to pass down my techniques, skills and basketball ideology. He was soaking up the knowledge, his skills began to grow so quickly, others around the gym began to take notice. Within 2-3 months, I had 10 kids in the gym with me training 2 times per week. And these kids are young, 5-8 years old.
Meanwhile, as im still working full time at AMLI Residential, I also developed a side business as fitness trainer, where I would individually train residents and friends within our building on our amenity floor. This allowed me to gain clientele, enhance my knowledge as trainer, learn how to help individual transform their body and reach their fitness goals. By April 2019, I had about 12-15 fitness clients as well.
Since visiting Arizona 2015, I had a dream and a goal to move here. It was something different about this place that made me feel easy and at home. While the success of my Great Training business is beginning to grow significantly, in Sept 2019, I decided to pack all my belongings into my car and move to Chandler AZ. People thought I was crazy lol, but I knew God had a purpose for me that only I could see and feel. This was one of the best life choices I’ve ever made
Today in 2023, Great Training has over 3 partnerships, trains around 50 players monthly and recently we just started our aau team. Dreams do come true!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Hello everyone, my name is Tyree York, Founder of G.R.E.A.T – Training. Basketball & fitness has positively impacted my life and transformed me into who I am today. Through the years, I have been tested with overcoming obstacles, struggles and overall tough times. When tough situations arise, your foundation must remain strong. By foundation, I mean your core values. Gratitude, Respect, Effort Everyday, Attitude, & Teamwork are some of the core values that basketball and fitness has helped me establish. Now it’s time to help others create a solid foundation through GREAT-Training, and I couldn’t be more happy to assist! One of my passions is customer service. I love assisting an individual in achieving their goals. With GREAT-Training, players should expect to exceed their goals if they work hard and remain discipled. Everyday is an opportunity to improve. Be Great!
Great Training offers players the opportunity to enhance their athletic performance & basketball skillsets through a variety of fundamental and advanced techniques. Our program strives to not only develop great athletes but even greater leaders of the next generation!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Effective Communication, discipline, hard work with determination.
The advice for people early in your journey is find something you love to do…. Like it truly doesn’t feel like work and you would be doing it anyway, and make a business out of it. Break that passion down into different departments and truly compartmentalize how you want everything to operate. Put the work in and the results will come.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Always looking and willing to collaborate with other businesses to grow aware for both of our audiences. Currently here are a few different areas we are looking for:
Sponsors for our Great Training Program
Partnerships with schools, churches or businesses where our mission statements align
Trainers
– Basketball & Fitness Trainers
Interns
– Marketing
– Social Media
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.greattrainingfitness.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/great.training?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greattrainingfitness?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyree-york-3b0650a3
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/greattrainingg?s=21&t=4pDFNmbSmJX-mxnzW6qEdA
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/gF8SgscLSwb
