Game Onward: From Field to Franchisee, Danny Spond

One conversation with D1 Training owner, Danny Spond, and you understand clearly that he is on a mission to serve the next generations of athletes. Spond opened his D1 location in Aurora, Ohio, just southeast of Cleveland, in August of this year for founding members, with a Grand Opening scheduled for September. The path that brought him to Ohio, to become the owner of an athletic training facility like D1, wound its way from Littleton, Colorado, through South Bend, Indiana, and to all corners of the country before stopping in northeast Ohio. It’s a path that weaved on and off the field, was paved with tragedy and triumph, but was always traversed with gratitude, an eye on the future, and a servant's heart.

A Google search will tell you that Spond played football for the Fighting Irish at Notre Dame, and we’ll get to that, but what it may not tell you is that Danny Spond fell in love with the game of football at the age of 7 while attending elementary school in Littleton, Colorado; the same town marked forever in history for the nation’s first of its kind tragedy, a mass shooting at Columbine High School.

Growing up in the shadow of the Columbine tragedy, understandably, influenced Spond. He saw a lot of tragedy, but he saw something else as well.

“I grew up watching a community rally together to overcome what had happened,” Spond said. “That’s the story I like to share. I learned that even in a victimized state you can turn into a victor. That was the same strength and mentality I drew from when I was at Notre Dame.”

Notre Dame was Spond’s dream school. After a stellar four years playing multiple positions at Columbine, he was a standout. The Denver Post wrote about him, calling him the best athlete in high school football. It made sense that college reps would come scouting, but Spond knew where he wanted to play.

“I fell in love with Notre Dame the first time I stepped foot on campus,” Spond said. “I came in under head coach Brian Kelly and was blessed to be a starter at outside linebacker on a team that went 12-0, was ranked number 1 in the country, and playing for a BCS National Championship title against SEC powerhouse Alabama.”

That was Spond’s junior year in college and the last season he would ever play football. A series of medical incidents on the field would turn into months of doctors’ appointments, tests, medications, and diagnoses. Spond suffered from hemiplegic migraines, a rare, debilitating type of migraine that comes with horrific symptoms well beyond those of everyday migraines, and an even more remote treatment plan.

But Spond rallied. Not only did he find his footing on the sidelines, but he found light in the shadow of the Notre Dame coaching staff, and a way to serve the team and university.

He was quoted during an interview with ESPN, saying, “I can either give in and let this beat me and let it define me, or I can beat it and overcome it, and the way that I was going to do that was to give all I have for this team.”

And "The team gave me so much, this university's given me so much; it was my job to give back in any way I could." That’s exactly what he did.

“Senior year for me was my first introduction to coaching,” he said. “I took on a role as a graduate assistant outside linebacker coach and learned what it was like to develop and prepare elite athletes.”

That isn’t all Spond learned. After all, he had witnessed Coach Kelly build an organization, an operations system, from the ground up. These were the type of skills that would lead Spond to his next chapter, and absolutely light the path forward toward ownership at D1 Training where he would once again serve athletes.

Spond’s winding (and widening) path continued in the years after college and before D1 Training. He found himself working in the medical device space, an industry that had attracted other like-minded, educated, former athletes. For Spond, it was another way for him to serve, and the beginning of his executive journey. Eventually, his passion for football and coaching would blend masterfully with his entrepreneurial and operational prowess and lead him through the doors of a D1 Training Recruiting Day.

And well, in his own words, “It was a total fit.”

“For anyone who has played sports at a high level, you just recognize it,” he said. “The core programs, the space. The first time I walked into D1 Cools Springs, and other D1 facilities, from the aspect of an athlete, it felt like home.”

A home away from home is what he hopes D1 will become for both members and staff in his local community.

“I’m most excited to see the smiles and be a part of the athletic stories of this community,” Spond said. “I had a parent say recently, ‘I’ve not been able to get my kid to do ten pushups, and he just did fifteen.’ That’s what it’s about.”

D1 Training is The Place for the Athlete® which is defined as anyone, aged 7 and up, with a fitness goal. The adult and scholastic programs are based on a results-driven model executed by world-class coaches and staff.

“I love our staff,” said Spond. “I can’t wait to watch them play their game and serve our Athletes the D1 way.”

D1 Training ownership is a culmination of skills and service, for Spond. It is here, in northeast Ohio, where he will find joy in growing a team that will serve area athletes for years to come.

Today, Danny Spond lives in Twinsburg, Ohio, right near his D1 facilty, with his wife, Madeline, and three kids Nora, J.D., and Katherine, who already keep the couple busy with sports games and activities. This time as a proud Father, it’s Spond on the sideline as a parent, which is, perhaps, an athlete’s biggest joy of all.