Pictured: Master Deven Rutland trains students of all ages at Ninja Squad Athletics. Photo courtesy of Ninja Squad Athletics.

There’s a new gym in Sarasota. However, it’s not your typical gym, filled with treadmills and bench press machines. Ninja Squad Athletics is a Taekwondo gym where students of all ages can learn the Korean martial art under elite instruction. This Saturday, Ninja Squad Athletics will hold its Grand Opening, a free event featuring food, games, giveaways and prizes. Attendees will also be offered the chance to attend two weeks of classes at Ninja Squad Athletics free of charge.

Ninja Squad Athletics started in a garage, born from the passion of a mother, her son and his Taekwondo instructor. Owner Denise Nerland had enrolled her son Cooper in Taekwondo lessons a few years prior, watching a rambunctious four-year-old turn into a black belt in just under two years. More importantly, Taekwondo gave Cooper a sense of purpose–he found a way to channel the excess energy that can be found in many children. Instead of quarreling with his parents or sister, he would divert his attention to training.

Soon into Cooper’s Taekwondo career, however, his instructor Deven Rutland left the gym where Cooper was training. “When Deven left the dojo, it devastated my son. The students develop quite the relationship with their masters. I got a hold of him and he started coming over to train Cooper privately in my garage. He’d come over 2-3 times a week and train with him,” says Nerland. “I asked Deven about opening his own place. He told me that he could teach anybody Taekwondo, but he doesn’t know anything about opening or running a business. As luck would have it I know nothing about teaching kids Taekwondo but a lot about running a business.”

From there, Ninja Squad Athletics was born. The gym focuses on Olympic style Taekwondo training and while they do have a competitive team–with a couple students heading to Nationals this Summer–there is no incentive to compete. The classes are small, topping out at “an absolute max” of 20 students, with the focus on quality instruction and creating strong master-student relationships. With Ninja Squad Athletics, Nerland aims to create the type of environment where her son Cooper flourished–a place that welcomes all and pushes their students to become the very best version of themselves.

June 22, 12pm to 3pm, 4422 Bee Ridge Rd, Sarasota, 941-402-8833.

Pictured: Master Deven Rutland trains students of all ages at Ninja Squad Athletics. Photo courtesy of Ninja Squad Athletics.

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