SPRINGDALE — Vic Rimmer was coaching at Shiloh Christian in 2007 when he decided his girls basketball team wasn’t physically prepared for the upcoming season.
He turned to Paige White, a strength and conditioning coach and certified personal trainer from Springdale.
“I saw how football programs were hiring coaches with those backgrounds and having sustained success,” said Rimmer, who is now the Fayetteville girls basketball coach. “My knowledge was so limited, really just what I learned in high school and college. So, I decided to bring Paige in to start our pre-season workouts and see how much of a difference it would make. I was completely blown away with our results. My athletes bodies’ changed drastically and she piloted a nutrition program that the kids hated originally, but the outcome made them beg to go through it again.
“I am totally sold on Paige and her workout programs.”
"I decided to bring Paige in to start our pre-season workouts and see how much of a difference it would make. I was completely blown away with our results. My athletes bodies' changed drastically and she piloted a nutrition program that the kids hated originally, but the outcome made them beg to go through it again."
Vic Rimmer
Former Shiloh Christian coach on hiring Paige White as a strength and conditioning coach
The plaudits continue to roll in for White, who has been a personal trainer for 11 years. She was among 14 trainers nationwide to be selected as elite trainers by Alan Stein, who gained notoriety by helping train basketball players at DeMatha Catholic High School in Washington, D.C. Stein is now the owner of Stronger Team LLC and he conducts clinics throughout the country on training and exercise for high school basketball players.
“She is an excellent strength and conditioning coach and she will be an asset to our movement,” said Stein, who was assisted by White during a clinic in Fayetteville last week. “You feel her energy and enthusiasm within minutes of meeting her. Her passion is contagious.”
White, 36, graduated from Arkansas-Little Rock in 2003 with a business degree. She is an independent contractor and full-time employee with Athlete Plus, where she is a speed training and personal training coach. She is married to Greg White, assistant boys basketball coach at Springdale High.
“Being married to a basketball coach has given me insight into what it takes as a strength trainer,” Paige White said. “I work with teams and individuals, such as DaShaun Stark and Alex Scharlau from Springdale. I enjoy my work and I like a challenge.”
Springdale Har-Ber girls coach Sandy Wright brought in White two years ago after the Lady Wildcats suffered four torn anterior cruciate knee ligaments the previous year. Har-Ber did not have any serious knee injuries this season, including Ashley Gray, who had suffered torn ACLs the previous two years on different knees. Gray was healthy enough to contribute off the bench this season as a senior for the Lady Wildcats, who finished second in the 7A/6A-West Conference.”
“We brought Paige in to help with ACL prevention, strength and conditioning and she’s done a good job,” Wright said.
White also works with the Har-Ber baseball team and she’ll be reunited with Rimmer next week in helping the Fayetteville girls with their off-season program. She’ll travel next month to work with Stein in Washington D.C. before returning home to help train seven teams with the Arkansas Wings Summer AAU program.
“Having someone from Arkansas selected as an elite trainer by Alan Stein is a big deal,” White said. “I am honored and very excited.”