By Rob Morris
The University of Oklahoma’s 2004 recruiting class was one of the tops in the country. One of the reasons was that Bob Stoops and company had managed to sign Lawton Eisenhower’s D.J. Wolfe a top-five running back. Wolfe was excited about playing for the Sooners but immediately faced an unexpected challenge when another top running back committed to play in Norman: Adrian Peterson. Wolfe admits that at the time he had mixed feelings about the situation, especially after it led to him moving over to the defense to start his sophomore year. “Being one of the top five in the entire country and then after one year having to transition to defense, it humbled me for sure,” said Wolfe. “Moving from running back to the defensive back was tough, but it gave me a work ethic, and it also taught me how to face adversity.” Wolfe has channeled that work ethic and willingness to overcome adversity into a successful South OKC business, D.J. Wolfe High Performance Training. The company, which is just over 8-years old, offers personal strength and conditioning training for everything from individuals to teams. Wolfe says the business began shortly after he finished his Sooner football career.
“As crazy as it sounds, I got a random email from a guy who’d looked me up and researched me a little bit,” said Wolfe. That guy represented the Calanda Broncos, an Americanfootball team playing in Landquart, Switzerland. The Broncos team owner wanted someone familiar with American strength and conditioning techniques to train his players. Wolfe, who trained under the legendary Jerry “Schmitty” Schmidt during his OU playing days, certainly fit the bill. “Their owner wanted their guys to be bigger, faster, stronger,” said Wolfe. “I was able to train those guys and also do some training at a university gym that was next door. It was amazing for me to train those athletes and then also train regular individuals, doing some personal training and some classes.” It was an exciting four years for Wolfe, who experienced traveling around Europe for four years. But the Oklahoma native eventually realized that his priorities were back in Oklahoma. “It was fun being overseas, but this is home,” said Wolfe. “I couldn’t imagine living in Europe for the rest of my life, so it was all about picking the right time to come back.”
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That time was 2014 and Wolfe returned to the Moore/South OKC area to land. It didn’t take long for D.J. Wolfe High-Performance Training to get rolling. While small group training is his primary focus, Wolfe also does quite a bit of team training, individual training, along with speed work, agility work, and football-specific training.
and kettle bells, all to keep the classes challenging.
“I’ve trained the Westmoore volleyball team the past two summers, and I’ve worked with a handful of football boys and camps as well,” said Wolfe.
“He’s a guy who’s faced some hardships, but is working with me day in and day out,” said Wolfe. “It’s great to see him working hard as a young man, working with some of our younger folks and seeing the growth he’s had in his life.”
Wolfe says he focuses on getting to know each person he trains to help them achieve their goals. “Finding out where each individual is at in life,” said Wolfe, “Then what they’re aiming for, what their goals are. From there it’s all about helping them from a strength, speed, and conditioning level to reach those goals.” Wolfe says he’s working with about 6-to-7 small groups that meet four days a week (Wednesdays off) at various times during the day, so there are plenty of options for people who are interested in getting involved. He likes to vary his workouts on a day-to-day basis, mixing in boot camps, HITT (High-Intensity Interval Training), and strength training that includes dumbbells
“Half the battle is keeping the mind engaged, so mixing things up does that.” said Wolfe. Former Westmoore football player Nathan Mata works with Wolfe and is a critical member of the training team.
To find out more about D.J. Wolfe High-Performance Training, you can contact Wolfe at 405-637-9585 or email him at djwolfe32@gmail.com.