Terrance Butler and the Science of Speed

Myrtle Beach native Terrance Butler, 29, is all about helping young athletes achieve maximum potential.

A speed and agility trainer and entrepreneur, he embarked on his business, ESA Fitness Club five years ago having returned from Maryland and a shot at professional football – in his case the Canadian Football League, or CFL.

A graduate of Presbyterian College in Clinton, Butler attended on a full football scholarship and majored in sociology.

“It’s a small private liberal arts school, and I had an awesome career playing football there,” he said. He was a wide receiver.

He started training with an eye to pro football in Maryland. Unfortunately, he got cut from CFL rookie camp and decided to come back home to Myrtle Beach after living and working up there for a time. But he experienced many things in Maryland, especially in regard to training, that he could put to good use on the Grand Strand.

Indeed, he trained with the same guy who trained Broncos tight end Vernon Davis – and spent a lot of time training with his friend, now Indianapolis Colts cornerback Greg Toler.

“We played in the same all-star game in college – the East Coast Bowl. That’s where we met,” he said.

In that game, Butler says he won best all-around for offense and Toler won best all-around for offense. Later, it was Toler who suggested that Butler should come up to D.C. to train.

When he returned to Myrtle Beach, he said he pretty much started at ground zero with his business concept, citing family and friends for help and support along the way.

He began by training young athletes at Loris High School and later Socastee High School.

“I put on a couple of speed and agility clinics,” he said, and when he had about $1,000 saved up and had three or four clients, he decided to open up his first gym, which was 1,000 square feet.

“I wanted to get people faster – and teach them about just being a better athlete. And the work kind of spoke for itself. I didn’t spend too much money advertising, and it had just been word-of-mouth. Now I am at the point where I can take them to the NFL combine.”

The first guy he took to the combine two years ago was Lorenzo Taliaferro, who attended Coastal Carolina University and was a fourth-round draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens. Last year he trained two guys – one went into the CFL and the other, the Eagles.

“I like working with my professional athletes. That’s kind of what I wanted to get to, but I have to start somewhere – and starting somewhere is working with the kids that are around here.

He recently moved into a new facility in the old Waccamaw Pottery complex, across the street from the Boathouse. His truck is emblazoned with the ESA logo, phone number and website – www.esafitness.com. ESA stands for Enhanced Speed and Agility.

Butler said Myrtle Beach High School and Socastee High School have been really good to him by allowing him to use their fields while he grew his business, which was an organic process.

Besides the summer, January is probably his busiest month.

“Two days a week I have baseball players getting ready for the season – and some of my guys that play football are back in, getting a lot of speed and agility work. Then I do some adult personal training in the morning - mostly people who want tone up and lose a little bit of weight.”

But the majority of his clientele is student athletes.

“Typically when a new kid comes to me, we go through an evaluation period and then they sign up for a certain amount of packages. We work on lateral movement, linear movement – being explosive – footwork – along with the nutrition side of being an athlete – putting the right food in your body, what to do before the games – and how to take care of your body.”

Of course, Butler is big on the recruitment side of things – being prepared, what to expect and what numbers athletes need to put up to be looked at.

He envisions a facility concentrating on all sports, and is working toward that objective by bring in key people to help make that a reality.

He believes that speed can be taught, although not everyone can achieve a 4.2 second 40-yard dash, or simply 4.2 40.

“You have to put in work and you have to be diligent,” he said. Everybody can work hard every now and then, but if you consistently work hard, then you will reap the benefits and it will be awesome.”

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Terrance Butler and the Science of Speed."