Boosting Performance with Bento

Trainers Heather Welborn and Nimoy Triplet log reams of data about the athletes they train in a Bento database.

In sports, it's all about the numbers, whether it's batting averages, lap times, interceptions, repetitions or distance. And when you're training athletes, statistics are a vital part of the program. That's why Bento is at the center of trainers Heather Welborn and Nimoy Triplet's business. "We use Bento to keep track of all our clients, their progress, their diets, their training programs," says Welborn. "We even store photos and videos to analyze and improve their form. It's easy to use and customize. I wouldn't think about using anything else."

Teaming Up

Welborn and Triplet are both athletes, but they didn't team up on any field, court or diamond. Both suffered sports-related injuries that pulled them out of their games-basketball and football, respectively. The experience drew them together from opposite ends of the country and they soon realized that they shared common interests and goals. "We both have a passion to teach young kids in our sports," says Welborn. "We want to teach them all the things we wish we would've known-injury prevention, nutrition, information about scholarships. And being so young and recent to those things, we're at an advantage when it comes to teaching them."

The two decided to start a training business, one that would focus on junior high and high school athletes. Using their own personal experience and drawing on the latest in sports training research, they would teach young athletes how to excel at their sports without getting injured, how to maintain proper nutrition and how to use their talents to get into college.

To do it right, they'd need a database. "I knew from the public beta program that Bento was on its way," says Welborn. "I was pretty excited about it because it seemed like an easy way to track everything we do in our business. We picked up Bento when it was released and we haven't looked back."

Tracking Progress

Welborn set up a training database on her iMac G5 in a matter of hours. “It looked so familiar, like all the iLife and iWork applications, that I was able to dive right in without any problems,” she says. “I started with one of the templates and added more fields as we needed them.” Welborn was also able to port information from iCal and Address Book to populate her new database with contact info, dates and notes.

The database includes basic info about each client, along with training schedules, nutrition plans and recruiting packages. “We have information about the last time we spoke with them, what diet they’re on, how often they’re training and how they’re improving,” says Welborn. “We also have linked files-nutrition plans and recruiting packages-that we keep track of with Bento. We can pull up any of the files quickly and check off which documents we’ve given to which clients.”

As Welborn’s business expanded, so did her Bento database. “We’re always adding fields and information to the database,&lrquo; she says. ”For example, we just started working with a few soccer players and their records require different fields-each sport is unique and we create customized training programs for each of them.”

Managing Business

The team uses the Apple iWork suite to manage the rest of the business. “I use Pages to write all our correspondence, create flyers, even make invoices,” says Welborn. “If we have a training camp with a lot of participants, I’ll enter all the information into Numbers, then export it into Bento when the event is over.”

But Bento isn’t just for business. The trainer uses it to keep track of her own training and exercise routines, as well as her diet. “It’s the best way that I’ve found to keep tabs on your exercise routine,” she says. “And it’s customizable, so I make it specific to my needs.”

Welborn and Triplet currently have about 30 clients, mostly junior high and high school students on the east and west coasts. They’ve also picked up two professional athletes and 10 college football players training for the NFL. Welborn still has a retail day job, but she expects that her training business will soon occupy all of her time. “We’re both committed to this business and we really love what we do,” she says. “I can definitely see our business growing and succeeding over the next few years.”