FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – When you sit down to watch a National Football League game this season, there’s a good chance that multiple players on the field have worked out under the guidance of Matt Gates.

The former Aberdeen Central and Northern State graduate owns a business in south Florida that many of the country’s top football players have gone to. Gates owns a training facility called XPE Sports.

“A vast majority of my business is the NFL off season and then NFL combine training,” Gates said.

Athletes who have gone to XPE have been able to lower their times in the 40-yard dash and improve their vertical jumping ability, two key measurements for players entering the NFL draft.

“We have essentially every single NFL combine record for 40-yard dash, vertical jump,” Gates said. “We had the five fastest guys the last two years at the combine.”

Naturally word gets out when the numbers are crunched, and the clientele continues to grow.

“We’re kind of known as the go-to place, especially for the 40-yard dash, just because our guys are always the fastest every year,” Gates said, “so word of mouth does do the majority of our marketing for us.”

Current first-year NFL players that Gates worked with in preparation of the combine include Minnesota Vikings receiver Jordan Addison, and Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

It’s not just the rookies that Gates work with though. He also has numerous NFL veterans who frequent his business during the off-season, such as Kansas City Chiefs standout tight end Travis Kelce, and Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb.

“It’s a good mixture of kind of middle of the road guys that are good players, but are not superstars,” Gates said. “Then we’ve got our NFL off-season clients who are kind of the opposite of that, where they’re not great combine testers, but are very good football players, so it’s a nice mix for sure.”

Gates totally understands his role in all of it. While he certainly makes an impact, he is not about to take credit for all of the success that his clients experience on the biggest stage in the game.

“We’re a part of it,” he said. “I definitely get more credit than what I deserve, which is processed.”

Gates said his biggest contribution to veteran players is to help them play as long as they can.

“A lot of people look at it and they’re like ‘Travis Kelce trains with Matt, so that’s the only reason that he’s good.’ No it’s not,” Gates said. “We have a piece of it and we try to help these guys. The biggest thing that we try to do is prolong their career.”

Gates got into the training business while still residing in Aberdeen. He interned with former Minnesota Vikings great Cris Carter, where he trained numerous household names like Randy Moss.

Gates worked for Carter for five years before branching off on his own. He said the timing and location were ideal.

In 2003, NFL athletes were starting to leave their training facilities and head to warmer climates. XPE is located in a prime area for those football players. Gates noted that 52 percent of players on NFL active rosters live in either Broward or Miami Dade counties in Florida.

“To plant a business for training professional athletes, there’s no better spot in the country to do it than Fort Lauderdale,” Gates said.

Gates understands the significance of advice provided to professional athletes. When he first started he said he read every research article he could get his hands on. After years of experience, he has gotten a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Still, he surrounds himself the best professional advice that he can.

“We do have to kind of be on the same page with our sports medicine guys and the team doctors as well to make that sure we’re not doing the wrong thing,” Gates said.

Gates said while young athletes can get injured no matter where they reside, he said there is a benefit to growing up in the Midwest where the weather forces athletes to play multiple sports instead of focusing on just one, which can lead to issues with extreme repetition put on certain joints.

“I think that’s a huge reason why you’re seeing so many injuries in young athletes,” Gates said.

He said athletes are often encouraged to focus on a single activity, in part because it’s means major money for traveling squads.

“All the travel sports are big business and they want to keep that revenue flowing,” Gates said, “so they’re pushing kids to specialize and it’s awful.”

Gates has many fond memories of his time growing up in the Hub City, perhaps the most memorable a football game his senior year at Central. The Golden Eagles were struggling through the season, but managed to upset Yankton in a game where Gates finished with 210 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a 28-27 overtime victory.

“I’ll always remember that. We played out of our minds and I had a good game, and we beat them for the first time in whatever 25 years, so that’s always a memory,” Gates said. “I’ll always remember that one. That one was a blast for sure.”

Gates has also had a blast working with the best football players in America through the years.

“This is the only job I’ve ever had,” he said, “the only thing I’ve ever done since I left Aberdeen.”

And if you enjoy watching the NFL, imagine how Gates feels when he sees so many players out on the field that he has helped in one way or another.

“People always say what’s your favorite team?” Gates said. “We have many guys on every single roster in the NFL, so it’s hard to cheer for one team, so I’m like we cheer for our guys instead of one individual team.”