Post Season

By Mark Loehrke
Appears in the May 2024 issue.

Former NNHS star comes home to swap the playbook from NFL player to fitness coach

Most professional athletes tend to retire long before the typical office worker might. But what seems like an ideal situation—a blank slate ahead at a relatively young age—is frequently cited by former pros as a major downside of retirement; many athletes aren’t quite sure what to do with their driven, competitive selves once they’re no longer into the all-in lifestyle of their chosen sport.

But that’s not a problem for former Naperville North High School multisport athlete and standout quarterback Matt LaCosse. Following a star-studded college career at Illinois (where he converted to tight end) and a seven-year NFL journey with stops in Denver, New York, and New England, LaCosse hung up his cleats in 2022 and came back home—with a plan. “I always wanted to bring a business to my hometown,” he says. “It’s always been kind of a dream of mine.”

That dream is now realized in the form of Alloy Personal Training (1504 N. Naper Blvd.), the new Naperville outlet LaCosse opened earlier this year (and the first in Illinois for this Georgia-based fitness chain). Focusing on functional movement through small-group strength training (think free weights, kettle bells, bands, and cables as opposed to machines and treadmills), he says the philosophy of Alloy and his post-NFL situation are something of a natural fit. “The idea behind the gym reflects the phase of life that I’m in right now,” he explains. “I’ve had injuries and surgeries over the years, and I want to make sure I’m going to be able to play with my kids when I’m 40 and 50. I can relate to the everyday pain people have because I’m going through a lot of that as well, so I’m able to adjust workouts based on the needs of the individual. That’s the process of this gym—all of the workouts that our clients do are the same kind of workouts that I’m currently doing.”

Putting that process into action involves working closely with four to six clients in a hybrid of one-on-one and group training, which allows LaCosse and his fellow trainers the opportunity to deliver personalized instruction while also building community among the members. While Alloy targets clients in the 35 to 65 age range, LaCosse has clients as old as 79 and as young as 11; the commonality lies in helping each of them set and reach their personal fitness goals.

And the best part for LaCosse is being able to do all of it—and raise his family—right back in his hometown. “I’ve been able to reconnect with a lot of people after moving all over the country for the past seven or eight years,” he says. “And now I’m getting to know a bunch of new people coming into the gym.”

Photos: Alloy Personal Training