TRAINER & TDA OWNER / FOUNDER

COACH DUKE ROUSSE

Coach Duke Rousse is an elite trainer of athletes across the nation with a client list comprised of NFL, MLB, and NBA players as well as professional actors and musical artists, high school and youth athletes, and collegiate athletes including extensive work with top NFL Draft prospects. With over 20 years experience in the field, Coach Duke has acquired a specific skillset and passion for enhancing athletic performance at all skill levels to help athletes achieve their fullest potential and reach their goals. His far-reaching industry connections afford him access to the most up-to-date training practices, technologies, and opportunities to offer his clients and incorporate into his programs.

An impressive athlete in his own right, Coach Duke earned inspiring stats throughout his collegiate basketball career and through his success in the boxing ring. He was a JUCO All-American at New Mexico Jr. College (’93-’95) where he made 46 percent of his 3-point attempts and earned records for most shots from behind the arc in one season (177) and most steals in a year (62). He went on to play for Trinity University in Chicago (Div. III) where he averaged 29.6 points per game. As a boxer, he had 10 amateur bouts in the 154 pound class, recording a 9-1 mark. Coming from a long lineage of talented boxers, competing is in his blood.

Coach Duke went on to work side-by-side with some of the top speed and conditioning experts in the country. He began training athletes in 2004 and eventually opened the doors to The Duke Academy (TDA) in Kenner, LA. He credits much of his success with TDA to his close confidant, Deion Sanders, who had an early influence on his business practices and training protocols. In 2010, Coach Duke was named as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Sports Figures in the region by The Times Picayune’s South Louisiana Sports Power Rankings and was featured on the NFL Network for his joint combine training venture with Deion Sanders, Prime U.

He has had the honor of traveling across the country with Under Armour training high school combines. And he continues to produce unmatched results through his efforts at TDA and his work with local teams throughout the New Orleans area where he resides with his wife, Michelle, and their three children.

Coach Duke values a strong work ethic, giving back to the community, and putting God above all else. He leads by example both through his work and in his personal life. Coach Duke’s ultimate goal and mission is to impact and inspire young people’s lives on a daily basis and to make each of his athletes better players and better humans.