GONZALES - A new, top-notch fitness facility in Ascension is giving student athletes a place to train with world-class athletes and coaches.

Kevin Nolde is a professional motorcycle road racer, but he is only in the 10th grade.

“It was really either quit racing and go to school or keep racing and go to online school,” Nolde said.

Unlike most student-athletes, Nolde goes to school online through Ascension Parish's digital academy, leaving him plenty of time to train.

“It makes it a lot easier for sure because if you only have to go to school for four hours instead of seven,” he said. “That's three extra training hours. The more you can go to the gym."

The new D1 Training facility coming to Gonzales will help make the training part even easier for student-athletes just like Nolde.

According to D1, they give the community, especially athletes, access to world-class training, mimicking that of the student-athlete experience at division one universities.

“We're providing the same thing that these student-athletes have at LSU. Meaning when you walk in, you're going to have an expert coach meet you at the door,” said Will Bartholomew, CEO and founder of D1 Training.

With a new training facility coming to the area, student-athletes now have a place where they can prepare for the next level of athletic play, but Ascension Parish Schools is giving them a place where they can prepare academically as well.

At the digital campus in Sorrento, teachers are on-site, teaching more than 60 students like Nolde who need a flexible school schedule for their training.

“If they participate in competitive sports, that 24-7 helps them considerably,” said Harry Wright, the principal of the Apple Digital Academy.

With flexible school schedules and now a new top-notch gym, student-athletes like Nolde have plenty of room to advance their careers and keep up with their studies.

“Usually, it's like 12 o'clock and after I’m free, and that's usually most of the day working on bikes and stuff."