Get to know the owners of Sheepdog Athletics

Want to know a little bit more about Dan and Tonya Miller, the owners and coaches of Sheepdog Athletics?

Dan has been actively involved in sports his entire life, playing baseball through the end of high school, running 5k races, competing in CrossFit and now competing in Olympic Weightlifting. Dan joined the United States Air Force at 18 and served 4 years active duty. While stationed in Florida, Dan found CrossFit and not long after knew that someday, he’d open his own gym. Tonya also grew up playing sports, playing softball and cheerleading throughout high school. Dan introduced Tonya to CrossFit in 2009 and she had finally found a fitness community that wasn’t intimidating but yet still challenged her and kept her engaged, wanting to come back to train every day. Dan and Tonya both got their Level 1 CrossFit certifications in 2011. In 2012 when Dan separated from the Air Force and joined the Air National Guard, they set off, back home to Massachusetts, with their goal to open a Hybrid Gym. Dan went back to school, worked as a personal trainer at the YMCA and began training clients out of their home gym while continuing to learn about different training methods, Olympic Weightlifting, coaching and programming. Tonya worked in banking and as a real estate agent while also going back to school for business management. Tonya and Dan both believe it is important to always grow their melting pot of training knowledge. Dan received his Level 2 CrossFit certification as well as his USAW Level 1 Weightlifting certification. Both Dan and Tonya are members of the Dark Orchestra weightlifting team, run by Jon North, National Weightlifting Champion and two-time Arnold Championship winner and Jared Enderton, nationally ranked weightlifter and Baltimore Anthem GRID athlete. Dan and Tonya’s goal is to get themselves exposed to many different styles of teaching and methods of training to be the best coaches they can be. They are confident that their facility and the program they run will prove that their hard work and dedication over the last 6 years has paid off.