Independent performance coaching · Dallas

The work comes first.

Speed, strength, power, and education for competitive athletes and adults who want to perform at a higher level.

David Bernal B.S. Exercise Science · C.S.C.S.
Athletic Performance Specialist

21Before the ten

Earn the 10.

Before the iconic number, there was the work. The unglamorous reps. The discipline no crowd gets to see.

21 Strength & Performance draws from the path of footballers like Ronaldinho and Zidane—players who wore 21 before they became synonymous with 10. It is a reminder that identity is earned long before the spotlight arrives.

But the 10 is not only a jersey. It is the version of you that performs better—on the field, at work, at home, or in everyday life. You earn it the same way: show up, put in the work, and learn to love the process—not just the outcome.

→Preparation before recognition. Standard before status.

Built to perform.

Individualized performance training that connects physical output with the understanding to own it.

Speed

Acceleration, movement quality, and repeatable mechanics that hold up under pressure.

Strength

Resilient, usable strength built around the demands of the athlete and the sport.

Power

Turning strength into decisive, game-ready output—with intent behind every rep.

Coaching forYouthAdultPro

The full performance system

Train the athlete, not just the session.

TrainingPurposeful work, progressed with intention.

RecoveryCapacity grows when recovery is part of the plan.

TestingMeasure what matters. Adjust what is not working.

NutritionFuel the work and the adaptation that follows.

MindsetConfidence built from preparation, not performance theater.

A standard you can wear.

The 21 mark carries the same message everywhere: the athlete before the applause, the process before the proof.

Front and back concept for a black 21 Strength and Performance training shirt

10Earned, not given

Wore 21. Became 10.

The 10 is never the starting point. These are the players who did the work in 21 before the most famous number in football found them.

21→10Ronaldinho

21 · Paris Saint-Germain, 2001–2003 → 10 · Barcelona, 2003–2008

Ronaldinho wore 21 at Paris Saint-Germain from 2001 to 2003 — a 21-year-old Brazilian turning raw talent into something repeatable. In 2003 Barcelona handed him the No. 10, and he made it immortal: two La Liga titles, the 2006 Champions League, the 2005 Ballon d’Or, a standing ovation at the Bernabéu that even Madrid couldn’t withhold — and by 2006, the 10 for Brazil as well.

Wearing 21 in Paris was the apprenticeship. Wearing 10 everywhere else was the coronation — but the smile never changed.

21→10Zidane

21 · Juventus, 1996–2001 → 10 · France

Zinedine Zidane wore 21 for Juventus across all five of his seasons in Turin — the metronome in stripes while Del Piero held Juve’s 10. But for France he was the No. 10, and in the summer of 1998 the world learned what that meant: two headers in the World Cup final, then Euro 2000 to complete the set.

The 21 did the unseen work in Italy. The 10 carried a nation.

And the ones who never needed the 10 — Pirlo and David Silva made 21 a legend in its own right.

→Preparation before recognition. Standard before status.

21My number

Why I wear 21.

I grew up on Ronaldinho. The Joga Bonito videos — I’d watch him for hours, then go outside and try everything. The dribbling, the no-look passes, the way the ball just obeyed him. His style, his energy, the pure joy he played with. As a kid, that was everything.

Here’s what I didn’t realize at the time: when I was a young kid, he was wearing 21 at PSG. A few years later, he was the 10 at Barcelona — the best player on the planet. I watched the whole thing happen. The work in 21, then the coronation in 10.

That arc stuck with me. I never got my 10 — and at 36, I could probably take it on my team these days. But I still pull on the 21. It’s the number I fell in love with as a kid in the yard, and the truth is I’m still earning it.

Now my son Ethan wears 21 too — and he was born on June 21, 2021. The number chose him before he could choose it. So this became bigger than me — it’s a legacy project. I’m building this brand while he’s growing up in the 21, working toward his 10. Same number, same path, one generation later.

That’s what this brand is. — David

Ready to put the work in?

Tell me where you are, what you are training for, and what you want to change. We will start with the next right step.

Email 21 Strength

CoachDavid Bernal

Based inDallas, TX

Emailinfo@earnthe10.com