Complex sentence: Thorpe got his start as a high school assistant coach then went into personal training in the early-to-mid 1990s, training some of Florida's top high schoolers.
Split into simpler sentences: Thorpe got his start as a high school assistant coach. Rather than continue the normal coaching career path, Thorpe went into personal training in the early-to-mid 1990s, training some of Florida's top high schoolers.