For many athletes, winter is considered an “off” season. If an athlete does not participate in in basketball, boys swim, or indoor track, they will utilize this time to train for the spring or next fall season. It is times like these where athletes thank businesses and training facilities, such as the Speed Center in Prospect, Connecticut.
The Speed Center opened in winter of 2017 and has been helping athletes ever since. The Speed Center has exceptional trainers who help athletes correct form, build healthy habits, and create an environment where the trainees can focus on themselves and push themselves to exceed their limits.
“My favorite part about going there is it is not just an average gym where you do what you know, the trainers push me to keep going, add more weight, and push through,” said Madeline Raffone. “It helps me to work harder and feel better afterward.”
Raffone has been attending the speed center since seventh grade and believes it has certainly helped her growth throughout her soccer career.
“We do lots of speed exercises and running drills. We use a TrueForm treadmill which helps set your pace. We also do weight training including bench presses, trap bar deadlift (which is my favorite), however, we focus mainly on speed drills,” said Raffone.
She attends the classes at least twice a week and plans to continue with her consistency.
The Speed Center is also a great option for athletes who need to focus on specific areas and weaknesses they do not focus on normally. Paige Letourneau has been attending the Speed Center for quite some time as well, beginning going with her premier soccer team in middle school. She took some time off but has picked up last year since she became more serious about running track. Leternauo has recently been working on building strength back up in her injured leg.
“I mostly have been doing ACL strengthening, getting my quads burning, and one legged squats. We work on those exercises there so that he can monitor my form, so when I do them on my own I don’t do something wrong and build bad habits,” Letourneau said
Letourneau, like Raffone, also loves the environment and how it pushes you to be better. When there, an athlete will not be pushing themselves alone, they will have other people around them with a common goal to build eachother up.
The owner and one of the trainers, David Pavia, enjoys the center for similar reasons. Pavia specializes in strength training and conditioning and enjoys watching the athletes develop, reach their goals, and achieve their dreams.
“What I do best is get to know the athlete, see what part of the training needs attention, mental or physical, and immediately we start with that and go from there,” stated Pavia.
Pavia and the rest of his team works hard to not only make the athletes feel their best, but also create an environment where they can continue to grow and reach their full potential.
“Some of the time it is very speed related goals. Some of the time it’s injury prevention related. Sometimes it weight loss or weight gain. Sometimes it is mental confidence and performance,” Pavia said.
The Speed Center is an excellent resource for athletes who want to improve their overall physical performance. Whether it is building strength, helping injuries, or maintaining their fitness, the Speed Center has it all.
