Jean DePlacido
It was a unique opportunity that two of the leading physical trainers on the North Shore couldn't pass up, so they closed their businesses and merged. Peter Reppas, owner of Repertoire Fitness in Danvers and Matt Foley of Foley Sports Conditioning in Topsfield are now together at the beautiful new 78,000 square foot Danvers Sports Arena where they formed Impact Athletics.
"We were approached by Mark Mscisz, Don Cragg and Kelly Cragg to combine our experience and knowledge," said Reppas, who has trained professional stars including defensive end Julius Peppers of the Chicago Bears and basketball player Luol Deng of the Bulls. "We started with the college program in early June and got the younger kids in here at the end of last month. So far everything is going very well.
"Our chemistry is great. We have two different philosophies and bring all our years of experience working together to get the most out of the kids. Matt and I motivate in different ways; we're a ying and a yang. It's very enjoyable and is working out great."
Foley says what is unique is having close to 40 years of experience available in one building, under one roof. Impact Athletics is attached to the new Danvers Sports Arena indoor soccer facility that offers four turf fields and is located right off Route 114. It has its own entrance and 8,000 square feet for weight and agility training.
"It's an exciting challenge for both of us and I have to admit it was bittersweet because we started something on our own. But it's also exciting to take a new step. I had been doing Foley Sports Conditioning for so many years it was definitely a big change. Peter and I have different personalities, different energy levels and we bring different areas of expertise.
"The best thing about it is what we can offer the athletes. Nobody, barring a Mike Boyle, can offer it. We go from early morning until 8 p.m., and have all different ages. Aztec Youth Soccer U-14 and 15-and-up will start training with us next month. It's a great opportunity for them and a challenge for us because it will involve well over 250 athletes. Their 30 plus women's league also plans to join us for conditioning."
Both men are passionate about their work and begin a busy schedule at 6 a.m., working with football, soccer, basketball, hockey and field hockey athletes — some as young as 11. The group of college age athletes gearing up for their respective seasons include several local players including Greg Ladd of Danvers (Colby football), Hanna Nekorowski of Middleton (Hamilton College soccer), Kaitlyn O'Connell of Danvers (Colby field hockey), Zach Ryan of Danvers (Mass Maritime football), Gabby Russo of Middleton (UTampa soccer), Tad Beuchert of Danvers/St. John's (Assumption football) and Andy Duval of Hamilton (Middlebury football).
They also work with Colgate soccer players Alyssa and Emily Manoogian of Peabody and Newburyport's Jillian Kinter. Reppas expects Peppers and Deng to make appearances to train.
"The facility is huge and we have two floors," said Reppas. "We do the speed and agility work upstairs and then send them downstairs for the strength part. The best thing is we're dealing with kids that want to achieve. They are ready to perform every time they come into the gym, and because they want it so much they get better quickly.
"We work with all different levels of ability and I train my adult clients in my free time when the kids aren't there. I'm excited to start working with the Aztec program. We'll train them for a half hour before their practice which will be right in the Danvers Sports Arena and then get them again for the last half hour when we'll do weight training. It's an ideal setup. Matt has never worked with pro athletes, but I never trained a whole group before so we are having fun making those adjustments."
The programs for high school age and younger run nine weeks, four days a week of progression based on physical and mental conditioning aimed to prepare for their season. A group of Hamilton-Wenham athletes is currently training with Foley four afternoons a week for two hours each day.
Dominick Vogus played football and lacrosse for the Generals. He is going to Holy Cross, but not planning to play varsity sports. He goes through the training sessions with his friends to stay in shape while Cody Cohan is getting ready for his senior year. He plays football and is a lacrosse captain-elect.
"I've been working with Matt since I was in the eighth grade," said Cohan. "It really helps me and this place is awesome."
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Jack Leathersich is making a smooth adjustment to professional baseball with the Brooklyn Cyclones. The six-foot, 205-pound left-handed pitcher was drafted by the New York Mets in the fifth round and sent to the Class A affiliate in the New York-Penn League.
The club plans to limit the former Beverly High and UMass Lowell standout to just 20 innings the whole season with one inning of relief per week. He had a great year for the Riverhawks, posting a 6-2 record with a 1.62 ERA and held opponents to a 1.75 batting average. He holds three school strikeout records.
Lew Leathersich, Jack's father, went to see him last week when the team played Vermont. Jack was impressive in his inning on the mound, needing only 20 pitches to record three strike outs. He registered 96 mph on the pitch that struck out the first batter.
"He loves it," said Lew. "They get around 10,000 fans every night and they are really into the games. He has a great relationship with the pitching coach Frank Viola."
Viola, former Cy Young winner who pitched for the Red Sox, is in his first season as pitching coach for the Cyclones. Leathersich is the highest draft pick ever at UMass Lowell.
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Jean DePlacido is a longtime correspondent for The Salem News. You can contact her at JMDeplacido@aol.com.
