Last year when Athletic Republic moved its training and technology into the USNTDP training facility at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, Scott Moneghan Director of Hockey Operations for US Hockey had this to say:

The U.S. National Team Development Program is a cutting-edge program that strives to make our American players the best on the World stage. And the Athletic Republic Hockey Treadmill is the type of cutting-edge technology that will help our players continue their string of five consecutive medal performances at the Under-18 World Championships, also helping them to reach their personal goals for success in college and professional hockey.

It’s seems that Scott Monaghan he wasn’t kidding with that statement.  Last week, in the same town where Athletic Republic was  created — Fargo, ND — the USA U-18 team took the ice to defeat the Russians 5-0 defeat. Five separate players scored goals in the championship game.  The U.S. finished the tournament 6-0-0-1, and captured the first world title for a U.S. hockey team on home ice since the 1980 Olympic Winter Games.

Tonight was a culmination of two years of hard work for many of our players, said Ron Rolston, head coach of Team USA. They sacrificed for each other and they became a family. They had the focus, determination and persevered, which is what the National Team Development Program is all about. There is no better way to end the season and I am really happy for our players.

Before a record crowd of 4,923 at the Urban Plains Center, Team USA struck early when Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich.) put a wrist shot into the lower right corner of the net through a screen just 2:09 into the game. Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) doubled the U.S. advantage after he streaked towards the goal and one-touched Kevin Lynch’s (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) feather pass inside the left post at 9:27.

Just 1:55 into the second period, William Wrenn (Anchorage, Alaska) one-timed Drew Shore’s pass from the middle slot into the lower left corner for a power-play goal, making it 3-0.

Chris Brown(Flower Mound, Texas) extended the lead to 4-0 when he took Shore’s drop pass and wired a wrist shot over the right shoulder of netminder Igor Bobkov 2:29 into the third period. Just 1:10 later, Nick Mattson (Chanhassen, Minn.) fed Ryan Bourque (Boxford, Mass.) who sniped a shot into the upper left corner to ice the 5-0 victory.

Netminder Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) made 17 saves to earn his second shutout at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

All of us at Athletic Republic would like to say ”Congratulations TEAM USA!”

This report just in from Tad O’Had, our VP of Hockey … who is a big hoops fan too:

Basketball development was taken to another level this past weekend when Athletic Republic invaded Hoosier Country to open our seventh performance sports training center in the state of Indiana. The newest member of the Athletic Republic starting lineup is housed in The Fieldhouse of Merrillville, which features six full NBA-style basketball courts for clinics, camps, showcases and national tournaments. In addition, athletes are able to continue to raise their game to new heights with Athletic Republic’s scientifically proven training methods.

During the weekend’s Grand Opening April 17-19th, Athletic Republic – Merrillville was host to the Hoosier Invitational. Thirty-eight teams of 8th to 12th graders competed for hardwood supremacy in front of over 400 athletes, parents and coaches.

We couldn’t be anymore excited with our facility at The Merrillville Fieldhouse. The one-two punch of Athletic Republic and Fieldhouse is an incredible combination provides so many aspiring athletes with the very best in performance sports training and basketball development. Kyle Nettestad, Athletic Republic – Merrillville Owner and Operator

With Kyle’s entrepreneurial insight and passion for athlete development, the facility is sure to be a success. So much so that Kyle has taken his wealth of knowledge of exercise science and has applied it to his athlete development membership model, where Athletic Republic athletes will undergo a series of assessments throughout the year to specifically target the athlete’s strengths, weaknesses, overall development and progression. The athletes are then greeted one-on-one by Athletic Republic Performance training staff members, who will devise individualized training programs and cycles to allow the athlete to train safely, properly and assure the athlete will be rested and ready to peak at game time.

Our focus is to arm our athletes with the knowledge and know how that only professionals receive, whether it be nutrition, testing or just overall sprinting mechanics. Our objective at Athletic Republic  is to give our athletes the advantage and with our AR development model we are able to assure that the athletes train in a periodized manner year round, while taking in account the workloads of the pre-season, in-season, post-season and off-season. Kyle Nettestad

For More Information on The Fieldhouse of Merrillville and Athletic Republic  visit us at www.athleticrepublic.com or www.thefieldhouse-merrillville.com.
The Fieldhouse - Merrillville
899 E. 99th Ct.
Merrillville, IN 46307

BJ Maack Testing, Teaching & Training @ Football University - Orlando

The first weekend of April found me in sunny Florida “working” at the FBU - Orlando event.   While I was away from my family for my second Football University camp, and putting in some long hours, I can hardly say that it was “work” because it was such an amazing event.   I was immersed in a 100% athletic environment for three days, around some very talented and driven athletes who were being coached by former athletes sharing the same desire.   Along with AR staffers Jen Davidson, Jon Drenckhahn and All Star Sports Director Todd Robinette, I found myself in the midst of near football bliss!

Simply stated, we had a great weekend!   I was most excited to see a great mix of what we do best at Athletic Republic:  testing, teaching and training.   The Fusion timing and reaction system, combined with the Dartfish software, put on a great show in front of the parents, coaches and athletes!   It was amazing to see the folks’ light up when we showed the video segments captured by this next-generation testing and evaluation system.  It’s no exaggeration to say that Athletic Republic is unmatched in this area of sport!

It was also fun to be able to demonstrate some tangible take-home teaching points to the athletes over the weekend.  Whether it was about arm angle in the 40-yard dash, nutrition tips, ways to get faster, whatever … we were being asked all weekend about WAYS TO GET BETTER.  And we delivered.   The athletes gained a lot of benefit from our staffs’ ability to communicate practical things they can do at home.

Having done two of these FBU events now, I am impressed with the FBU staff’s talent and methods of communicating football expertise to the athletes.  I can say without reservation that I believe that Athletic Republic’s army of trainers and staff are unparalleled when it comes to being able to teach an athlete how to be a better athlete.

I am so excited to see what the future FBU events will bring.  It is clear to me that Athletic Republic continues to gain stature in the sports world as the leaders in performance sports training!

BJ Maack
Athletic Republic – Arkansas Sports Performance

Athletic Republic in Russian

In 1986 John Frappier, the founder of Athletic Republic, was invited to join the U.S. Gymnastics Team delegation in the U.S.S.R. for the Summer Goodwill Games. John quickly realized that America’s athletic training lagged behind that of the Soviets and began translating his experiences into better training plans for athlete development in the United States. Many of the training concepts John learned from the Soviets focused on over-speed training, plyometric training and athlete testing. On John’s return flight home, he devised new ways to train and new machines to test an athlete’s limits. Thus, the thinking behind Athletic Republic was born in Russia.

Twenty-three years later, Athletic Republic was invited back to Russia to provide our Athletic Republic Hockey Performance System and expertise to the city of Yekaterinburg and their city’s professional, junior and Olympic academy hockey players. The city of Yekaterinburg is considered a hotbed for young aspiring hockey talent. The city boosts two Olympic Development academies ranging for athletes 7-16 years of age – the Automobilist Authority and Automobilist Unost. In addition the town is home to one of the region’s elite junior programs as well as a professional team in the 2nd Division Russian Liga, the Yekaterinburg Automobilist. Over the years, Yekaterinburg has produced such NHL superstars such as: Alexei Yashin (Ottawa Senators, NY Islanders), Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Redwings), Nikolai Khabibulin (Chicago Blackhawks) and hundreds of others to star in the Russian KHL and 2nd Divisions.

Russian entrepreneur Igor Balandin first approached Athletic Republic in the fall of 2008, after returning home with his son Ivan, an aspiring hockey standout. Ivan had spent weeks training in one of the Athletic Republic’s many Chicago-land facilities with trainer Tyler Bosch, and had seen incredible improvement in his skating. So much so, the head coach of the academy team took special notice that Ivan was clearly a stride ahead of his opponents and decided to examine the possibility of opening an Athletic Republic facility in Yekaterinburg further.  After researching Athletic Republic, and traveling to the U.S. to visit our performance sports centers in Libertyville, Illinois, Albany, New York, Stamford, Connecticut, and Chelsea Piers, in Manhattan, Igor was hooked on the concept of developing his very own center in Russia.

So, 23 years later the goodwill shown John Frappier on his trip to Russia comes full circle. State-of-the-art, patented equipment like Athletic Republic’s Hockey Treadmill, and scientifically tested and proven training methods offer hockey players in Yekaterinburg the best of both worlds.

“It is with great pleasure to bring an Athletic Republic facility to Yekaterinburg, Russia. The results that I have seen firsthand with my own son, and the fact that Athletic Republic has trained so many NHL stars is incredible – it’s an opportunity that I am excited to give back to the hockey community and help to provide a safe and effective way for hockey players to gain speed, power and efficiency.” –Owner Igor Balandin

Suffolk PAL National Champs!

At Athletic Republic, we pride ourselves on providing hockey players a program dedicated to “lighting the lamp”. Last week, the Suffolk PAL Junior “B” franchise took that to another level when they clinched a National Championship Title from the Central Penn Panthers with a decisive 4-1 win.

“Unbelievable,” was Head Coach Aleksey Nikiforov’s response right after winning the USA Junior B National Championship. “We were aware of how tough it would be and the boys worked hard to accomplish their goal.”

Suffolk PAL came into the USA Junior B National Championship as the fourth seed from the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League after losing in the Semi-Finals of the Keegan Cup to the Central Penn Panthers.  That would turn out to be their last loss of the season.

“This has been an absolute incredible experience for these young men. They have all worked extremely hard on and off the ice and when the battle was needed to be won they were well equipped,” said Jake Laime, Suffolk PAL Assistant Coach and Hockey Manager at BlueStreak, Hauppauge.

Equipped is an understatement. This team boasts the top three goal scorers in the nation, as well as the leading defensemen, and one of the finest coaching staffs in Junior Hockey with “Coach of the Year” Aleksey Nikiforov, Jim Wright, Jake Laime and GM Ron Kinnear. The team also is equipped with their own state of the art Athletic Republic Hockey Training Center, BlueStreak Sports Training.

“This is the moment we have all waited for. Since we first opened BlueStreak Sports Training four years ago at the Rinx in Hauppauge, NY, the overwhelming goal was to be able to provide the Suffolk PAL players with a state of the art training center. Being a fellow Long Islander. I wanted the best for these kids. They have the best coaching staff and the finest facilities, but I felt that they needed a training facility that could improve their on-ice strength, power, efficiency and overall conditioning,” said Matt Stack, VP of Operations at BlueStreak Sports Training. Read more

Offense vs Defense Reaction Drill

As I stood waiting to speak to a high school gymnasium full of parents and athletes, my father asked me if I was nervous.  I gave him a quizzical look and said, “No way, I’ve been waiting for this since October when they announced the FBU partnership.”  I spoke for only 5 minutes but I guarantee every person walked away with one new piece of knowledge.

I brought up the idea of separation on the football field and how at Athletic Republic we out TRAIN the competition so that you can out PERFORM yours on the field.  I asked the entire audience if they knew what the separation was in an athlete who is 0.2 seconds faster on a 40 yard sprint.  I stuck the microphone in the face of a shy kid in the first row and he quietly said, “A foot?”  I repeated his answer to the audience and then one of our local Athletic Republic athletes raised his hand and after I called on him he proudly stated, “6 feet!”  I could see the surprised reaction in the audience.  I quickly added that we have a published, scientific study showing that we can produce average gains of 0.2 seconds on 40 yard times.   No less than an hour later I asked the athletes on the field what 0.2 seconds was and they all said 6 feet!

The entire weekend was a great mix of working with the athletes and answering questions for the parents.  The sprint cords were a great draw and all the athletes were amazed at the difference they could feel in just 4 quick starts.  We believe that this weekend will be a great boost to our business and provided a platform to get our brand in front of very influential coaches, parents and athletes in the Phoenix area.  In the first week we have already seen an influx of those athletes whose parents were in our tent all weekend.

Kristopher Birkeland
Director of Training
Athletic Republic Tempe

Hello Blog Fans!

I just finished up my first FBU event in Southern Cali’s own, San Diego.  The camp was held at Cathedral High School, whose football team won the State Champs of last year.  The brand new campus was awesome as it had an Aztec look plus a monastery feel to it.  The camp started off great because I had the chance to individually meet every kid.  All seemed nervous, yet super excited  at the same time.

After the FBU introduction we went immediately down to the dynamic warm up.  Within minutes it was easy to tell who had been working out, and who hasn’t been doing anything but PS3 and nachos all month.  We then went to our “Speed, Burst, Acceleration” drills which included Dice Drills, Hurdles, 40 Yard Dash Technique and Drills, and Pro Agility Technique and Drills.  This went great, as we got a chance to show the kids what we do, and they in return got to show us what they can do. I had a chance to go over with the kids my “38 Yard Dash” technique, a technique which allowed me to run a 4.51 electronic time for NFL scouts at 250 pounds. One kid that immediately stood out was a kid named Kenny Stills.  After talking with Kenny I found out that his dad had coached me when I played in NFL Europe.  His dad played at Wisconsin and went on to play for the Packers. It seems like Kenny is following in his dad’s footsteps, looking to play some Big Ten football of his own in the near future, so I look forward to following his career.

Saturday came fast as it was time to see who can play some football and who is just “bells and whistles”.  The talent was great and the coaches did an excellent job emphasizing proper technique in everything they did.  The position coaches consisted of a group of Techmo Bowl All Stars, including Andre “Full Moon” Rison from the Falcons, and Lorenzo White of the Houston Oilers.  I remember playing as these guys on Nintendo back in the day so it was a great experience to meet them.

Now that the technique aspect was installed, Sunday was more of a competition day.  I had the chance to run into Eric Allen, who left Oakland soon before I joined them, so we had the chance to chat about some Raider football.  After practice we ran the kids through a grueling obstacle course and tested them out in the vertical.  I believe these kids were definitely ready for a long long nap after the camp was over.

Overall I thought the camp was awesome.  I have been to tons of football camps in my life and this had to be one of the best.  Having former NFL players as coaches was a huge plus because these guys have more knowledge about the game than anyone out there.  Plus the mix between technique and competition was a top notch combo.  Most importantly having Athletic Republic there separated the FBU camp from any other camp in the nation.  No matter how good you are at football, it doesn’t mean anything unless you are at your max potential in speed, agility and explosiveness.  Throughout my career, I’ve beaten out numerous football players who were WAY better players than me, simply because I was quicker, faster and stronger than all of them.

I really hope all the kids at the camp take what they learned from all the coaches and apply it to their everyday training.  FBU should just be the beginning of preparation for a successful 2009 season.  I encourage all FBU athletes (and all non-FBU athletes) to find your nearest Athletic Republic to improve your performance, continue to practice the proper techniques of football, and take your game to the next level!

Yours In Speed!

J.R. Niklos

Athletic Republic’s patented Hockey Treadmill and performance sports training programs gives hockey players the speed and separation needed to compete in the “new” NHL.  Each individual training program increases a player’s stride frequency, stride length, skating mechanics, edge control and stability, conditioning, shot velocity and puck control. Visit an Athletic Republic training center for one of our programs designed to “light the lamp!”

Are you football fast? Do you have the speed to separate from a defender or close the open-field gap? Athletic Republic has been the answer, for more than 500,000 athletes of all ages, looking to improve their speed, power and agility.

Fact is, with Athletic Republic’s help you can train your body to be faster on the football field. Our Acceleration Training program is focused on improving your speed and fundamental movement skills, on developing your explosive power to deliver a blow or gain that first step, and to be in condition to perform as well in the fourth quarter as you do in the first.

Get football fast with Athletic Republic.