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Velocity Sports Performance

by Daniel Sean Kaye
Better, Together: Velocity Sports Performance’s state-of-the-art training facility produces better athletes at every level.

No matter your goal—whether you’re an athlete getting ready to compete at the varsity or college level, or someone who just wants to be stronger and faster—Velocity Sports Performance can help.

This ultimate training facility offers degreed and certified world-class sports performance coaches who have worked with professional and Olympic-level athletes as well as collegiate national champions and All-Americans. Its state-of-the-art training facilities meet the needs of all athletes and include cutting-edge technology and machinery. Programs are scientifically designed to improve momentum, dexterity and potential, and will lead you through a professional program tailored to your individual needs.

Owner Rich Sharpnack Jr. and business partner Cary Huggard have run their Cherry Hill location since 2003 and opened a new Washington Township/Sewell facility this past May. Sharpnack is also manager of the sports medicine program at the Rothman Institute, the area’s orthopaedic leader in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries due to athletic activity. The two Velocity locations have a close relationship with the Rothman Institute.

Helping Youth Reach Their Goals
Prior to opening the Cherry Hill Velocity, Sharpnack worked with team physicians for the Eagles and Flyers. While there, he saw a real need for the proper training of young athletes.

“I wanted to help reduce injury. I believed that proper training at a young age was the key,” he says. “We could do that, while at the same time increasing their speed, agility and power.”

In fact, there are many reasons for young people to come to Velocity. While some are preparing for upcoming sports seasons, others want activity to combat obesity. To support that, Velocity’s coaches use positive reinforcement so that children feel good about their accomplishments. This boosts their self-confidence in areas beyond sports.

This is especially important to Sharpnack, who fought obesity himself as a child.

“Working out and training taught me a lot about life, and I definitely want to pass that onto the kids we work with at Velocity,” he says. “That’s where I get the most satisfaction—I love seeing kids improve and become more confident. That’s a big thing for me.”

Gaining an Athletic Edge
Velocity’s climate-controlled training facilities offer athletic turf fields, sprint tracks and Olympic-style weightlifting equipment. They use a video analysis system which allows athletes to see their athletic performance in action and lets coaches analyze their results.

“Our main focus is athlete training. We want to make better athletes, reduce injury and increase confidence,” explains Sharpnack. “Some people think we’re just for elite athletes, but that’s not true. We cater to athletes on every level, working with them to attain their different goals.”

Velocity has been training Moorestown High School girls’ lacrosse for about five years, strengthening their long-standing winning legacy. Other client groups include weekend warriors and stay-at-home moms who want to go beyond the treadmill, explains Sharpnack. That’s why they offer so many different options, from “boot camps” to semi-private groups with no more than 10 participants, allowing for more one-on-one training.

“No workout is ever the same,” says Sharpnack.

Clyde Folsom, head football coach and assistant athletic director at West Deptford High School, is a big fan of Velocity. For five years, his team has been training with Velocity twice a week during the summer. It’s no coincidence West Deptford was state champions last year and in the finals four out of the last five years.

“There’s no question our success is a direct result of Velocity’s program,” Folsom says. “After the first workout, they’ve identified individual needs, and by the second they are attacking weaknesses. They are highly organized and efficient, and create workouts that are competitive and motivate and challenge the players. I don’t know any other program that can offer the level of training that they do. Velocity is by far the best program I have ever seen.”

Knowing the value of updating and adding new programs and features, Velocity ensures that their offerings are the best of what’s available in the sports performance, health and fitness industries. And one thing is especially true, no matter the level of your ability or interest, Velocity Sports Performance will help make you or your child a happier, healthier, more confident athlete.

Velocity Sports Performance
2005 Route 70 E. | Cherry Hill
309 Fries Mill Road | Sewell/Washington Township
(856) 874-9700
VelocitySP.com

Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Family’s High School Fall Sports Preview, July, 2012.
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