Looking to get faster, improve your sprint mechanics and become a more explosive athlete? Well, if so, you should be training at Challenger Strength. Our blend of sprint and jump based programming with traditional strength training helps us build fast, effectively strong and confident athletes in a fun and competitive training environment with other hard working athletes. What are you waiting for?!
Wayne, NJ
0 Lessons
Participants
1
Try Coach Gerry risk free. If you don't love your first lesson, we'll switch you to another coach or give you a full refund.
I was a very successful baseball player in high school and went on to play in college. In high school I was the all time career leader in home runs while being named to various awards such as: all prep, all county and all conference. I was also named captain my senior year.
I had a handful of low level Division 1 offers, but ultimately decided on the high academic Division 3 route for an opportunity to play right away AND seek a top level education. This lead me to Babson College in Massachusetts, where my initial desire for entrepreneurship was cultivated. Unfortunately, I suffered a severe ankle injury after my freshman year and my college career was never able to gain much traction. However, this injury, the rehabilitation process and my lack of success in college baseball is what motivated and inspired me to immerse myself in the world of strength and conditioning! I have had success AND I have failed, which I think is important when it comes to my ability to help athletes!
I think the absolute biggest thing I can do to help an athlete improve their game is to augment and bolster characteristics such as speed, power and explosiveness. For one, I think that improving physical qualities and learning to move well can help greatly when it comes to improved output and movement in particular sporting movements.
Additionally, I have had great success helping athletes improve things like their sprint speed, mechanics and add on several inches to their vertical jump. Improving areas such as this can aid tremendously in all aspects of sport by giving athletes an added edge in their game.
Lastly, I think the confidence that comes with putting on size, getting stronger and feeling more explosive is one of the biggest advantages we have seen our athletes walk away with from training with us.
A typical training session can vary based on how many times per-week an athlete is training, but let's discuss a full body training session including speed AND strength.
We start our sessions with a standard warm-up and then progress to speed work. This begins with sprint prep that consists of lower and higher impact jumps to prepare our ankles, calves and limbs. From there, we will move to loaded acceleration training. We will find an ideal loaded sprint load for the athlete and work on improving mechanics, force production and overall 10 yard starts before moving to unloaded 10 yard sprint work to further solidify mechanics.
From there we may do some deceleration/agility training before moving on to plyometrics. This can include box or broad jumps, landing focused jumps or whatever we feel the athlete can benefit from at the time.
After that, we will finish with a strength focus on all main movement patterns. This will include rep ranges of 1-5 and slow/controlled focused movements to build stability and proficiency with the movements. Heavy pushes (loaded push-ups or bench), squat or RDL patterns, single leg strength exercises and more.
Since starting Challenger Strength in 2016, I have trained and helped guide thousands of athletes across various sports such as baseball, football, hockey and soccer (amongst others). In that time, we have helped develop over 100 college athletes, most of whom have worked with us throughout high school as they have earned their scholarships. I have been a special advisor to New York Yankee Player Development, featured on EliteFTS, Muscles and Strength and other popular strength and conditioning publications. Challenger Strength specializes in speed and power development and helping YOU become a more effective player regardless of which sport you play!
The best coach I ever had was my high school baseball coach. He took the time to understand the mental aspects of the game and how important they were to me. I firmly believe that the confidence he instilled in me allowed me to prosper and eventually play in college. All of that was extremely instrumental in my love for the game of baseball and the path I ultimately went down to become a strength and conditioning coach who loves to work with athletes.
Athletes and parents should know the intense focus on detail when it comes to my programming and training. Every weight lifted is accounted for, we have a set and consistent testing approach to gauge a baseline and progress and the environment at my facility is one that will push you to be consistent and results driven.
Everything I do in training is based on the sound principles of strength and conditioning, mixed with things we have tried and had success with over the past six years. Athletes and parents can be confident that they will be training with someone who pushes them to be consistent and accountable, but also looks out for their well-being when it comes to managing training load and ensuring they are prepared to succeed on the court/field. Lastly, we guarantee to cultivate a level of confidence in an athlete that they have never experienced before!
Browse our roster of vetted private coaches to find the right fit for you.
Book and schedule your lessons through our platform.
Meet your coach in-person or virtually, and start chasing down your goals!
If you’re looking to message a coach for the first time, go to their profile and click “Send a Message”. A type box will show, where you can enter and send your message. To follow up with a coach you've already contacted, log into your account and find the 'Inbox' tab. You'll see your message history and be able to send another note.
Once you find a coach that fits your needs, go to their profile, select the package you'd like to purchase, and click 'Book Lessons'. Here, you can reserve your desired number of lessons along with the number of athletes who will be training. After sessions are booked, coordinate the dates/times for each session on your calendar - using the calendar is important since this is how your coach will get paid.
Paying AU coaches via cash, Venmo, or any 3rd party is strictly prohibited. AU coaches know this, but their partnership with us is to split all bookings 80/20 - so coaches keep 80%. We use our 20% to help them find clients & manage their business. Without the split, we wouldn't be able to help our coaches & community thrive!
We integrate with Stripe - the largest & most secure payment processor in the US - to facilitate bookings. Paying online is required, and it simplifies the process for our coaches since it helps track their schedule & earnings in one place. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our support team.
Each coach typically has at least one preferred training location. You can see the location(s) by going to your coach's profile and finding the 'Training Locations' section. If a coach doesn't have locations listed here, you can message the coach to see where they train. Some coaches are willing to travel to clients for lessons, or even meet halfway.
Each coach sets their own schedule for training. You can see a coach's general availability by going to their profile and finding the 'Availability' section - it will list the days and times. If a coach doesn't post their availability, or if your preferred coach doesn't have your desired times available but you want to double check, message them to see if they can work with your schedule.
The AU guarantee (refund policy) has you covered! If you determine the coach isn't a good fit after your first lesson, let us know within 24 hours and you're eligible for a refund. We will also be happy to recommend another coach - be sure to contact our support team.
Our coaches are open to helping athletes of any age and skill level. Please message your desired coach to ensure their skillset fits your needs.
AU was created by former collegiate and professional athletes. We understand the benefits of training with a private coach. It develops discipline, boosts confidence, and provides an undeniable advantage - whether you are just learning the game or looking to earn a college scholarship. All AU coaches are required to pass a thorough onboarding process and we proudly showcase a 10% acceptance rate, so you can trust you're training with the best.
At the end of the day, our mission is to provide athletes with better opportunities to succeed through coaching. You won't find a platform, and group of dedicated specialists, more excited to help you achieve your athletic goals!
© 2025 Athletes Untapped. All rights reserved.