Matt’s success is living up to your potential

When Matt Goreski looks at an athlete’s body, he’s looking at the whole picture. As a strength coach with a background in human kinetics, Matt says what’s important is the athlete, their sport, their past injuries, and their goals.

Whether it’s a figure skater or a hockey forward, a runner or a football player, each athlete needs specific kinds of conditioning based on their sport.

Matt knows of what he speaks…

Matt’s teenage dream was to be a professional football player. He attended Saginaw Valley and then University of Ottawa playing football, winning national championships. He was signed to the Saskatchewan Rough Riders and suffered an injury the week before leaving for Saskatchewan. He never played again.

That was 2003. What happens when a person’s whole energy is focussed on that one achievement? Pro football. Matt went through a realistic grieving process and then picked himself up and decided not to be sidelined from anything.

He began working with athletes. He registered his business, Kinetic Excellence in 2004. Matt’s affable personality and his ability to develop a program for the ‘whole’ athlete, his willingness to travel and his flexible attitude earned him real support from a number of hockey teams almost immediately. His first team was the Bradford Rattlers, a Tier 2 Junior A team. Then Matt found himself at the World Hockey Centre’s training facility in Shelburne and Alliston. With dorms, arena time, a gym and dryland training and fitness programs, Matt was testing his young clients each week.

He juggled that with personal training clients in downtown Toronto, doing early morning stints there and getting back to the Shelburne facility in time to work with his teams on the ice.

“I take the whole group, look at the game and practice schedules, and develop a strength program for each player for the whole year,” he explains. He got a call to travel to Sweden, at the invitation of people who’d trained with him at the World Hockey Centre.

Matt’s Swedish program this summer was set up quickly because a city really cared, and was motivated to make this happen for world class athletes. At Olympic Park in Katrineholms Kummunen, they opened up the arena, brought in international athletes, provided full training, dorm, and meal accommodations. Being trained by a Canadian coach was an attractive opportunity to many athletes and there was incredible enthusiasm for what Matt was doing.

The captain of the Belgian Olympic team; a goalie from England, a cracker-jack young women from the Netherlands, and lots of Swedish players… they arrived for six weeks and lived at the Sport Hotel. Eight athletes from Canada travelled with Matt to attend this World Class Training Centre… from Collingwood, Calgary, Olds, (Alberta) Wasaga Beach, Owen Sound, Newmarket and Aurora.

With Matt’s dietary care, each athlete gained weight and muscle, and got stronger and faster.
And they bonded with Matt Goreski, the man who transferred his passion for football into a passion for helping other people know and push their limits. Last year’s 6 week training will be 8 weeks for 50 athletes in 2008. The mayor of Katrineholms Kummunen saw an opportunity and moved mountains to make it happen. In short order they’ve established an international training facility.

While Matt normally works at the high school and university sport levels, he is the official training company for the York Simcoe Storm, Ontario Varsity League football. Two of his clients are major junior hockey stars. He works with soccer players, swimmers, triathletes–all requiring different programs.

Why is Matt all over the place? It makes sense. “It’s not useful right now to have one facility. I’m building liaisons with a number of facilities so I can bring athletes there.

“With the Swedish camp I’ll eventually have to have a centre.”

Who inspires Matt when the going gets rough? Tudor Bompa, author of the three books on periodization, a training system that gave Eastern Bloc athletes dominance in athletic competitions for 30 years. Matt wrote to Dr. Bompa through his publishing company. Matt’s return address on the envelope was Queensville, ON. Dr. Bompa called him immediately. He’s just moved down the road to Sharon, ON. They met for tea. “Tudor Bompa has become a second father to me,” says Matt. “Working with him is a real treat.” Working with the world’s top authority on sports training?
Yes!

Matt’s going back to Sweden for eight weeks of training next summer. But, what’s his long term goal? “I want Kinetic Excellence to develop a retreat for pro athletes to get focussed, to get healthy, to get strong.

“I want to run international sport performance camps, to train, fund, supplement athletes around the world.”

Looks like he’s on his way. Strength. Power. Speed. Agility. Flexibility. Massage. Nutrition. Supplements. Skills. Mental Conditioning. Recruitment. Kinetic Excellence.

Thanks, Matt

……….

Kinetic Excellence, Matt Goreski
Suite 188 65 Cedar Pte Dr, Barrie, ON
L4N 9R3, kineticexcellence.com