One of the more rewarding parts of our job here at NZ Manufacturing is getting to highlight some of the wonderful ways that our products are used to help train the future top athletes in the world. One example of this philosophy in action is the team at The SPIRE Institute in Geneva Ohio. We recently sat down with Jeff Orloff, Chief Operating Officer, John Wallace, Director of SPIRE Performance and Thad Schultz, Director of Aquatics to talk more about the SPIRE Institute and learn more about how they’re using our products to give their athletes an edge.

Can you tell us a little bit about the SPIRE Institute?

SPIRE Institute is based in Geneva Ohio and sits on 175 acres where we have 750,000 square feet of indoor facilities. A few highlights of our world class facilities include:

  • We run the SPIRE Academy which is an intense program geared towards athletes who are serious about raising their performance level. The SPIRE Academy is geared towards basketball, swimming and track & field athletes.
  • We are the only FINA training site in the US and one of three in the world. FINA is the worldwide sanctioning body for swimming.
  • We hold a large number of events at our facility for organizations across the country. These include basketball tournaments, volleyball tournaments, soccer tournaments and a wide array of aquatic and other sporting events.
  • We have an Olympic size pool where our athletes can train year round

Explain to us how the SPIRE Institute approaches aquatic training?

We’re a technique based program, not a high volume program which means we focus on quality over quantity in terms of our training. We typically do 9 water workouts each week with our top level swimmers. In addition, our athletes will do 5 days of dryland training in addition to 5-6 days of weight room work each week.

Why do Olympic level aquatic athletes choose to work with Spire?

Many of our athletes come to our facility because of the elite pedigree of our staff. Thad Schultz, our Director of Aquatics has coached at Penn State University, Ohio State University and Clemson University. He has worked with more than 20 Olympic level athletes who made their way onto the US National & Olympic teams. SPIRE Institute had 12 athletes at the 2016 Olympic Games including 7 swimmers and 5 track and field athletes.

What NZ Manufacturing equipment are you currently using?

We use a variety of different StretchCordz® in-water resistance training equipment. We’ll often use the Long Belt Slider as well as the shorter Drag Belt/Tow Tether. We use the products from NZ Manufacturing to keep workouts interesting while also helping us to add resistance. A few actual uses of the cords in our weekly workouts include:

  • We keep a set of the dry-land training products attached to our 3 meter diving board ladders and use the cords for a variety of exercises such as a high elbow press.
  • On power days we’ll do combination exercises with both the Long Belt Slider and the Drag Belt/Tow Tether in repetitions of say 20 meter blasts and then go a series without the equipment and instead use fins. This helps our athletes to increase their explosiveness in the pool.

What benefits does the NZ Manufacturing equipment give you compared to some of the other training tools on the market?

We’ve always been impressed with the versatility and durability of the NZ Manufacturing products. We’ve been using some of the StretchCordz® gear for more than 4 years and they still work perfectly. As long as you take care of the NZ Manufacturing products, they will last for quite a long time.

We feel that the cords give our athletes added explosiveness and by being tethered they’re able to work the high elbow and keep their hands firm to actually feel the stroke better than without equipment.

If You’re in the Geneva, Ohio Area Be Sure to Check Out the SPIRE Institute

If you’re interested in seeing a truly world class facility, stop in to the SPIRE Institute if you’re ever in the Geneva, Ohio. We are constantly amazed at the wonderful achievements of our partners and wish SPIRE the best in their quest to continue to develop world class athletes.