By Travis Smola
A new training center in Vicksburg seeks to help athletes train for maximum performance.
Everything about the center, in the Oswalt Electric building at 591 W Prairie Street, is geared towards helping serious athletes. “The main purpose is excellence and trying to help those athletes get to that point they didn’t think they could,” owner Simon Cholometes said. “This is primarily for young, dedicated athletes that have higher aspirations.”
He calls his new performance center and weight room Areté Athlete. The name Areté comes from a Greek word for excellence. And it’s this commitment to performance and helping others achieve their goals that he hopes to bring to the athletes he coaches. “It’s something I’m real passionate about,” Cholometes said.
Cholometes, originally from White Pigeon, is a former athlete himself. He ran track and was a safety and wing back at Northwood University and Minnesota State. He started off majoring in finance before he realized he was unhappy with it. Then he took an internship under an athletic director that changed everything. “That’s where I found my passion was through coaching,” Cholometes said. In addition to his new business, he is also pursuing a master’s degree in sports psychology.
The weight room has been built to be a scaled-down version of a typical college facility. Cholometes says he will work one-on-one with athletes to help develop programs and training geared towards each athlete’s individual needs. In addition to an extensive set of weights, the center features a space with a stretched elongated hallway. “The stretch is long enough to do a lot of speed work,” he said. He even has a set of hurdles that can be used in the space.
Cholometes has received endorsements from Sturgis high school athletic director Mark Adams and track coach Ken Mills. White Pigeon’s high school track coach Shawn Strawser and Brant Vallier, Primetime Baseball coach have also given Cholometes their seal of approval.
It didn’t take long for athletes to start looking to Cholometes for training. He is already working with several area high school students on everything from track and baseball to softball, soccer and more. “It’s a pretty big range,” he said. Cholometes expects to begin working with more athletes as spring sports programs start to gear up.
While the center is geared primarily toward serious athletes, Cholometes says he may open the center up for more serious power and competitive weight lifters in the future. For now, Vicksburg provides a good central location for him to reach out to many young athletes. “I feel like Vicksburg is a good area,” Cholometes said.
For more information, go to http://www.theareteathlete.com or call 358-3030.