Athletic Performance Training Center Fine Tunes Athletes

By: Rich Maclone, December 6, 2013

RICH MACLONE/ENTERPRISE – APT Facility in the Falmouth ice Arena
Every athlete who desires to be better than everyone else is focused on getting bigger, stronger and faster. Wanting it is step one, but getting to the next level takes hard work, and know-how.

Pete Tormey knows about getting to a high level, and he’s now helping athletes at every level to take their game up a couple of notches. Tormey, who was recently hired as an assistant coach for the Falmouth High boys’ varsity hockey team, owns and operates Athletic Performance Training, which is located in the rear of the new Falmouth Ice Arena in Technology Park.

Nestled behind the half sheet of ice at the new rink is the APT facility. The spot isn’t as big as Tormey would like—he’s looking into ways to expand its footprint—but every inch of the area is maximized to allow athletes to get better.

Tormey’s business is growing nearly as quickly as the athletes he trains are getting better. He recently began winter programs for athletes of all ages, with youngsters as young as 8 years old improving their strength, athleticism and fitness. High school-age athletes and professionals also work out at the facility.

His clientele has grown quite a bit since opening the doors last year. Pro hockey players John Muse, a Falmouth native playing in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, and Nick Petrecki, of the San Jose Sharks, both trained under Tormey during the summer. Falmouth native Steve Cishek, of the Miami Marlins, has used the facility recently as he begins his offseason regiment. Cape League ballplayers were in every day during their stay on Cape Cod.

“We do training for every sport,” Tormey said, who is currently training high school and youth athletes from all around the Upper Cape. “And our athletes have been benefitting.”
Several members of the Cape Cod Storm’s U19 girls’ ice hockey team work out at the facility. The team captured the state championship last week. Another young athlete who works out with Tormey, Alex Manos, a freshman at FHS, recently had an exceptional showing at a lacrosse showcase.

Tormey takes pride in the successes that his athletes have had. “If you put the time and effort in, that gives you confidence,” he said. “Even if you have a bad game, you can get out of the hole if you put the time in.”

Tormey grew up as a hockey player and excelled at the youth levels. He attended Catholic Memorial for his prep hockey, helping the Knights to win three Massachusetts state championships while serving as a two-year captain. The defenseman went on to have a standout college career at UMass-Lowell, where he was the captain for two years. He advanced as far as the American Hockey League before deciding to make a career change.

“I’ve always been very goal-oriented. My brother played pro hockey, and I saw through him how things go. I got to be 27 and saw that the time was right to make a change, rather than hang on too long and this is what I wanted to do,” he said.

Starting out as a general manager and head strength coach of Athletic Evolution in Woburn, Tormey learned the ins and outs of the business. After a few years there he started a business on the South Shore.

Paul Moore, FHS’ new head coach for hockey and the former president of Falmouth Youth Hockey, and Tormey had had conversations during that time about the need for a facility on Cape Cod that specializes in strength and athletic training. When the new rink was being built, Moore mentioned to Tormey that space might be available for a venture such as the one that is in the building now.

After researching the idea, and the challenges that lay ahead, Tormey decided to open up at the rink. It’s a decision he’s very pleased with now.

“It was a big leap of faith,” he said. “If you put out the right product, and take the right approach, you hope that it’ll work, but, still, you never know.”

Now there are 60 to 70 athletes per week working out at APT, and the numbers are growing. Tormey said that he’s thrilled to see the business growing, and that his business model is to keep things affordable for parents so that once young athletes start working out, they keep coming back. Classes are about $10 per outing, and meet two, three or four times per week.

The staff includes several other high level former athletes with education in sports science. They include three former Division I lacrosse players, Mike Donahue, Rory Morse and Tyler Sabens.

Tormey said that he foresees APT being around for quite some time. “I’m not going anywhere,” Tormey said. “I’m 33 years old, I’ve got a family now and me being in a rink is awesome. I had my 3-year-old out on the ice the other day. This is where I want to be.”