Parisi Speed School Wantagh is located within the World Gym Wantagh in Wantagh, NY. We are coming up on our fourth anniversary this August. We offer classes for athletes, ages 7 thru college… even beyond. We have been very fortunate to have the same staff since we opened in 2012, with Program Directors Elizabeth Burkhard and Barbara Larrea. The Parisi Speed School Wantagh has been extremely fortunate to have an outstanding staff that allows us to offer over 35 classes a week when in our prime season. Our three Senior Performance Coaches are Alanna Locast, Sean Hyde and Jack Werther. Sean Hyde and Alanna Locast have been with our speed school since the first day we opened. Performance coaches Rob Burkhard, Dan Zucker and Chris DaSilva have also joined the team. Coach Chris DaSilva was actually one of the first athletes to enroll in the Parisi Speed School while playing basketball at Wantagh High School. Inspired by Coach Sean and Coach Alanna, Chris now attends Farmingdale State University and has recently joined the staff!
At the Parisi Speed School Wantagh, we truly strive to create a family environment within our facility and community. Giving back to the community is a focus for us both at Parisi Speed School Wantagh and at World Gym Wantagh. In addition to sponsoring local athletic teams, local 5k races, donating countless free month memberships at PTA events in the surrounding district, World Gym also puts on a tremendous Cycle for Strength Fundraiser. Program Director Barbara Larrea began this event in 2014. In 2015, a 2 hour indoor cycling event was held at Mulcahy’s Bar in which over 75 riders participated. The World Gym Wantagh community raised over $30,000 for Strength for Life! Strength for Life is a local non-for profit organization that provides individuals battling cancer with exercise classes, wellness retreats and support groups. World Gym Wantagh also hosts these free classes to anyone on Long Island.
Going to community events has been critical to our success. Our coaches are always going out to our athletes’ games. We also place a strong emphasis on building an outstanding level of parent rapport with our athletes and their families. In 2014, we were awarded the Outstanding Parent Rapport Award for the Parisi Network. We still continue to call our athletes parents to check in, attend games, have “face time” with parents on the turf before and after class, sponsor local 5k races, as well as local athletic teams. This is one area that we believe that has been critical to our success. Although we do market and advertise, 98% of our business comes from referrals and word of mouth.