Pottstown Athletic Club - Community Support Center Celebrates Friends-Giving and Re-Grand Opening held November 4th 2023
Pottstown Athletic Club - community support center, PAC is a functional athletic community center for all. Regardless of physical limitations and socio-economic challenges, PAC has been at the forefront of providing opportunities for all since our beginning in 1992. Through educating and providing opportunity to our participants in scientifically proven functional performance-based fitness and sound proven nutritional education.
PAC was founded by Robert and the late Katherine Matthews. PAC was inspired because of both Rob and Katie’s upbringing; both were raised in single parent homes with very little means. Financial and nutritional deficiencies, SUDS – Substances Use Disorder, and ACEs – Adverse Childhood Experiences were obvious to both which is the cornerstone of the development and mission of PAC. Our credentialed staff provide top-of-the-line coaching, offer physical, social and psychological support to a demographic that has a “Need” and these programs are exactly what we tailored this facility for.
This organization is intended to help those who want to rise above their poverty, addiction, and historical experiences and build the will and confidence through athletics and the science behind it that is required to break the generational dependence on assistance and the perception of “I can’t” to “I can” PAC programs supports veterans, disabled individuals, at risk-youth, low-income families, recovering addicts, those struggling with weight gain, insulin resistance, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes. Our upcoming focus for 2023 through 2025 will be Adapted Athletics and Master Class Athletics (50 yrs and over) in efforts to ward off decreptitude.
Defining the health and social obstacles, we confront within this Community.
CensusTract 2089.04 Pottstown, PA 19464
A) Chronic Disease. We define Chronic disease as Obesity, Stroke, Diabetes, Chronic Heart and Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, Chronic kidney disease. We know that Chronic Disease is at the root cause of 80% of all deaths and 86% of all medical expenditures. All the above have a behavioral driven component to them. Sedentarism and excessive consumption of refined carbohydrates or carbohydrate toxicity are the overwhelming causes of chronic disease. Science has proven that if you have 1 then eventually you will have 2 and before long additional comorbidities will follow. We don’t see this with the below categories.
Below are 4 categories, these deaths are beyond our control, they “happen” to us, and they consist of 20% of all deaths and 14% of our medical expenditures. It is highly unusual to have “multiples” of these categories unlike Chronic Disease
1. Microbic, Ebola, Sars, H1N1 etc.
2. Genetic, hemophilia, sickle cell, cystic fibroses etc.
3. Kinetic, gunshot, car crash, etc.
4.Toxic, Snake bite, botulism, arsenic
Our contribution is 2 parts, 1) Dietary assistance, Athletic Coaching and Group Support (classes) – eat lean meats and vegetable, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar, keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat - 2) Behavioral – get off the couch and off the carbs, become physically active with functional movements and a variety of physical activity consistently. PAC provides multiple programs for physical fitness and athletic training at a fraction of the cost of other facilities. Our objective is to see more families, get active, to integrate individuals who until now could not financially afford programs such as these and to help those who are trying to reestablish a new sober identity and or healthier lifestyle as they take responsibility for their own health and wellness. One family at a time, one individual at a time, PAC works with individuals and families on a rate that fits their budget – no one is turned away due to financial hardship, what works for them works for us. (Courtesy of Greg Glassman founder CrossFit Inc.)
Addictions.
Pottstown is the home to 34 plus recovery houses also known as “Transitional Housing” – a very large volume for a town of roughly a population of 22500, by comparison Norristown has two. A simple google search for “Pottstown Recovery Houses” will produce a wide variety of local options. With the stigma associated with recovery, many isolate and stay within the Recovery community to maintain their comfort zone. Isolation leads to relapse; An unfortunate statistic: 40 to 60% of individuals new to recovery relapse within their first 30 days of leaving an inpatient treatment center, and up to 85% relapse within their first year. Oftentimes individuals in their initial months of recovery will resume their day-to-day lives that they lived prior to recovery with the expectation that they can continue to live life as normal without using drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately, this is not possible for many new to recovery. The first year of recovery is especially fragile and meaningful. Studies suggest that once an individual can maintain 12 months of abstinence, their chances of continued longterm success in sobriety dramatically increase.
Our contribution: Research shows that a safe and substance free living environment as well as social support are critical to long-term success in maintaining abstinence from drugs and alcohol. PAC has tailored a program called - CPR - CrossFit Pottstown Resurgence (“resurgence” - meaning to rise again). There is significant science to support exercise and recovery. PAC offer’s 6 “FREE” classes per week for individual’s transitioning into a sober healthy lifestyle, all classes have 2 coaches and 1 assistant. coach. All Coaches themselves are in recovery and are credentialed CrossFit Level 1 & 2 Instructors as well - as USA Weightlifting Level 1 Instructors and all coaches compete in a variety of athletic endeavors. 2 nights per week immediately following the “Resurgence” class we host a recovery support meeting for class participants. In 2013 this program started with just a couple of attendees, in 2021 we serviced over 3300 visits – as of June 30th 2022 we serviced over 2000 visits with a 2022 yearly projection to exceed 4000. This level of attendance is testimony to the “Need” for such a program and support facility within these demographics. Since 2017 Montgomery County Drug and Alcohol has been partially funding this program due to its success.
B) Poverty and ACEs Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are childhood traumatic events, such as: maltreatment and witnessing family violence; exposure to parental incarceration, substance abuse, or mental illness; living in unsafe neighborhoods, in poverty, or in financial hardship; and experiencing bullying or discrimination More than two decades of research has shown that ACEs are a significant predictor of lifelong health, mental health, and substance abuse problems (Felitti, et al., 1998; Gilbert et al., 2015; Nugent, Goldberg, & Uddin, 2016). (Bethell, Simpson, & Solloway, 2017; Cronholm et al., 2015; Mersky, Janczewski, & Topitzes, 2017).
How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime - Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris
Our contribution: PAC offers multiple programs to Pottstown Area Youth, Kickboxing, Karate, Boxing, Fall and Spring FREE Athletic Programs. Team sports are not a good fit for all children, we offer individualized programs that develop confidence, athletic skills, and good sportsmanship.
Our focus is on personal responsibility, confronting and overcoming obstacles and addressing personal challenges. Football, Baseball, Soccer, and other organized sports are not always attractive to all youth, especially those with troubled backgrounds, anger management issues and those whose homes are not safe sanctuaries. Pottstown Athletic Club / CrossFit Pottstown provides teens and youth with alternative programs for physical fitness, competition, and character development. Olympic Weightlifting, Karate, CrossFit, Boxing, Kick Boxing, and Dragon Boating are excellent tools for teens and youths from these backgrounds to utilize to focus within and build the confidence to challenge themselves and confront life’s “not always fair” realities.
Core Programs at PAC Moving Forward
Moving Forward, PAC we will initiate 3 New Programs with the Assistance of American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (https://adaptedsports.org/ ) and others.
Currently PAC Instructors are engaging in training and certifications in 3 additional programs: Adapted Paddling, Adapted Athletics with a focus on Adapted CrossFit with the intent of this program being “Inclusive” with our standard CrossFit Classes, and “Master Class” 50 years and up with the emphasis of warding off decrepitude and maintaining functional capacity as long as possible.
June 18th and 19th 2022, the AAASP sent Ron Lykins, the winningest international coach in WNBA history to Pottstown Athletic Club to coach our staff in preparation for the upcoming program. https://www.nwba.org/ news_article/show/899402 Our Initial Programming is adapted CrossFit, Basketball and Paddling (Dragon Boating) as these are the facility strengths.
Our staff had been trained, tested and certified through AAASP, Damien Thornton was brought on board as our Director of Adapted Athletics July 2022. Damien has decades of competition and coaching adapted athletics; Damien has many accomplishments as an Adapted Athlete.
We look forward to opening many doors to enable PAC to provide training opportunities for adapted athletes and Individuals with disabilities to become active and engaged in fitness programs tailored for their capabilities. Below are just a few of Damiens achievements.
• 2002 Dean’s Student Leadership Award for Academic Excellence and Community Service Outreach
• 2000 NWBA Tournament Most Valuable Player
• 2000 Baltimore Metro All-Star Classic All Tournament Basketball Team Selection
• 2001 Craig Cook All Star Memorial Tournament All Tournament Basketball Team Selection
• 2000-2002 Defensive Player of the Year (3X Recipient)
• 1995 Robert McShane Award for Excellence In Track and Field
• 1992 Ludden League Community and School Service Award
• Father Kevin J. Murphy Award for Academic Excellence and Dedication to Athletics The Weekly Fight is a veteran and 1st responders PTSD support program. PAC was introduced to program founder Major Marty Kenny by way of Montgomery County Veterans Affairs to host the programs Pottstown Area Chapter, To fully understand please view -https://youtu.be/uv_6Gscjxyo Many participants find this program overlaps very well with our CPR program – our goal is to turn post-traumatic stress into post traumatic growth. U21 Boxing, (under 21 yrs.) PAC Boxing program is registered with “USA Boxing”. USA Boxing is the US Olympic Committees National Governing Body of amateur boxing. This program is operated by 2 former professional Boxers Jules Blackwell and Sam Tumminello, and assistant Darnell Walker. All 3-gentleman have extensive amateur and professional careers spanning over twenty years each. PAC is fortunate to have this quality of coaches available to Pottstown area youth. PAC is USA Boxing Club # 589028 and is actively fielding ages 21 and under.
PAC – Youth Series - This is a 10 week ‘FREE” athletics class consisting of functional movement training and performance. This group meets on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm for 10 weeks in the fall and 10 weeks in the winter. Classes are coached by CrossFit Level 1 and Level 2 Coaches. Each class consists of three 20-minute sessions of new functional movement introduction. At the end of the coaching sessions all 3 movements are combined and the group performs a predetermined workout under the watchful eyes of our seasoned trainers. The importance of proper nutrition is incorporated within this training
PAC - Shotokan Karate – Initially, PAC grew out of this Karate program, Classes run 3 days a week, PAC is a registered affiliate with “USA Karate”. USA Karate is the US Olympic Committees National Governing Body of amateur Karate. We offer no secret techniques, no mystical art, no superhuman abilities. Instead, we offer the benefits that come from hard work and consistent training - hard work expands ability, humility develops character, structure instils discipline, and focus inspires intellect. What we learn through training carries over to all aspects of our lives. When nurtured properly, the attitude cultivated within martial arts training and competition can greatly develop the confidence required to succeed in personal and professional endeavors. Structure, discipline, confidence, focus for youth and adult are all benefits from this program. ( Adam Older of www.BushiKarate.net performs a seminar at PAC )
PAC – Kick Boxing - This program is fast becoming popular with families, a very fun interactive class - Coach Mike Hughes long time kick boxer and athlete brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to PAC. These classes are designed to have fun while at the same time developing all the attributes associated with traditional martial arts training.
PAC has tailored a program called CrossFit Pottstown Resurgence (“resurgence” - meaning to rise again). There is significant science to support exercise and recovery, we offer 6 “FREE” classes per week for individuals transitioning into a sober healthy lifestyle, all classes have 2 coaches and 1 assistant coach. All Coaches themselves are in recovery and are credentialed CrossFit Level 1 & 2 Instructors as well as USA Weightlifting Level 1 Instructors and all coaches compete in a variety of athletic endeavors. On 2 nights per week immediately following the “Resurgence” class we host a recovery support meeting for class participants. In 2013 this program started with just a couple of attendees, in 2021 we serviced over 3300 visits – as of 1 June30th 2022 we serviced over 2000 visits with a 2022 yearly projection of Over 4000. This level of attendance is testimony to the “Need” for such a program and support facility within these demographics. Since 2017 Montgomery County Drug and Alcohol has been partially funding this program due to its success.
PAC – Dragon Warriors - Paddle sports are on the rise, with Pottstown being located along the Schuylkill River the opportunity for outdoor on water training is significant.
Paddle Sports have proven to be a safe exercise and an athletic alternative for our aging populations, paddle sport enthusiasts train and compete well into their 60s and 70s. As winter approaches in most of the northern states, paddle sports come to a seasonal close – not in Pottstown - PAC is equipped with the only indoor Paddle Sports Pool and electronic
training and racing machines in the USA. As the seasons change PAC members move their training indoors, these indoor capabilities attract competitive paddlers from all along the northern seaboard. Paddle sport enthusiasts such as dragon boater’s, canoeists, kayakers, OC1s, stand up paddle board athletes all come to Pottstown. Indoor paddle sport training generates revenue for Pottstown hotels, restaurants and more. Teams from New York City and as far away as Washington DC make the trip during the winter months to train at PAC.
Future Soldiers - With the support of, and coordination with, Kenneth Wong, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, PA, East. PAC brings in outside military personnel and hold speaker series with individuals who have made careers in the medical, mechanical, administrative, environmental, social services and more not to mention the college tuition assistance and skills transferable to civilian life providing an alternative opportunity to Pottstown Youth.
For many years PAC has been a Community Partner with the US Army Mid Atlantic Recruitment Command providing a critical role for local future soldiers. But first, these individuals must be physically capable to enter the rigors of military training and entry condition. Second, they must meet the academic standards required to meet this opportunity. We provide both. Individuals within receive free delayed entry program scholarships to train and participate physically as well as free internet access at or facility to access the www. march2success.com academic support program. In December 2021 the US Army Fitness team came to PAC and competed against 5 other organizations. The event was well attended and cheered by many Pottstown youth, many who were inspired to engage and pursue opportunities not available elsewhere to residents within the census tract.