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ABOUT Us

East Coast Athletics is a Sport-Specific and Youth Training facility. We are the athletic training and youth training division of Strive Fitness located in Saddle Brook, NJ. 

 

East Coast Athletics specializes in Sport-Specific Training and Youth Speed/Agility Training. Our training styles include Olympic-style lifting, speed and agility work, dynamic and functional training, and conditioning. All training varies for athletes of all sports. Our athletes consist of boys and girls aged from 7 years old all the way through high school and college athletes. Our main goal is to both physically and mentally prepare our athletes to perform at their maximum potential in their sport. 

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Coaches

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John Valenti

Co-Owner; Strength & Functional Training Coach 

 

  • 14 years as a Sport-Specific Trainer

  • American Heart CPR/AED Instructor

  • American Heart First Aid Instructor

  • 31 years of coaching multiple HS Sports

  • Captain of the 1989 Hall of Fame Wrestling Team

  • One time Javelin School Record holder

  • League, County & State Honors in Football, Wrestling & Track

  • 2020 Inductee to the HH Track & Field "Wall of Fame"

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John Valenti is a dedicated high school football/wrestling / indoor/outdoor track coach and has been for the past 23 years. John has coached in both public and parochial high schools with most of his accolades as the head throws coach at Hasbrouck Heights High School in Bergen County, New Jersey. 

 

As a track coach, John has coached 18 different male and female high school athletes that rank among the top 50 on the Bergen County Track All-Time Performance list, and out of those athletes, 8 of them rank in the top 26 All-Time. Also, as a track Coach John has coached more 50 plus ft. shot putters in Bergen County than any other track coach in county history, not to mention the 9 different girls that have thrown over 36 plus ft., three of which were 39 ft shot putters and two over 40ft. Coach Valenti is also responsible for coaching over 13 1st team All-Bergen County Athletes, 60 1st Team All-League Athletes, and has coached 18 State Group 1 Champions.

 

He has had many of his former throwers get accepted to colleges and receive athletic scholarships to schools that include Monmouth University (Kassie Ketcho), University of Delaware (Irene Cudeno), Monmouth University (Joe Sentipal, Bryan Fill), Coastal Carolina (Bryan Fill), Towson University (Taylor Condal), Felician College (Renee Wilson), as well as the countless number of athletes that have competed in Division 2 and Division 3 schools like Ramapo College, Montclair University, William Paterson, New Haven, and many more. In addition, he has also had 10 of his athletes qualify and be invited to the Penn Relays, also known as The Championship of America, in Shot, Disc and Javelin.

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John's specialty is in strength building and functional/dynamic movements.

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Goal: To give every athlete the opportunity to achieve greatness and accomplishments through hard work and dedication.

 

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Anthony Urban

Manager; Strength & Dynamic Coach

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Anthony is a sport minded individual who enjoys watching athletes achieve accolades. He takes pride in assisting all types of athletes. Anthony has coached at the youth level for many years and has been a part of ECA for the past 3 years. He specializes in strength, cross-training, and dynamic circuit training. He is also a part of our team training and strongman/combine events. 

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Tom Hughes

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Darren Iurat0

Co-Owner; Strength & Speed Coach

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  • 6 years as a Sport-Specific Trainer

  • 5 years of coaching HS Football

  • League & County Honors in Football

  • Top 5 All-Time Javelin School Record

  • American Heart CPR/AED Certified

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​Darren Iurato specializes in Sports Specific Training and Speed/Agility training at all sports and age levels. Darren incorporates both Olympic lifts along with high-intensity dynamic workouts in his training. Darren was a student-athlete at Montclair State where he played football. Darren graduated from Hasbrouck Heights High School in 2014. He was a three-sport athlete in Football, Spring Track, and Winter Track. He earned State, Bergen County, and NJIC honors between both football and track.

 

As a strength and speed coach, Darren has trained athletes to go on to receive several accolades and achievements on both the high school and college level.  Some of these athletes include Jasiah Purdie, Lackawanna College, who was a standout NJ football player for Hasbrouck Heights High School where he earned state and county honors; and Mauro Altamura who was a 3 year starting linebacker at Montclair State University where is earned the honor of All-American at the linebacker position. Darren looks forward to training and coaching all athletes and assisting them to achieve their goals.​

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Jessica Sarubbi

Sport Specific and Functional Training Coach

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Jessica Sarubbi specializes in sports specific training, footwork and conditioning with a focus on track and field (throws) and long distance running. She is a registered nurse with a specialty in pediatric emergency room and is CPR and PALS certified. Jessica was a multi-sport high school athlete including varsity volleyball, softball, and track and field. A past athlete of the week recipient for javelin and a recent inductee to her high school sports hall of fame. Jessica has been an avid long distance runner for the past 9 years and has just completed her 13th full marathon. She is a 2017 Boston Marathon qualifier and has 7 sub 4-hour marathons under her belt. She trains for all distances including 5ks, 8ks, 10ks, 15ks, half marathons and full marathons. She enjoys working with high school students looking to improve their throwing and running and also adults of all ability looking to pursue and attain their goals.

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Claudio Fontalvo

Speed & Agility Coach

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Tom is a speed and agility coach that incorporates functional training, high-intensity dynamic training, and speed/footwork in his workouts. Tom was a 3 sport athlete as well as a captain in all 3 programs. With his hard work and dedication he achieved various county and league honors. Tom has been coaching with East Coast Athletics for the past 5 years and enjoys helping young athletes develop. Tom is currently the Boys and Girls Track & Field Jumps Coach at Hasbrouck Heights High School. His athletic experience and 8 years of coaching on the high school level brings great background to the facility. He is well known for working with boys and girls that have advanced to win and place at the league, county, and state levels. Many of these athletes have expanded their athletic careers in college. 

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Soccer Specific & Developmental Coach

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  • Hasbrouck Heights Girls Soccer Varsity Coach (former)

  • South Hackensack Strikers F.C Coach (current)

  • North Jersey Alliance F.C WPSL Head Coach

  • North Jersey Alliance F.C GSSL Head Coach (former)

  • Royals F.C Director of Development (former)

  • Hackensack High School Assistant Varsity Coach (former)

  • Attended Hackensack High School

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Claudio has 20 years of coaching experience coaching soccer athletes at the levels of WPSL, Academy, High School, and Premier youth.
As a sport specified coach, Claudio is focused and dedicated to the development of the individual's four standards for Soccer: Technical, tactical, physical, and Mental.
 

“The vision is to continue the tradition of success at ECA, while working with some of the most talented

athletes in the sport”

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