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The Columbia Star - SC SEPTEMBER 8. 2006 7
By Cindy Thompson
Donovan Craft and
Richard Williams feel right at
home with the sounds of refer-
ee whistles and cheering fans
at Plex Indoor Sports in North-
east Columbia. With a long
history as athletes, trainers,
and great friends, thesetwo
talented sports minds have
merged to become ambassa-
dors for physical fitness at the
new Xcelerated Athletics train-
ing facility inside the Plex.
"'Big Rich' and I met
each other at Gardner-Webb
University where we played
football together," Craft said.
"We became very close friends
over the years and remain
even closer today. I was his
best man at his wedding and
am one of three godfathers to
his son, Xavier."
In July, Craft and
Williams joined forces with
Plex Indoor Sports and Moore
Orthopaedics to bring athletes
closer to their peak physical
condition. Their new business,
Xcelerated Athletics, is located
inside Plex Indoor Sports
wh~re it's catching the atten-
tion of all types of athletes or
just about anyone interested
in improving their physical
condition.
Walking into the Xceler-
ated Athletics gym, one imme-
diately notices a unique
assortment of equipment that
the average fitness gum may
not recognize. Craft said,
"Some of the pieces of equip-
ment we use ire our high
speed treadmill, capable of
inclines up to 40 degrees, and
speeds up to 28 mph, plyo
press, pro multi-hip, plyo plat-
form, patented Frappier Accel-
eration sport cord technology,
jump stretch bands, and kettle
bellsC
The Xcelerated Athletics
sports training program works
in tandem with Moore
Orthopaedics' physical thera-
py services and meshes well
with the Plex's array of teams
and clinics. According to Craft,
Xcelerated Athletics is
designed to train individuals
for any kind of sport base-
ball, soccer, football, golf, ten-
nis and so forth. Their staff is
.trained to work with individu-
als who have been injured and
are going through physical
rehabilitation. And they create
programs for clients who are
Donovan Craft [1) and Richard
Athletics
taking their first steps toward
getting into shape.
Their business follows
the principals of the Frappier
Acceleration Sports Training
Program, Cral explained. This
program focuses on increasing
speed, agility, and overall ath-
letic performance through a
combination of sprint exercis-
es, neuromuscular coordina-
tion, and anaerobic and aero-
bic conditioning.
Sixteen-year-old
Michael Czulinski has been
playing soccer since he was
four. He decided to train with
Xcelerated Athletics when he
was assigned a new position
on the Spring Valley High
School varsity soccer team.
Czulinski is in the process of
completing a 23-session pro-
gram, focusing on speed and
agility training.
During the first session,
Xcelerated Athletics trainers
will introduce Czulinski to
each piece of equipment. He
will,undergo a gait analysis
and flexibility test. Trainers will
also conduct two testing ses-
sions, one pre-test and one,
post-test, to assess the ath-
lete's improvement.
'?dl of our speed testing
is done electronically so we
can't cheat our athlete and just
make it look like we have
made them faster simply by
testing them easier on their
last day," CraR said.
Craft detailed Czulinski's
training program. "Being that
(Big Rich} Williams,
he is a soccer player, he will
have 12 running sessions on
the Super Treadmill for his raw
speed improvement, and eight
plyometric sessions to
improve his change--of-direc-
tion, first step quickness, and
explosiveness. All of this
comes together to create a far
superior athlete to the one
that walked through our door
on day one."
The Xcelerated Athletics
staff has a strong Columbia
connection and a strong con-
nection to high school and
college sports.
CraR was a SpringValley
H.S. graduate, where he
played football and was select-
ed All-Region and All-State.
He played four years of college
football at Gardner-Webb
University in NC, and he was
twice selected All-Conference
player for the South Atlantic
Conference and the Big South
Conference. He was selected
All-American his senior year.
Craft went on to coach high
school and college football
teams and began working with
amateur and professional ath-
letes as a strength and condi-
tioning coach.
A native of Char-
lottesville, Va "Big Rich"
Williams excelled in high
school track, wrestling, and
football. He earned a football
scholarship to attend Gard-
ner-Webb University, and he
was selected to play on the
Blue-Gray and Senior Bowl
Rogers Townsend & Thomas, PC law firm is
relocating due to major expansions within
the practice. The firm has added a new title
services section with over 30 title abstractors
on staff along with a title review, title
issuance, and title curative group to support
the team. The firm has grown from 65
employees in 2001 to 220 today.
EdVenture Children's Museum is one of
three national recipients of the Universal
Design for Learning Award presented to chil-
dren's museums by the Association of
Children's Museums and.VSA arts.
Brian A. Calub
Helen Bell
Joey D. Footman
South Carolina Senator
John Courson, a key
Republican leader in state
and national politics for
over 25 years, has joined
Straight Talk America as a
Co-Chair for South Caroli-
na.
Brian A. Calub has joined
Nelson Mullins Riley &
Scarborough as an associ-
ate in the Firm's Columbia
office to practice in busi-
ness litigation.
Senator Jake Knotts was
appointed t'o a new com-
mittee called the Criminal
Justice System Task Force.
Helen Bell, a member of
Gandy-Griffin Auxiliary
#4262, participated in 93rd
National Convention of the
Ladies Auxiliary to the Vet-
erans of Foreign Wars
(VFW) of the U.S.
loey D. Footman has joined
the Junior Achievement of
Central South Carolina,
Inc as program manager.
e
Romanians
From page 6
live entirely in the new Their recent rate of
regime beyond the influence inflation at 5% is a bit above
of the Soviet bloc. ours, and they have fears lor
The Romanians have their environment as the
learned from us, both our economy expands, just like
successes and our mistakes, we do. For the past three
For instance, their corporate years, their annual growth
tax rate is 16% countrywide, rate in the Romanian gross
while here in the USA we pay domestic product has been
35% to the federal govern- running above 6%, while the
ment and a little more to the GDP growth rate in the U.S.
state government and some- has been about one-third
times even a little more to less.
the municipal government. To contribute books or
The Romanians impose a to offer housing accommo-
value-added tax of 19% on dations for next year, call
their goodsl which can be Leigh Stevenson at the
considered a consumption Moore School of Business,
tax and can be considered a 777-2191, or call Haneez Zat-
personal income tax relief tam at the World Affairs
feature. Council, 252-2197.
owners of Xcelerated
All-Star teams He was offered
the opportunity to play NFL
football, but turned down the
offer. ESPN Covered Williams'
decision to walk away from
NFL football, bringing to light
the issues and personal strag-
gles that many athletes face
when entering into the profes-
sional football arena. "Many
people told him to just go
ahead, get drafted, take the
signing bonus, and quit," Craft
recalled. "And he remarked,
'How is that any different than
walking down the street and
robbing a bank? What kind of
testimony would I have ifI did
something like that?'"
Williams went on to
work for Team Impact, and
became a high school PE
teacher and coach.
John Craft, Donovan
Craft's father, also works on
the Xcelerated Athletics train-
ing team. He is a Columbia
native who played football,
baseball, basketball, and track
while attending Columbia
High School. After attending
USC, he served in the U.S.
Army, retired after 30 years
with BellSouth, and worked
with the Spring Valley High
School football team.
For more information
about the Xcelerated Athletics
program call (803) 788-2118.
Or visit www.xathleticscolum-
bee.com. Xcelerated Athletics
is located inside Plex Indoor
Sports at 741 Fashion Drive in
Northeast Columbia. Contact
Xcelerated Athletics staff for
information on cost per ses-
sion. Average cost per hour is
about $25.
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