As we head into the 2024 high school spring season, the LILJ is proud to announce its new partnership with E.A.S.T Fitness LI led by Mike Kaplan who’s been training for 15 plus years and his team of professional trainers. E.A.S.T. which stands for Endurance Agility Speed Training is based out of the 40,000 square foot turf field space of Premier Sports in Hauppauge NY, and they train athletes from all over Long Island across various sports. Priding themselves on taking athletes to new heights, E.A.S.T. Fitness increases overall speed and acceleration, first step explosion, quickness, improves agility, maximizes stamina, endurance and more!
Many of the athletes that Kaplan trains, he has been training them since their youth, including Golden State Warriors shooting guard Lester Quiñones who is a Long Island native, growing up in Brentwood. Kaplan can recall training Quiñones going back to when he was in high school. “I used to train him when and he would take an Uber to train with me and then I would drive him home, and now two nights ago he’s playing against the Atlanta Hawks guarding Trae Young, hits a buzzer beater, and he and Steph Curry are chest bumping at half court.” Kaplan says that those moments are why loves training athletes, getting a chance to see the growth and the development in their sport over the years.
Among the current collegiate athletes in lacrosse that Kaplan has trained going back to middle school is Florida Gator Danielle Pavinelli from Northport. Kaplan enjoys getting a chance to watch her play whether on television or in person if Florida is on the island, as he has seen the tremendous growth and development in her game from when he first began training her in grade school. Whether it’s training athletes that have made it to the pros, collegiate players, or those that are simply aiming to maybe make a middle school or high school team, Kaplan always takes joy in just seeing them develop and tries to take time to see those locally competing in their sport, knowing how much they put in behind the scenes with their training.
Beyond training individual athletes, E.A.S.T. Fitness also trains high school teams year-round as they prepare for their season. Two of Suffolk County’s contending lacrosse teams going into the 2024 high school season that currently train at E.A.S.T. Fitness include Ward Melville Girls Varsity and Huntington Boys Varsity.
With the new partnership between E.A.S.T. Fitness and the Long Island Lacrosse Journal, the lacrosse community can expect to see plenty of unique collaborations with E.A.S.T. Fitness athletes, and future events held at Premier Sports. One of the upcoming events that the LILJ and E.A.S.T. Fitness have in store is the first of its kind All-Long Island Games media night and combine where every athlete that is competing in the All-Long Island Games will partake in a media shoot that will also include a combine run by Kaplan and his team of trainers, where they’ll get a chance to showcase their explosiveness, ups and their fastest shot. Data will be recorded from the combine and shared across social media, displaying the analytics from everyone who will be playing in the All-Long Island Games this June. Be sure to follow Mike Kaplan and E.A.S.T. Fitness on instagram @mikekaplan100 and @eastfitnessli, and check out the full interview with Mike Kaplan down below!
