World - Renowned sports performance expert Chip Smith and STACK coming to LakePoint

December 01, 2014

Chip Smith's proprietary MORR Sports Performance Training System, used by more professional, Olympic and elite athletes than any other training system in the world, is fully integrated into STACK's sports performance service platform, including STACK Training Centers, STACK High Schools and STACK digital products.  Now, Chip Smith Performance Systems and STACK will open a world-class Sports Performance Facility at LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson, Georgia.

New York, N.Y. - STACK, the leading sports performance services company and the nation's largest youth athlete training organization through its STACK Training Centers (aka Velocity Sports Performance), and Training Partner Chip Smith, a founding father of the sports performance industry and one of the foremost sports performance experts in the world, today announced their intentions to open a world-class sports performance venue at LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson, Georgia.  The combination brings together STACK, the largest sports performance platform in the nation reaching more than 15 million athletes and 75% of all high schools; its STACK centers in 40 key markets; and Chip Smith's innovative training system and exclusive training family of elite athletes under the banner of the nation's premier sports vacation destination.

This facility will become the "Flagship" Training Facility and World Headquarters for Chip Smith Performance Systems, in partnership with STACK.  This 300,000+ square foot venue will include a 25,000 square foot sports performance training area, the world's first Powerade Hydration Research Lab, classroom and meeting space, and 12 basketball courts that convert to 24 volleyball courts or gym space for any other indoor sports activity.  The facility will become the new home for Chip Smith's NFL Combine Training, as well as the Reality Television Series, "Masters of Sport" starring Chip Smith and the CSPS Training Family.

Chip Smith and his MORR Sports Performance Training System have trained more than 200 current NFL players, 60 Pro Bowlers, 40 first-round NFL draft picks and four Heisman Trophy winners.  Chip's training family members include:

• San Francisco 49er Pro-Bowl quarterback Colin Kaepernick
• Chicago Bears Future Hall of Fame linebacker and NFL Defensive Player of the Year Brian Urlacher
• The Olympic Gold Medal and World Champion Women's Gymnastics and Women's Volleyball Teams
• Four-time NBA All-Star and Olympic Dream Team member Mark Price
• U.S. Women's National Soccer Team member Kylie Bivens
• 12-time NFL Pro Bowl and two-time NFL Defensive Back of the Year Champ Bailey
• Chicago Bears five-time Pro Bowl, NFL sack leader and NFC Defensive Player of the Year Jared Allen
• U.S. World Champion Swimmer and Olympic Medalist Amanda Weir and many more elite athletes.

Nick Palazzo, STACK Co-Founder and CEO, said, "We have been partnered with Chip Smith since the founding of STACK because he is one of the foremost speed and strength experts in the nation.  As we continue to expand our collective brands in partnership, we are extremely excited for Chip and the CSPS/STACK Training Family to have a new home at LakePoint Sporting Community.  Chip Smith Performance Systems in partnership with STACK at LakePoint will be a global destination for elite performance training."

Chip Smith said, "I am so thrilled to bring our partnership with STACK with us into our new home at LakePoint Sporting Community.  With our new world-class indoor training facility, state-of-the-art playing fields and courts, and our industry leading partners, LakePoint will give us everything we have ever dreamed of in terms of a training home.  From our CSPS PRO Athletes who have come to expect the best in their training environment, to giving any amateur athlete of any age who is coming to LakePoint to play and compete, our rapidly expanding CSPS Training Family will now be able to call the world's premier sports venue HOME!"

About LakePoint Sporting Community
LakePoint Sporting Community is a 1400+ acre development featuring state-of-the-art venues for over 40 of America's favorite sports.  The athletic venues will include 16 Major League sized baseball fields, 12 youth baseball/fast pitch softball fields, 17 soccer/lacrosse/multipurpose fields, an IAFF Class 1 certified track and field complex, and a 300,000+ square foot indoor facility for basketball, volleyball, sports performance training, and other indoor sports.

Along with the sporting venues, LakePoint will include approximately 5 million square feet of mixed use development, 29 on site hotels, restaurants, retail shops, office space, and several other entertainment venues.  To learn more about LakePoint Sporting Community, please visit www.lakepointsports.com.  Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lakepointsports.

About STACK
STACK is the nation's leading sports performance services company targeting youth athletes. STACK exists to educate and inspire the next generation of athletes. STACK platforms include: STACK.com, the digital home of all STACK content and web-based tools with more than 15 million monthly unique visitors, STACK Magazine, targeted to high school athletes, with a circulation rate base of 875,000 and readership of more than 5 million, distributed in 13,500 high schools across the country, representing 75% of all high schools with varsity sports programs; and STACK Sports Performance Training, the largest athletic performance training organization in North America. STACK through its acquisition of Velocity Sports Performance has helped over a million athletes maximize their athletic potential. We currently have more than 40 STACK training facilities across the United States. STACK also enjoys key strategic partnerships with Yahoo Sports, the largest digital sports property on the Internet; Eastbay/FootLocker.com, a leading world supplier of athletic shoes, clothing and sports equipment; and the Amateur Athletic Union, one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. Learn more at www.stack.com.

About Chip Smith
Founder of Chip Smith Performance Systems, Chip Smith is recognized as one of the foremost sports performance experts in the United States and a founding father of the sports performance industry. Chip has trained over 200 NFL players currently on rosters and over 1,300 players who have signed pro contracts. Chip does Combine preparation for scores of players selected each year in the NFL Draft and has trained over 40 first-round draft picks. Chip's clients include four Heisman Trophy winners. Chip has also trained over sixty Pro Bowl players, one NFL Comeback Player of the Year, two Defensive Rookies of the Year, and most recently, the 2005 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Brian Urlacher, 2009 Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison, and 2011 Defensive Player of the Year Jared Allen. Chip has also worked with 14 Chinese Olympic Teams. He recently returned from Beijing where he trained 41 Olympic Medalists, including 21 Gold Medalists from the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and 20 Gold Medalists from the 2012 London Olympics.

Chip holds a B.S. in Physical Education from Liberty University. He did post-graduate work in speed and strength at the world-renowned Soviet Sports Institute in Moscow. He holds a Master of Sports Science certification from ISSA, an exercise specialist certification from Cooper's Aerobic Institute, and a Master's of Sports Performance certification from MORR.