Jonathan Rittenberg – February ’18 Athlete of the Month
J.D. Rittenberg, 14, a freshman at Sharon High School, has been selected as Elite’s Athlete of the Month for February 2018! He is one of the most driven and focused athletes we have ever worked with – nothing can stand in his way! J.D. began training over two years ago with Matt Malcuit, BS, who now trains full-time at our NEW Sports Performance Center at Elite Health & Fitness Center in Stoughton. More recently, J.D. has been training multiple times a week in Elite’s Athlete Semi-Private Training Program with Peter Rappoli, MS, CCS, CSCS and attending the GBG Hawks Friday Night workouts at RBI Baseball Academy. At age five, “Ritt,” yet another nickname, started on a small recreational baseball team, and now competes on the 14U GBG Hawks team as pitcher and shortstop. His goal is to make the Varsity team this spring for the Sharon Eagles. He has dedicated a lot of time to not only becoming stronger, faster and more powerful for baseball, but more agile, specifically for his love of parkour and jiu-jitsu!
The Elite staff has nothing but positive things to say about J.D. “He’s a perfectionist, he is very dedicated to what he does, whether it’s studying at Starbucks, whether it be sports, whether it is just involving himself with the staff and other athletes on the turf. He is well-rounded and mature for a person his age.” We have seen such a difference in J.D from when he first started at Elite in July 2016 to now. J.D. conquers all the grueling workouts Pete throws at him, typically pushing through the final repetitions or last set with a smile on his face (and wanting more!) Pete challenges J.D, simply because “he knows he can do it if he puts his mind to it; he’s mentally tough. He is never one of the athletes I have to worry about chasing down and making sure that they get here and they are going to work hard and do the right stuff.” J.D crushes strict bodyweight movement patterns, and has been working hard to become more efficient — he even recently landed his first single leg box jump for height!
Rittenberg sets a high standard for himself and is very focused on attacking his goals. He plans on pursuing a college degree in the sciences, but even though he isn’t quite sure which area he will branch off to, he still has plenty of time! One thing is certain – with J.D’s work ethic and dedication to not only his sport but school too, he will take every opportunity and excel at whatever career path he chooses. We look forward to the opportunity to continue to work with him – Congratulations J.D.!