WAVE PERFORMANCE

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Performance is not measured by how much you can lift today. It is defined by how well your body performs over the next 30 years.

At Wave Performance, we deliver a comprehensive performance experience that combines elite-level coaching, evidence-based training, advanced assessments, and recovery strategies to help athletes and active adults unlock their full potential, elevate performance, and support lifelong health and resilience.

TRAIN WITH PURPOSE

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Chief Performance Officer

Meet Ted Perlak

Decades of experience built around one question: How do we help people perform at a high level for life?

For more than two decades, Ted Perlak has worked at the highest levels of human performance, helping athletes, teams, and organizations develop stronger, more resilient, and more durable performers. His career has taken him from Division I athletics and the United States Olympic Training Center to professional sports environments, national conferences, executive wellness programs, and the operating room.

In addition to leading Wave Performance, Ted serves as Chief Operating Officer of Mainstay Sports, helping bridge elite athlete representation with world-class performance, recovery, and longevity services. This unique connection allows Wave to play an integral role in supporting athletes throughout every stage of their careers.

  • Ted’s journey began as a four-year football starter and two-time team captain before earning a degree in Exercise Science and later a Master’s degree in Sport Administration while serving on the strength and conditioning staff at Temple University.

    From there, he built a career through some of the most respected performance environments in the country:

    • United States Olympic Training Center

    • Temple University

    • Saint Joseph’s University

    • Iona College

    • Fordham University

    • Elon University

    • University of Delaware  

    Along the way, Ted led strength and conditioning programs for hundreds of Division I athletes across more than 20 sports, ultimately overseeing performance programs for nearly 600 student-athletes at the University of Delaware.  

    His work extended beyond the weight room.

    Ted has served as a featured speaker and educator for coaches and performance professionals nationwide, presenting on the integration of strength and conditioning, sports medicine, and long-term athlete development. His philosophy centers on one idea:

    Performance is durability.

    After his collegiate coaching career, Ted transitioned into orthopedic medical technology, spending the past several years inside operating rooms alongside some of the country’s leading orthopedic surgeons. Observing thousands of procedures gave him a unique perspective that few performance coaches ever experience.

    He witnessed firsthand what happens when joints fail.

    When movement quality deteriorates.

    When years of accumulated stress eventually catch up.

    Those experiences fundamentally reshaped his coaching philosophy.

    Today, Ted believes the future of performance is not simply building stronger athletes. It is building stronger humans: Humans who can move well, train hard, recover efficiently, remain independent, and continue doing the things they love for decades.

    That philosophy became the foundation of Wave Performance.

  • Performance and Longevity Are Not Opposites.

    Most training systems focus on short-term outcomes.

    Wave focuses on the physical qualities that matter for the next 30 years:

    • Heart Health

    • Robust Spine Function

    • Healthy Waist Circumference

    • Leg Function & Strength

    • Grip & Upper Body Strength

    • Controlled Recovery

    These six pillars serve as the foundation for every program inside Wave Performance.

    Whether you are a youth athlete, professional athlete, executive, parent, or retiree, the goal remains the same:

    Build a body that serves you for life.

  • Experience Highlights

    • 20+ years in Strength & Conditioning and Human Performance

    • United States Olympic Training Center

    • Division I Strength & Conditioning Leadership

    • Temple University

    • Saint Joseph’s University

    • Iona College

    • Fordham University

    • Elon University

    • University of Delaware

    • National Conference Speaker & Educator

    • Performance Consultant for Athletes, Executives, and Active Adults

    • Orthopedic Medical Technology Specialist

    • Director of Performance, Wave Wellness

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The Six Pillars of Performance

  • The engine that drives everything.

    Cardiovascular fitness is one of the strongest predictors of health, performance, recovery, and longevity.

    We train the heart the same way we train strength—with intention.

  • Strength. Stability. Mobility.

    Your spine is the foundation of movement.

    A resilient spine improves performance, reduces injury risk, and allows you to continue doing the activities you love for decades.

  • The simplest measurement that tells a powerful story.

    Waist size correlates strongly with metabolic health, disease risk, energy levels, and overall longevity.

    What gets measured gets improved.

  • Strength. Balance. Coordination.

    Your ability to move through the world depends on your legs.

    Power, stability, and coordination influence everything from athletic performance to independence later in life.

  • One of the most overlooked longevity markers.

    Grip strength has been linked to overall health, resilience, and quality of life.

    We build strength that transfers beyond the gym.

  • Recovery is a skill.

    The ability to recover efficiently determines how consistently you can train, perform, and progress.

    We teach recovery as intentionally as we teach exercise.

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  • The Surface Beneath Every Rep Matters.

    At Wave Performance, every detail is intentional—including what you train on.

    That is why we have partnered with PLAE, one of the most respected performance flooring systems in the world.

    PLAE is trusted by organizations that demand the highest standards in performance, durability, athlete safety, and long-term health.

    From professional sports franchises and Division I athletic programs to military organizations and Fortune 500 companies, PLAE has become the preferred training surface for those who refuse second best.

  • PLAE flooring systems have been installed by organizations including:

    Professional Sports

    • Green Bay Packers

    • Philadelphia Eagles

    • Indianapolis Colts

    • Chicago Bears

    • New York Yankees

    • Toronto Blue Jays

    • Miami Heat

    • Atlanta Falcons

    • St. Louis Blues

    Elite Performance & Development

    • IMG Academy

    • GoodLife Fitness

    • Virgin Active

    Universities

    • Notre Dame

    • Auburn

    • Northwestern

    • Clemson

    • Old Dominion

    • Florida

    • Georgia

    • Villanova

    Military & Government

    • United States Army

    • United States Air Force

    • Federal agencies and tactical training facilities

    Global Brands

    • Google

    • Facebook

    • LinkedIn

    • Goldman Sachs

    • Toyota

    • Coca-Cola

    • Fidelity

  • Most people never think about the surface they are training on.

    We do.

    PLAE was designed to create an environment that supports movement, absorbs impact, improves comfort, and enhances training quality over time.

    For athletes, that means a better training environment.

    For active adults, it means a more comfortable and forgiving surface for everyday training.

    For longevity-focused individuals, it means reducing unnecessary wear and tear while maintaining the ability to train consistently.

  • When designing Wave Performance, we looked at how the world’s leading sports organizations, universities, and performance centers operate.

    Then we brought those same standards to Wilmington.

    Because performance is not built by accident.

    It is the result of thousands of intentional decisions, thoughtfully designed from the ground up.

Athletic Development

Build the Athlete. Protect the Future.

Wave Performance provides sports performance training for middle school, high school, college, and professional athletes. Our programs combine speed development, strength and conditioning, injury resiliency, recovery, and return-to-performance to help athletes perform at their highest level while building a foundation for long-term success.

Led by Ted Perlak and Tyler Smith, Wave Wellness brings decades of experience developing athletes at every level. Through their leadership roles with Mainstay Sports, they stay connected to the evolving demands of collegiate and professional athletics, bringing those same standards and principles to local athletes and families. Every athlete benefits from structured coaching, individualized development, and an environment focused on long-term growth.

Whether you’re joining a Wave Speed Camp, year-round Athlete Development program, or our specialized Return-to-Performance training after injury, every program is built to help athletes move better, get stronger, recover smarter, and compete with confidence.