Onix Salva has spent the majority of his life in the sports world, and through his experiences and the teachings of his mentors, he has turned his career towards coaching and teaching athletes how to improve.
Salva grew up in Malverne, saying he was always into sports, specifically track and field. He was coached by Colbert Britt, who worked for decades as a beloved coach in the Malverne community. Salva said Britt’s coaching style had a long-lasting impact on his life, saying it was like a father-son relationship.
Britt even referred to Salva multiple times in a published obituary after dying in 2015.
Britt’s mentorship led Salva down a path of coaching, prompting him to open Speed Island, a 20,000-square-foot facility in Farmingdale that is equipped with a turf field, a 55-meter track, a multi-purpose court and an Olympic weight room, which allows Salva to help athletes improve their agility, speed, strength and conditioning.
Speed Island held a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce on Monday, Dec. 29, marking the official opening of Salva’s 20,000 square-foot indoor performance center.
Salva said he received the keys to the Farmingdale facility, located at 47 Heisser Lane, on Oct. 1 and had a soft opening on Nov. 1, with the ribbon-cutting being the official opening of the new space.
He said the center has a wide variety of training programs and he meets with new athletes one-on-one to see what their individual needs require.
Salva said his love and passion for coaching and mentorship come from honoring Britt, as well as his time with 1996 Olympic Gold-Medal track and field star Derrick Adkins, a person who Britt introduced Salva to.
“I take the lessons [Britt] taught me and I just try to pay it forward,” Salva said. “If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be here today, so I try to take that mentality and that passion into this.”
After graduating from Malverne High School, Salva continued to run track and field at Florida International University and later earned his master’s degree from Hofstra University. He returned to Long Island and worked in retail before turning to something he knew more about: coaching.
He started his coaching career at his alma mater, Malverne High School, where he truly realized that training and teaching were something that he wanted to do for a living, he said.
Salva said he transitioned from coaching a high school team to coaching individual athletes, citing the high demand on Long Island as the reason.
He started independently coaching out of Garden City before deciding to obtain his own facility in Farmingdale.
Paying it forward is the driving force in the creation of Speed Island, Salva said.
Salva said he interviews each athlete who trains with him, getting to know them on a personal level. He also said each athlete is required to submit progress reports from school, which is something he said shows that training is more than just athletics.
“It shows that it’s more than just the training aspect. I care about the athletes and this is a way for me to keep them accountable,” Salva said.
Speed Island is open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday.
