About Us
My business is called Elite Athlete Training. I’m located in Ashland at MetroWest Sportcenter. I’m currently in my 15th year of business and train all types of athletes ranging from ages 6 and up. I have all different styles and philosophies that I incorporate into my training. For this specific age group, the primary focus is to work on speed, agility, high intensity conditioning, and teaching proper mechanics with body weight exercises/lifting weights. The work out includes ladders,hurdles, various plyometric box jumps, cone drills, body weight circuits, foot work and agility circuits, and conditioning/pushing sleds. I’m all about teaching the kids hard work, good habits, and life skills. By far the most important thing I see kids walk away from this training with, is an increase in their self confidence
"I started Elite Athlete Training in January 2012. From a young age I decided I wanted to be very successful and create my own destiny. Since the age of ten I wanted to play in the NFL. I went on to play college football at Umass Amherst where I had a very successful career and multiple NFL teams interested in me. I also always had a connection with kids and a desire to help them get through tough situations similar to the ones I went through as a child. This led me to study and receive a degree in Sociology from Umass. In June 2010 I played in the Canadian Football League with the Montreal Aloutess. I still had the dream of playing in the NFL so when I came home I coached high school football so I could be around the game and still continue to train. In February 2011, I went to play arena football and bounced around a couple teams and returned at the end of April. I knew my football career wasn’t heading to where I needed it to be. I decided that plan B of my life needed to happen fast.
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For 2 years during college and training for the NFL I worked with world-renowned trainer Mike Boyle in Boston, Ma. I became his protégé and he took my athletic ability to the next level and inspired me to work harder than I ever had before. One great trait I always had with football was an incredible work ethic when it came to training. My plan was to use my training ability and create my own gym. My mission was to not only help kids with the same dream who wanted to play a professional sport but also change lives and teach them that they can do anything if they put the hard work in. From this vision my business E.A.T. (Elite Athlete Training) was born".
Eric Dickson Timeline
• Saint John’s HS Football (2001-2005)
• Division 1 Super Bowl MVP 2004
• UMass Amherst Division 1 Football (2005-2009)
• 6th in the CAA in total tackles
• Top 25 in total tackles D1AA in the country (2009)
• UMass Amherst Graduate 2009
• Trained with one of the best trainers in the country, Mike Boyle (Jan 2008-June 2010)
• Mike Boyle’s Strength & Conditioning has been ranked #1 gym in the country by Men’s Fitness.
• Montreal Allouettes, Canadian Football League- Special teams and Safety (Jun 2010)
• Algonquin Regional High School - Defensive Back and running back coach (Aug-Nov 2010)
• Arena football with La Crosse Spartans, Ohama Beef, and Trenton Steel (Feb-Apr 2011)
• Personal Trainer Certification (Jun 2011)
• Elite Athlete Training Founded (Jan 2012-Present)
• First EVER EAT athlete Nick Haag signed with the Indianapolis Colts (Aug 2015)
• Competed in the Crossfit open (2015-2018)
• In 2018 I placed top 500 out of 230,000
#1 Grinder
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One of my biggest accomplishments at University of Massachusetts Amherst wasn’t a stat. It wasn’t a headline. It was being named the #1 Grinder after Spring Ball in 2009. Our senior class created the Grinder Award. Back then, “grind” wasn’t something you posted, it was something you lived. It meant dominating winter conditioning and proving it carried into Spring Ball. No excuses. No shortcuts. Just work. After Spring Ball, I was awarded the Grinder Award and voted MVP by my coaches. And here’s what made it different. When I was there, we were FCS. UMass didn’t move up to FBS until a couple years after I left. So we had a chip on our shoulder. We felt like we belonged at the highest level. We felt like we should’ve been talked about with the big programs. That edge drove us. That’s why we out-worked people. That’s why we trained the way we did.
Two of my teammates went on to the league:
• Vladimir Ducasse – 2nd round draft pick of the New York Jets
• Victor Cruz – Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants
That year we held our Pro Day had 31 out of 32 NFL teams showed up. Scouts told us we were one of the most impressive overall groups they saw that year. That’s how deep that class was. The Grinder Award could’ve gone to anyone. But nobody was touching my work ethic. That grind wasn’t seasonal. It wasn’t for show. It’s built into my DNA, and it still is 20 years later. Now here’s the biggest missing piece. I didn’t figure out real training until I was 21. I was working hard, but I wasn’t always working smart. I didn’t fully understand strength development, movement efficiency, recovery, or long-term structure.
And I think about it all the time
What if I had this training at 10 years old?
What if I understood it early in high school?
What if I had this structure as a freshman in college?
Who knows what would’ve happened. I walked into high school as a freshman at 5’3”, 100 pounds. If I could transform my body, build myself into an FCS standout, earn the Grinder Award, and become the hardest worker in that locker room… Why can’t you? That’s why I built E.A.T. So kids don’t figure it out at 21. So they don’t waste years guessing. So they don’t let off-field decisions or lack of structure limit their ceiling.
Because talent matters.
Work ethic matters.
But starting early with the right training and the right mindset?
That’s the difference.
I can’t rewrite my story.
But I can change theirs.
That’s the real grind.