The story of Prodigy Athletic Center begins the way the best stories often do: with two old friends, decades of shared history, and a vision that turned into something bigger than anyone expected.
Daniel Papes and Bill Swertfager first crossed paths at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua in the late 1970s. Swertfager, class of 1978, was already a standout: a state champion wrestler, captain of both the football and baseball teams, and, by Papes’s own recollection, a role model for every younger classman who came after him. Papes, class of 1979, followed in those footsteps, eventually becoming captain of the football and baseball teams himself. The two went their separate ways after graduation — Swertfager to play football and wrestle at William & Mary, Papes into a career in business — but they never lost touch.
Decades of Coaching
While Papes built his career in business and eventually settled in Chappaqua, Swertfager dedicated himself to coaching. Over more than three decades, he became one of the most respected youth and high school coaches in New York State. His wife Diane matched him in accomplishment: a four-time state volleyball coach with 17 Section 1 championships at Hendrick Hudson High School, she is widely regarded as one of the best volleyball coaches in the region’s history.
About nine months before Prodigy opened its doors, the old friends reconnected in earnest. They started talking about what an athletic center built on their coaching principles might look like — not just a gym, but a place where character development was treated as seriously as skill development. A place, as Papes put it, where kids aren’t on their phones, where they’re somewhere that is genuinely good for them.
Building Something Real
In August 2024, Prodigy Athletics was formally created, and PAC launched its Prodigy Volleyball Academy on Route 100 in Somers. The 25,000-square-foot facility opened with four volleyball courts, four pickleball courts, a fitness center, yoga studio, martial arts space, physical therapy services, and speed and agility training. It was more than the market expected and more than they had been given in the region before.
The response was immediate and overwhelming. Growth exceeded projections by more than double. Within months, PAC had welcomed over 500 participants from communities as far as 45 minutes away.
For Papes, the success confirms something he has always believed: that great coaching, genuine community, and a real commitment to human development is something people will drive a long way to find. And that it all starts with two old friends who still believe what they believed when they were teenagers — that sport, done right, builds people.