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GUEST COMMENTARY


MAKING THE CASE FOR A NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL


WEIGHTLIFTING PROGRAM BY SCOTT SAFE


Back in the mid 1990’s, both of my kids, Cori and Nate, were


youngsters who loved sports and were quickly growing up. I was a high school strength coach with a love for anything closely re- lated to building strength, and I wanted my kids to be able to experience the thrill of competitive weightlifting while still being able to participate in high school athletics. We lived in a small town of about 4,000 people and sports are a big deal in a town that size. I knew from my coaching experience that the Olympic lifts were the best way of developing the athletic power that is needed for success in sports, and I wanted what would be the best for my athletes and kids. While deer hunting one year when my son Nate was in 6th


grade, we came up with the plan for the Minnesota State High School Weightlifting Association (MHSWA). The goal was to “Help Develop Minnesota Athletes through Weightlifting”. I re- ally believe this stance is critical as most schools do not openly


HERE ARE A FEW KEY POINTS TO THE PROGRAM: 1. Identify a USA Weightlifting person


in the state who would be interested and qualified to head this up. 2. Identify the state NSCA director


(National Strength and Conditioning Association). 3. Have the NSCA state director rec-


ommend NSCA strength coaches pres- ently working at schools who would be open to meeting with the USAW folks and listening to the plan. 4. After


identifying which strength


coaches are interested, set up the first meet. (Eventually these folks will need to form a “Board” to run the high school association. This will be a totally new program in the state of operation. Possibly have their own funds, etc.)


endorse the weightlifting movements. If they see that we are developing athletes, they are far more likely to agree. I felt this would allow kids to experience the thrill of weightlifting with the benefit of increased performance in other sports.


After a meeting with folks from the


Minnesota LWC and the Minnesota NSCA, we had a plan in place and enthusiastically agreed to support the new venture.


The first meets and state championship were in 1999. Twelve


years later, the MHSWA is still going strong, with no signs of slow- ing down. We regularly see 200+ Minnesota high school athletes participating each year. So what is the point of this article?. One is to explain what we have done in Minnesota, and two is to see what interest other states may have in setting up something like Minnesota’s model.


5. Plan the first state championships.


So, first year will have one “qualifier” meet and one state championship. No qualify- ing totals the first year. 6. After the state championships,


publish the state champions of both school age and junior divisions (we call them Junior Varsity and Varsity.) 7. Establish the new high school weight-


lifting school age and junior state records. These records can only be broken at other high school weightlifting events (just like other high school sports). Exception to this would be the lifter who goes on to National School age or National Junior championships and breaks


the record


while still an active student at a secondary school. After student graduates, no more opportunity to set records. 8. These results and new records must


2 >> WEIGHTLIFTING.TEAMUSA.ORG


get out to as many strength coaches, AD’s, football coaches, school districts, etc as pos- sible. Use the state NSCA email list to get info out about results, records, meets, etc. 9. Lifters must represent their own


high school (just like current high school sports) even though they may belong to a different registered USAW club. 10. Each state will need to start a


high school website. See ours at www.mnweightlifting.org. 11. Remember that respect is HUGE!


Don’t expect NSCA certified strength coaches (and certainly not the local foot- ball coaches) to know weightlifting rules, protocol, etc. Do not talk down to them. There is no better way to turn them off than insult them for their lack of weightlift- ing knowledge. We are here to teach them the sport of weightlifting.


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