WEBVTT

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So we have like not shied away from really challenging

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yourself in the weight room. And so now that's

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not going to get me in trouble with people listening

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to your podcast, but that's like almost, you

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know, sacrilegious in American physical education

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is supposed to be just, uh, you know, introduce

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kids to it, to a movement and that's, and that's

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it. So we play punk rock and heavy metal. We

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play old school hip hop. We have skull and crossbones

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everywhere in the weight room. Hi, Paul. It's

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my pleasure to have you on Evidence Strong Show.

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If you could briefly introduce yourself. Hey,

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so first of all, thanks for having me. My name

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is Paul Coover. I'm an athletic director in San

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Diego, California. I'm a physical education teacher.

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And then most recently, I'm the head coach of

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the Great Castle Weightlifting Club, which is

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a USA weightlifting certified club that operates

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out of a high school classroom, sometimes during

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the school day. As far as we know, we're one

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of the first programs to sort of do it during

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the school day. And I'm just excited to share

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our experience here. Awesome. That's exactly

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the topic of our... interview, how you even got

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an idea of having weightlifting in school? It's

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sort of a roundabout way, but the honest answer

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there, Alex, is failure. It was born of ability.

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I've always been a curious, sort of rebellious

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person to look at my own coaching and realize

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that I was falling short, that I was not serving

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the students the way that I wanted to. And so

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that's part of the reason that I'm so excited

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to be here. I feel like a lot of people see that

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in American physical education and whether they,

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you know... have a way out or not, you know,

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we're always looking to share because I feel

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like we've sort of stumbled in to this sort of

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magical outlet. So anyway, you know, to sort

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of give some context on high school physical

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education in the United States, it would certainly

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not be unusual to walk into a, you know, elective

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class, so sort of an advanced weightlifting class,

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you know, and see some of the Olympic lifts.

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It wouldn't be uncommon to see, say, a high school

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football team learning those in a PE class. specifically

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aimed at them. What we're doing though, is we're

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offering, you know, weightlifting to physical

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education students, nine and 10, grade nine and

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10. So these are 14, 15 and 16 year olds primarily.

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And this is not a, not a selected population.

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So this is anyone who walks through the doors

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of our high school. We have, you know, 1400 students

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is put into a physical education class. And our

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goal this year is to at least introduce all of

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them to the basics of, you know, the Olympic

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lifts. So backing up, you know, I started with

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the failure, you know, I started. teaching in

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Oakland, California, and doing sort of, I guess

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you could say, a standard PE curriculum. If there's

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people watching and wondering if PE has changed

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in the last 30 years, it really hasn't. And so

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what I found was that we were basically serving

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three types of students. I'm oversimplifying

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here. But in general, you had students that are

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athletes. They're playing club sports. They might

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be involved in an after -school sport. This is

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someone whose parents might be involved in driving

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them to a club soccer practice, or maybe they're

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on the football team, or what have you. And the

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second group was people, students that were completely

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disengaged from sports. So by 14, 15 years old,

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they had decided that they're burned out or they

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have decided the sports are not fun. They had

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a bad experience, whatever the case may be. And

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then that third group was sort of the hobbyists,

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you know, if I would say. And this is sort of

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that the group that PE is built around. And so

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this is the idea that we're going to, you know,

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sort of 1950s America mentality of we're going

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to get together and we're going to play a unit

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of softball and then we're going to go off to

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math. class. And then we're going to come back

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six weeks later and we're going to play, you

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know, a soccer unit and then everybody's going

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to get along. But in the context of those other

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two groups, you know, that group is smaller and

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smaller. We were finding. And then in terms of

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that group that's playing sports, let's say you're

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doing a soccer unit and that student's playing

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a high level club game later, maybe that day.

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And so physical education class didn't make a

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ton of sense for them. You know, and then that

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second group is sort of disengaged. You know,

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the whole point of playing soccer is to sort

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of hide the running in a physical education.

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setting, right, is to make it fun. And if it's

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no longer fun, I really started to ask myself,

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what is the purpose? So I lean back on what I'm

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familiar with. I grew up in the track and field

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world. And so I started introducing just out

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of desperation, some of the warmup drills that

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we knew, A skips, B skips and karaoke and very

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just nuts and bolts things. And what I found

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was that in that time of the class, the objective

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was so clear and achievable that students really

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started to buy in. So it was it was measurable

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and it was repeatable and scalable and all the

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things that we look at, certainly in weightlifting,

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but, you know, in so many other ways, places

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as well. And so we started I started creeping

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a little bit. And so I would stretch that out

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as long as I could because it was the most successful

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part of my class. Everybody could participate.

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The social kids could be social and the kids

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who are working on their own could work on their

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own. And then I really just started, you know,

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trying to be honest with myself and saying this

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was the best part of my class. And then, you

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know, I tried to do a soccer unit. fell flat

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or a basketball unit and it fell flat. So by

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unit, you mean four week block or how does the

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unit work? That's exactly right. So every school

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is a little bit different. And typically it's

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units are dictated by, you know, area of the

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school. So, you know, there may be several hundred

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students taking physical education class at any

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given one moment. So maybe there's, you know,

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a class in the gym, a class on the field, and

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then potentially, you know, maybe a weight room

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or something like that or split on the field

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or something like that. Four weeks, six weeks

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would be kind of traditional in terms of the

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grading periods. Sort of an arbitrary. period

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of time and certainly too long, I think, you

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know, for what I was trying to do. You know,

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I had my head, you know, six week, you know,

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track and field unit. It was very interesting

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to me and to nobody else. And so so I started

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really digging in. What can I do to expand this?

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And the school that I was at, the weight room

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was it was a dungeon. I'm absolutely bare bones.

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And they've done it. It's not like that anymore.

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They have a fantastic principal who's renovated

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the school. It's beautiful. I took a tour up

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there a couple of years ago. But at the time,

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I didn't feel like I could use the space because,

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you know, the bars. didn't spin and very minimal

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squat racks and it felt dangerous at times. But

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I stumbled across a flow wrestling video. So,

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you know, for those of you who are familiar,

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flow sports now covers that whole enterprise

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of sports. But at the time it started in track

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and field and wrestling. I mean, I was a track

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and field guy, but this is in the early days

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of the internet and you quickly run out of track

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and field videos to watch. I migrated over to

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wrestling because it was the only thing available

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to me. And I came across Arizona State doing

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a workout on the field. And so shout out to the

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Sun Devils. Or Arizona State, I have no affiliation

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with them, have not never been there. But what

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I saw was like a bunch of jacked dudes, for lack

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of a better word, you know, with with rusty plates.

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And they were doing curls and really ugly overhead

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presses and sort of like what you would term

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like, you know, maybe a kettlebell halo or something

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like this and lunges. And then they'd run a lap

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and things like that. And that it sounds funny

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to say now, but that video really changed my

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life because all of a sudden I was like, we can

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do something. I'm not limited. So we took that

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track and field warm up. We started adding in

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comedically difficult circuit training. with

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45 -pound, 35 -pound, 25 -pound plates. And the

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students really responded well to it because,

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again, I truly believe that every student has

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a goal, you know, for themselves, whether they're

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going to admit it or not, whether that's, you

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know, get more muscular or lose weight or be

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social or, you know, blow off some steam or feel

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better mentally, whatever the case may be. And

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all of a sudden we could all do it. And the kids

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who wanted to be social, you know, could do,

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you know, as many goblet squats with a plate,

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you know, as they could. And the kids who wanted...

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to work on their own would put their headphones

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in and and work on their own and so you know

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my principal gave me a hard time he's like you're

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gonna have a bunch of kids walking into 24 -hour

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fitness and they're gonna bypass all the equipment

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and just go grab a you know single plate i hope

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they do do that sometimes into this and to this

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day i still program we call the sun devil workout

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just as an homage to those early days but at

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some point whether you are aware of it or not

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as a teacher as a coach you you have to make

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decisions based you know on some sort of north

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star or driving force and in a American physical

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education, lots of times that driving force is

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physical activity and that's it. And so we treat

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all, and it sounds ridiculous to say out loud,

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but I'm going to say it anyway. We treat all

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exercises if it's the same. And so dance is wonderful.

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Yoga is wonderful. Running is fantastic. Weight

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training certainly is great, but at no point

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would any sort of evolved coach say that they're

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all one in the same. And so what's driving your

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instruction? What's driving your decisions? And

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so physical activity. started to feel like too

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low of a bar. It started to feel like we can

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do better than that. We can, we can program.

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And so again, coming from the track and field

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world, and I was very lucky to be around, you

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know, good weightlifters. I had always been obsessed

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with the Olympic lifts and we can, we can talk

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about this later, but I started aiming toward

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that just because they were fun for me. Everything

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was power. We never jerk, barely understood how

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to teach a snatch, but we started doing it because

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it's fun to make the bar move fast. And so that

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was just part of our programming. And then. Over

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the last two years, when we really started hammering

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down on what we're doing and why, what I found

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was that weightlifting is the best driver of

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instruction for high school physical education.

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I truly believe this. We don't all get there

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because they're fairly technical lifts and it's

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hard in an hour a day and we see the kids three

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times a week sometimes. But if a student ends

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up learning to front squat and they learn to

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RDL and they learn to overhead press, which are

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the three sort of core lifts that we teach before

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we teach anything else, that's an absolute win

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for us. We're talking about bone density and

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we're talking about personal pride and satisfaction

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and we're talking about heart health and we can

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build muscle. We can do all kinds of things.

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And then the kids who have that aptitude, you

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know, we're dry. We know where we're going. We're

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going toward, you know, clean and jerk and we're

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going toward a snatch. And I have some some kids

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that I can thank for that. And so that's kind

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of it's a long winded way to say, you know, that

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that's the origin story. And now we are we're

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a comprehensive physical education program. So

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I do I do want to note that. Right. So we're

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not catering to just athletes here. And, you

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know, we're the state of California. We're on

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the hook to teach, you know, state standards.

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There's. you know, Quite a bunch of them. And

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then a bunch of content areas, you know, aquatics

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and gymnastics and so on. And so, you know, my

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sort of, I guess, advice for someone looking

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to do it would be that within those state standards

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and within those content areas, which we do and

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we respect those integral pieces of high school

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education, there's a lot of flexibility on emphasis.

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And so what are you going to emphasize? Are you

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going to emphasize, you know, aerobic conditioning?

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And that's great. But for so long, it was game

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playing. It was it was just exercise disguised

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as something else. And so. So within those standards,

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we've chosen to emphasize the Olympic lifts.

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And then we and, you know, we still we still

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do teach badminton would be a student favorite.

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Right. And that's fantastic. You know, and in

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the context of what we're doing, you know, in

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the weight room, you know, a day of badminton

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with some change of direction and a little bit

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of pure speed movements is awesome. And so, you

00:10:48.190 --> 00:10:50.309
know, I have kids walking away that we hope can

00:10:50.309 --> 00:10:52.590
make choices about their own health. So so that's

00:10:52.590 --> 00:10:54.309
the origin story. All right. I have a lot of

00:10:54.309 --> 00:10:58.049
questions, but let's. establish how exactly the

00:10:58.049 --> 00:11:00.970
program run at the moment. So how the Olympic

00:11:00.970 --> 00:11:03.500
weightlifting. is the core and how you build

00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:06.080
around it. Great. Okay. So we have a funny schedule

00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:07.919
and it would work. I would, you know, I could

00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:10.000
make it work with any school schedule, but we

00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.220
see the kids every other day. And so some weeks

00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:13.639
that's three days a week and some days that's

00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:15.340
two days a week. We have four teachers on campus

00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:17.480
and we're very fortunate that we have a principal

00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:20.360
who has supported our ambitions here. So I will

00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:22.000
say that up front. But what we do is we have

00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:24.500
four spaces on campus. So we have a traditional

00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:28.100
sort of powerlifting gym. It's built on a subfloor.

00:11:28.100 --> 00:11:29.779
So if you drop the weights, it'll go through

00:11:29.779 --> 00:11:32.360
the floor. So maybe not the best. design there.

00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:35.580
But that was the one we started in. And then

00:11:35.580 --> 00:11:39.320
we have that classroom that I talked about that

00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:42.059
I sort of had offhanded mentioned to the principal,

00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:43.639
hey, this would be a great weightlifting space

00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:46.080
at some point. And I was in the military at the

00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:47.639
time and I went on deployment and came back and

00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:48.799
she's like, all right, so when are we building

00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:50.799
the gym? I was like, I didn't know that that

00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:52.820
was a real thing. And so we took some of the

00:11:52.820 --> 00:11:54.899
weights from the original weight room that were

00:11:54.899 --> 00:11:57.860
old and rusty and whatever. We got a grant from

00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:00.100
the Los Angeles Chargers. So thank you to them.

00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:02.419
to renovate that space. And it's iron plates

00:12:02.419 --> 00:12:05.679
and basic bars, not Olympic lifting bars. But

00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:07.559
we took that stuff and we put it down on the

00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:09.879
football field. And so we have a container there.

00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:13.080
And then we got some dumbbells and some of those

00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:15.620
plates in that sort of Sun Devil style. And I'm

00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:17.360
going to get a lot of heat for saying Sun Devil.

00:12:17.419 --> 00:12:20.399
I'm an Indiana grad. But we put that into a gym

00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:22.240
closet. And so we have those four spaces. So

00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:23.639
we have a sort of a traditional powerlifting

00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:25.919
space that we use to sort of reinforce some of

00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:27.120
the strength movements because we don't have

00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:29.440
a ton of time, right? So we do have to sort of

00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:31.049
compartmentalize. the training a little bit that

00:12:31.049 --> 00:12:32.649
might, you know, might fit in one or two training

00:12:32.649 --> 00:12:34.809
sessions. For someone going to a weightlifting

00:12:34.809 --> 00:12:36.690
gym, we might have to spread them between two.

00:12:36.830 --> 00:12:38.429
And then, you know, we have the classroom that

00:12:38.429 --> 00:12:40.110
has the rubberized floors. And then, you know,

00:12:40.110 --> 00:12:42.830
we got a fantastic support from our administration.

00:12:43.110 --> 00:12:46.190
We got Rogue everything. And so that's our weightlifting

00:12:46.190 --> 00:12:47.830
space. You know, we held a little, you know,

00:12:47.830 --> 00:12:50.149
unofficial meet in there last year. And so it

00:12:50.149 --> 00:12:52.149
would be very familiar to someone walking in

00:12:52.149 --> 00:12:53.330
with a weightlifting background. Then on the

00:12:53.330 --> 00:12:55.230
field, same thing. We have bars and plates and

00:12:55.230 --> 00:12:57.809
we can lift down there. We call that sort of

00:12:57.809 --> 00:12:59.730
like our CrossFit meta. ball conditioning space

00:12:59.730 --> 00:13:01.889
where we can build in some of those more fun

00:13:01.889 --> 00:13:03.710
you know old school push the plate across the

00:13:03.710 --> 00:13:06.070
field type stuff as warm -ups and then and then

00:13:06.070 --> 00:13:07.690
and then a lift and so that'll be another olympic

00:13:07.690 --> 00:13:09.610
lifting space and then the gym you know we're

00:13:09.610 --> 00:13:11.110
calling it speed city and we're rolling that

00:13:11.110 --> 00:13:13.269
out this year and that'll be you know some of

00:13:13.269 --> 00:13:15.230
our plyometric stuff some some more change of

00:13:15.230 --> 00:13:17.210
direction stuff and that you know all of which

00:13:17.210 --> 00:13:20.049
hopefully will support you know kids uh snatching

00:13:20.049 --> 00:13:22.169
more right really what we're what we're driving

00:13:22.169 --> 00:13:24.190
at is much much bigger than that but you know

00:13:24.190 --> 00:13:25.750
if we're doing the things that we need to do

00:13:25.750 --> 00:13:27.909
to to clean and jerk more and snatch more we're

00:13:27.909 --> 00:13:30.440
doing lot. And so, you know, I'm very passionate

00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:32.279
about that and be, you know, be happy to talk

00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:34.240
more about that. But what we do is we have four

00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:36.059
teachers and we rotate through the spaces. So

00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:38.080
every time my class sees me, we'll be in another

00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:39.960
one of those spaces. So we're getting sort of

00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:42.519
a compliment of each sort of style weightlifting

00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:45.799
at the moment of weight space lifting, of training

00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:47.980
with weights. Three of the four being some version

00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:49.399
of, you know, Olympic weightlifting. And then

00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:51.299
the last one being sort of our, you know, ancillary

00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:54.779
movements. So four coaches that work hour by

00:13:54.779 --> 00:13:57.019
hour for the whole day with different classes.

00:13:57.419 --> 00:13:59.919
Now you as one coach rotate through the week

00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:03.039
through four spaces. Correct. So if we're teaching

00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:06.730
three classes. All three on a Tuesday will see

00:14:06.730 --> 00:14:10.230
me, and we call the one the Chargers weight room

00:14:10.230 --> 00:14:11.509
because they donate the money, right? They'll

00:14:11.509 --> 00:14:12.710
see me in the Chargers weight room. The very

00:14:12.710 --> 00:14:14.309
next time, they'll see me in the Raiders weight

00:14:14.309 --> 00:14:16.690
room, if you're familiar with the rivalry. And

00:14:16.690 --> 00:14:19.309
then they'll get their full Olympic lifting day,

00:14:19.409 --> 00:14:20.750
and then the next day they'll be on the field

00:14:20.750 --> 00:14:24.009
and so on. All right. So if I'm a student, you

00:14:24.009 --> 00:14:27.669
are my coach, or will I rotate to four coaches

00:14:27.669 --> 00:14:30.870
too? Yeah, great question. So I'm your coach

00:14:30.870 --> 00:14:33.549
for the full year. And the relationship builds.

00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:35.820
is just too important there. You know, I've,

00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:38.480
and we can talk more about this, but as I've

00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:40.220
gotten to know some of the students, you learn

00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:42.620
their tendencies. You learn just like any other

00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:44.720
coach, right? You learn that they need a little

00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:46.600
bit more of this and a little bit less of that.

00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:48.460
Or, you know, this kid's a little bit more beat

00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:51.019
up or the front squats are hard for her. You

00:14:51.019 --> 00:14:52.519
know, let's make sure that we don't overdo it

00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:55.259
there. So those relationships are super important.

00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:58.500
The coach's knowledge. With that said, from year

00:14:58.500 --> 00:15:01.039
one to year two, we may switch kids' classes

00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:03.159
based on, hey, they're really - really familiar

00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:05.220
with, you know, with this person or it didn't

00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:07.379
really work with us. You know, I just couldn't

00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:09.480
find the right cues, you know, and all four of

00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:11.980
us, all four of the teachers are really good

00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:14.379
about trying to get better. And I'm very, very

00:15:14.379 --> 00:15:16.259
fortunate to be on a staff that's like that,

00:15:16.299 --> 00:15:18.240
where we're all, you know, genuinely trying to

00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:20.919
get better. So you have both boys and girls in

00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:23.720
the school? That's right, together. It works

00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:25.960
really well. How? Well, I mean, you know, without

00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:28.179
making generalizations, right? Kids learn at

00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:30.980
different speeds. I do tend to find that the

00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:33.100
girls pick it up a little bit faster. I don't

00:15:33.100 --> 00:15:34.879
know if that's stubborn. I'm a, you know, I was

00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:36.820
a high school boy, obviously. So some stubbornness

00:15:36.820 --> 00:15:39.840
is good. But some of it's just not muscling a

00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:42.259
power clean, right? I have to move a little bit

00:15:42.259 --> 00:15:44.919
more efficiently if I can't just reverse curl,

00:15:45.059 --> 00:15:47.620
you know, the weight. So anyway, we have different

00:15:47.620 --> 00:15:50.580
levels of technical proficiency in the same class.

00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:52.620
And so they end up, you know, and this is interesting.

00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:54.379
interesting point for people who teach large

00:15:54.379 --> 00:15:56.779
groups. It's really hard when kids are developing

00:15:56.779 --> 00:15:59.200
at different speeds and also at different motivations

00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:01.379
and different levels of energy that they're bringing

00:16:01.379 --> 00:16:03.840
to school. And so to have students who can coach

00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:06.080
each other is, you know, fundamental to making

00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:08.600
this work. And, you know, just yesterday, you

00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:10.600
know, I had sort of, I'm the school's athletic

00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:12.419
director and I had watched a volleyball practice

00:16:12.419 --> 00:16:13.820
and that, you know, there's a girl who looks,

00:16:13.879 --> 00:16:16.080
you know, quite athletic and works really hard.

00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:17.580
And I, you know, like, hey, have you thought

00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:19.580
about weightlifting? You know, she showed up

00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:21.600
after school or, you know, we're not even in

00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:24.110
school yet. after her practice. And, you know,

00:16:24.129 --> 00:16:26.610
being able to watch one of my former students

00:16:26.610 --> 00:16:29.629
teach her is just like, okay, we're off to the

00:16:29.629 --> 00:16:31.330
races now. Like, let's teach weightlifting to

00:16:31.330 --> 00:16:33.210
the whole world. That sounds awesome. Let's do

00:16:33.210 --> 00:16:35.830
it. It's really fun. All right. So you mentioned

00:16:35.830 --> 00:16:39.090
a little bit that having this knowledge and passion

00:16:39.090 --> 00:16:41.549
for weightlifting being passed on to students

00:16:41.549 --> 00:16:44.389
so they can pass it on to peers and so on, that

00:16:44.389 --> 00:16:47.830
worked and that is important. What else worked

00:16:47.830 --> 00:16:50.169
and you think is important to spread, to tell

00:16:50.169 --> 00:16:52.570
to other coaches? Sure. Yeah. And I mean, obviously

00:16:52.570 --> 00:16:54.149
within that, you have to be careful because,

00:16:54.149 --> 00:16:56.730
you know, the student I'm describing has one

00:16:56.730 --> 00:16:58.850
year of weightlifting experience, right? So we're

00:16:58.850 --> 00:17:01.269
not going to trust her to teach, you know, from

00:17:01.269 --> 00:17:04.089
zero to 60. But being able to reinforce cues

00:17:04.089 --> 00:17:07.130
is certainly super helpful. And I think a lot

00:17:07.130 --> 00:17:09.349
of coaches have found that, obviously. What else

00:17:09.349 --> 00:17:11.950
works? Well, for one thing, you know, and we

00:17:11.950 --> 00:17:14.089
all know this, you know, in the sport of weightlifting,

00:17:14.250 --> 00:17:16.609
I truly believe it has, you know, the ability

00:17:16.609 --> 00:17:19.049
to impact students in a way that very few other

00:17:19.049 --> 00:17:23.220
things do. is if you watch somebody snatch 35,

00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:28.119
95 or well above, it feels the same if it's a

00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:30.480
max effort. And the kids feel that. I truly believe

00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:32.700
that. They feel like this is something where

00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:35.500
there is no peer pressure. It's remarkable to

00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:38.299
watch, especially in a generation that's on Instagram

00:17:38.299 --> 00:17:40.759
and TikTok. And the social pressure is so enormous

00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:43.440
to be similar to other people or to do things

00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:45.819
a certain way, you know, or not embarrass yourself.

00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:48.279
And then you watch them weightlift and all of

00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:50.519
a sudden it's all support. and it's all friendly

00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:52.940
competition. And so, you know, I really have

00:17:52.940 --> 00:17:54.460
this sport of weightlifting, I think, for that.

00:17:54.500 --> 00:17:55.920
And there's nothing that I've found that's anywhere

00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:58.259
like it. And it also caters to so many different

00:17:58.259 --> 00:18:00.680
goals. It's not just I'm trying to lose weight

00:18:00.680 --> 00:18:02.519
or gain weight. It's I want to feel better about

00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:04.380
myself or I want to, you know, gain some self

00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:07.180
-confidence so that I can, you know, apply for

00:18:07.180 --> 00:18:09.680
that job or whatever the case may be. If there

00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:11.579
was a coach who was looking to do something like

00:18:11.579 --> 00:18:13.640
this, I would say, you know, make sure that you've

00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:16.079
gone the full 60 minutes and thought through

00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:18.099
every single, you know, iteration of what can

00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:20.019
go wrong. thing that can go wrong and we've had

00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:22.180
some you know we have not had no injuries i think

00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:23.960
we had one kid stand up into a bar that was sitting

00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:26.039
on a rack still so that was that was a teenage

00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:28.839
boy move but no real injuries but but we've had

00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:31.299
some you know bumper slide off of bars when there's

00:18:31.299 --> 00:18:33.099
no collars on it and things like this and so

00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:35.359
uh being well being able to control the room

00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:37.859
you know is certainly not going to be new to

00:18:37.859 --> 00:18:39.619
a physical education teacher thinking about that

00:18:39.619 --> 00:18:42.759
how do you set up the lesson do you go through

00:18:42.759 --> 00:18:46.119
the warm -up with them do you have stations how

00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:48.470
how you go about it yeah That's pretty interesting.

00:18:48.589 --> 00:18:50.710
So we're lucky enough to have TVs in the room.

00:18:50.829 --> 00:18:53.650
And so last year we took a couple of our best

00:18:53.650 --> 00:18:55.910
lifters and we sort of made an exercise library

00:18:55.910 --> 00:18:58.569
and they're wearing school gear and they can

00:18:58.569 --> 00:19:01.009
see this is a peer of mine. And so we'll come

00:19:01.009 --> 00:19:02.950
up with a warmup scheme and we'll put it up on

00:19:02.950 --> 00:19:07.109
the TV. And so it'll be typically, the warmup

00:19:07.109 --> 00:19:09.809
would not be unique to somebody familiar with

00:19:09.809 --> 00:19:11.670
the sport of weightlifting, but we might see

00:19:11.670 --> 00:19:15.529
some basic jump squats or something like this.

00:19:15.630 --> 00:19:17.549
And there'd be a student on the TV. on the TV

00:19:17.549 --> 00:19:20.150
demonstrating it. We've made them into GIFs.

00:19:20.150 --> 00:19:22.569
And so the kids kind of move as we go. So they

00:19:22.569 --> 00:19:25.190
walk in, they sit down. We go over what the warmup's

00:19:25.190 --> 00:19:27.490
going to be. We go over the workout that's displayed

00:19:27.490 --> 00:19:29.609
either on the whiteboard if the technology is

00:19:29.609 --> 00:19:31.829
not on our side or on the TV if it's working.

00:19:32.049 --> 00:19:34.410
And then we've created sort of A and B programs,

00:19:34.589 --> 00:19:36.630
we've called them. And ultimately they'll be

00:19:36.630 --> 00:19:38.970
C, D, E, right? But sort of the more advanced

00:19:38.970 --> 00:19:41.869
kids who are truly, you know, performing the

00:19:41.869 --> 00:19:43.490
Olympic lifts at this point. And then some of

00:19:43.490 --> 00:19:45.609
the newer students because, you know, a student

00:19:45.609 --> 00:19:47.079
who went through the whole year. with us and

00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:49.720
ended up, you know, literally participating in

00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:52.019
a competition for Olympic weightlifting is not

00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:54.420
going to be super interested in doing an RDL

00:19:54.420 --> 00:19:57.279
with a plate. And so, you know, we've built that

00:19:57.279 --> 00:19:58.720
into the program this year. So we'll have an

00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:01.140
A &B program there. We do sketch it out for the

00:20:01.140 --> 00:20:03.200
whole year. So if you ask me what our lift is

00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:04.880
going to be on May 9th, I could pull up and I

00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:06.400
could say, you know, in the Chargers weight room,

00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:07.720
it's going to be this, on the field, it's going

00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:09.559
to be that. Of course, that's going to change,

00:20:09.579 --> 00:20:11.279
but we have to know sort of where we're going.

00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:13.980
And then we also paid for a subscription with

00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:16.019
Team Builder. And so the student... can pull

00:20:16.019 --> 00:20:18.400
it up when they're at home and see the workouts

00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:20.420
we only do it with select workouts so they don't

00:20:20.420 --> 00:20:22.660
get you know totally in love with the technology

00:20:22.660 --> 00:20:25.079
because team builder turns into instagram really

00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:27.700
fast but that that has been a successful way

00:20:27.700 --> 00:20:30.640
for us to to deliver those workouts so that's

00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:32.039
kind of what it looks like then we'll go you

00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:33.859
know we'll do the warm -up and we'll have a set

00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:35.660
time for that warm -up so all the students will

00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:37.539
move through the movement so there might be three

00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:39.759
four or five movements they'll move through uh

00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:41.900
for a set period of time so that's 10 12 minutes

00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:43.920
usually and just with their group of three or

00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:46.380
four and then we'll go into a main lift and so

00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:47.700
that you know if we're in the raiders room that

00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:49.819
would be an olympic you know some version of

00:20:49.819 --> 00:20:51.420
an olympic lift you know the a group would be

00:20:51.420 --> 00:20:53.680
doing you know something like a you know hang

00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:55.900
power snatch and then the b group might be doing

00:20:55.900 --> 00:20:59.259
you know rdl you know snatch grip rdl um and

00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:01.079
then uh and then a snatch balance or something

00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:03.579
like that and and they will do that and then

00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:05.480
we'll go into a strength movement and then and

00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:07.420
then some fun ancillary stuff we call it the

00:21:07.420 --> 00:21:09.700
scratch list we stole that from you know my buddy

00:21:09.700 --> 00:21:11.299
will fleming scratch list don't think too hard

00:21:11.299 --> 00:21:13.420
about it you know bicep curls and tricep push

00:21:13.420 --> 00:21:14.869
downs and things like that where the kids can

00:21:14.869 --> 00:21:16.730
just you know do the thing that suits them so

00:21:16.730 --> 00:21:18.869
they have a choice i understand yeah we try to

00:21:18.869 --> 00:21:21.130
build a few minutes into the back end where they

00:21:21.130 --> 00:21:22.869
can they can do the thing that they want to do

00:21:22.869 --> 00:21:24.809
so you know we have students who go straight

00:21:24.809 --> 00:21:27.509
to bodybuilding and then we you know we had three

00:21:27.509 --> 00:21:29.509
or four girls last year and it just happened

00:21:29.509 --> 00:21:31.950
to be girls who would revert right back to the

00:21:31.950 --> 00:21:34.170
onto the list uh which makes no sense after you've

00:21:34.170 --> 00:21:35.490
done a heavy back squat or something like this

00:21:35.490 --> 00:21:37.470
but that was that was what you're using to stop

00:21:37.470 --> 00:21:39.910
them no we said come after school and we'll give

00:21:39.910 --> 00:21:41.750
you some real you know better instruction and

00:21:41.750 --> 00:21:43.190
that's a whole nother story that's where great

00:21:43.309 --> 00:21:46.069
castle was born i have a 15 year old girl to

00:21:46.069 --> 00:21:48.369
thank to thank for that and and i truly do owe

00:21:48.369 --> 00:21:49.990
her a lot she made me a better coach and all

00:21:49.990 --> 00:21:51.549
that but yeah that's what that's what a class

00:21:51.549 --> 00:21:53.349
period looks like they'll come back they'll change

00:21:53.349 --> 00:21:55.069
going about their life two days later we'll see

00:21:55.069 --> 00:21:57.250
them again in a new space with a slightly different

00:21:57.250 --> 00:22:00.369
emphasis you know on whether you know a little

00:22:00.369 --> 00:22:01.750
bit more metabolic conditioning or something

00:22:01.750 --> 00:22:03.990
like that it's obvious that you emphasize technique

00:22:03.990 --> 00:22:07.029
and that's the goal to get the kids through their

00:22:07.029 --> 00:22:10.049
movement patterns and develop them and because

00:22:10.049 --> 00:22:13.380
they are in this amazing age where where they

00:22:13.380 --> 00:22:15.359
are improving no matter what, almost no matter

00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:18.319
what you prescribe, they get better. Now, what

00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:21.380
is really obvious to me also is that the culture

00:22:21.380 --> 00:22:25.160
component is emphasized as well. Could you talk

00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:27.720
a little bit more about this side? Yeah, so you're

00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:29.980
good. This question is going to get me in trouble

00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:31.900
here, but I'm going to answer it honestly anyway.

00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:35.839
So we have like not shied away from really challenging

00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:38.660
yourself in the weight room. And so now that's

00:22:38.660 --> 00:22:40.339
not going to get me in trouble with people listening

00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:43.000
to your podcast. But that's like almost, you

00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:45.059
know, sacrilegious in American physical education.

00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:47.539
It's supposed to be just, you know, introduce

00:22:47.539 --> 00:22:51.319
kids to a movement and that's it. So we play

00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:53.660
punk rock and heavy metal. We play old school

00:22:53.660 --> 00:22:56.279
hip hop. We have skull and crossbones everywhere

00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:59.099
in the weight room. We turn our personalities

00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:02.579
over to these sort of caricatures of college

00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:05.200
strength coaches, you know, doing the cartwheels

00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:07.539
to get the kids fired up and things like this.

00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:09.539
We probably wouldn't do that for the Olympic

00:23:09.539 --> 00:23:12.279
lifting portion. of what the students, we want

00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:13.819
them to feel when they go into the weight room.

00:23:13.900 --> 00:23:16.980
We want them to feel like real energy. And we

00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:19.119
want them to feel like this is a place that's

00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:21.619
alive. This is a place where I can be myself.

00:23:21.859 --> 00:23:24.700
I can take a risk. We celebrate, you know, kids

00:23:24.700 --> 00:23:27.539
who miss reps. And, you know, we have to be careful

00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:29.799
with that, obviously. But, you know, if you get

00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:31.480
pinned on a bench press, it's not the end of

00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:33.839
the world. And so, you know, we don't want to

00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:35.380
miss a snatch until we know how to miss a snatch.

00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:38.240
But the bench is pretty safe and front squat's

00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:39.940
pretty safe. You can, you know, let go there.

00:23:40.170 --> 00:23:42.970
And, you know, when they see the teacher, you

00:23:42.970 --> 00:23:45.690
know, jumping out of their chair, screaming and

00:23:45.690 --> 00:23:47.849
yelling, you know, because a kid put, you know,

00:23:47.849 --> 00:23:50.269
took a real attempt at a three rep max. I think

00:23:50.269 --> 00:23:53.150
that's the culture piece that we're aiming for.

00:23:53.369 --> 00:23:55.230
The other thing is, you know, we have really

00:23:55.230 --> 00:23:57.410
tried to take ownership of what the students

00:23:57.410 --> 00:23:59.970
look like in the class in terms of how are they

00:23:59.970 --> 00:24:02.089
responding to what we're doing and not try to

00:24:02.089 --> 00:24:03.789
say, well, this student's an athlete or this

00:24:03.789 --> 00:24:07.730
student has future or talent. To me, that's immaterial

00:24:07.730 --> 00:24:10.269
to what we're doing. After school with the Great

00:24:10.269 --> 00:24:13.150
Castle Club, I'm much more focused on, okay,

00:24:13.250 --> 00:24:15.170
like, you know, maybe this competition here is

00:24:15.170 --> 00:24:18.029
too soon or you're ready or things like that.

00:24:18.130 --> 00:24:20.190
But, you know, the culture piece is huge to what

00:24:20.190 --> 00:24:23.730
we're doing in PE. And we really ramp it up.

00:24:23.809 --> 00:24:27.029
So our first couple workouts are things like,

00:24:27.029 --> 00:24:28.990
like we'll go like every minute on the minute

00:24:28.990 --> 00:24:31.490
with like a dumbbell goblet squat. Something

00:24:31.490 --> 00:24:34.250
that's like kind of hard to mess up and just

00:24:34.250 --> 00:24:36.269
something that's like really challenging. So

00:24:36.269 --> 00:24:38.799
that when we back off and we're doing... you

00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:41.839
know, some technical work on a hang snatch with

00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:44.940
a PVC pipe, which we do. The students know like,

00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:47.920
hey, like the heavy metal's coming, the punk

00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:50.259
rock is coming, you know, and then we can go

00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:53.859
have fun. It's fun to challenge yourself. We

00:24:53.859 --> 00:24:55.900
keep it safe and we have fun. And some of the

00:24:55.900 --> 00:24:57.720
stuff where you can go crazy, you know, running

00:24:57.720 --> 00:24:59.640
stairs or something like that, we can, you know,

00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:02.160
we let it rip. And then when the kids have to

00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:04.440
slow down, they're ready to do that. What else

00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:07.660
you think? was important for you to be successful?

00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:10.220
You mentioned a little bit the principal of the

00:25:10.220 --> 00:25:13.220
school you're in said, yeah, let's do it. So

00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:16.640
that was one thing. How much money it costed,

00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:20.279
I want to know on the logistical level. Of course,

00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:22.839
you have four teachers, so they, salaries and

00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:26.119
so on, but like what else? What else was needed

00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:29.359
to build it up? On that note, you know, one of

00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:31.299
the things that we did was made sure that we

00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:34.019
have equipment for everybody. So, you know, we

00:25:34.019 --> 00:25:36.950
have, you know, youth bars and we have kettlebells

00:25:36.950 --> 00:25:39.960
that go down to eight pounds. And so. That was

00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:43.599
some of the logistical side that was required.

00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:46.740
Now, in terms of the bigger picture, we've begged,

00:25:46.839 --> 00:25:50.319
borrowed, stole weights to make the field house.

00:25:50.500 --> 00:25:52.380
We call it the field house. It's our shed on

00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:55.019
the field. It's that sort of old school, you

00:25:55.019 --> 00:25:56.940
know, Arnold Schwarzenegger would walk in there

00:25:56.940 --> 00:25:59.420
and say, like, this is, you know, where we're

00:25:59.420 --> 00:26:01.220
supposed to live type of thing. And I think almost

00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:03.519
anybody can do that. You know, I think parents

00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:05.700
are really supportive, especially when they realize,

00:26:05.900 --> 00:26:08.339
you know, the implications with, you know, ACL

00:26:08.339 --> 00:26:11.960
turt. tears in soccer as one example that hits

00:26:11.960 --> 00:26:14.680
us really hard because we're a big soccer school,

00:26:14.839 --> 00:26:18.500
along with so much research is coming out about

00:26:18.500 --> 00:26:20.700
clarity of thinking and things like that. And

00:26:20.700 --> 00:26:23.839
so all these conversations are intertwined about

00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:26.819
why we do it and how we do it. And so if you

00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:29.140
want to ask, we've not had a ton of success with

00:26:29.140 --> 00:26:31.160
local gyms. Nobody's looking to give away equipment,

00:26:31.380 --> 00:26:34.119
which I totally understand. But in terms of parents

00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:36.599
who have things collecting dust and things like

00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:38.559
that. And again, I go back to that. devil workout

00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:40.319
and say like, if you have a stack of plates,

00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:42.380
like I, like I can program for that for like

00:26:42.380 --> 00:26:44.319
several weeks with nothing but that. And it's,

00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:46.039
and it's really fun. And so, so that's where

00:26:46.039 --> 00:26:48.460
I would start. And then in terms of the charges

00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:51.059
donation was about $70 ,000. So thanks to them,

00:26:51.059 --> 00:26:53.700
but that was 11 squat racks. It was 11 benches.

00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:57.900
You know, we have a, what four 45s, four 35s,

00:26:57.900 --> 00:27:00.539
four 25s, four 10s, four fives on each, on each

00:27:00.539 --> 00:27:04.140
rack. And then our rogue purchase was North of

00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:07.730
$10 ,000. And that came largely. you know, out

00:27:07.730 --> 00:27:09.470
of the school funding. That was the principal

00:27:09.470 --> 00:27:11.170
saying we want to support physical education

00:27:11.170 --> 00:27:12.990
and it matters to us. You know, there was a little

00:27:12.990 --> 00:27:15.269
bit of a explanation of why we need different

00:27:15.269 --> 00:27:17.710
weights. And so, you know, there's an education

00:27:17.710 --> 00:27:19.829
piece there and a communication piece as well.

00:27:19.930 --> 00:27:22.589
And, you know, thanks to her for listening and

00:27:22.589 --> 00:27:24.529
being willing to understand something that's

00:27:24.529 --> 00:27:26.069
new to her. I would love to get her in there

00:27:26.069 --> 00:27:29.230
someday to try it herself. But, you know, that's

00:27:29.230 --> 00:27:31.829
for the future. And then the rest of the time,

00:27:31.890 --> 00:27:33.690
you know, we do have athletics funding and we

00:27:33.690 --> 00:27:35.829
do have some fundraising. So we've used that.

00:27:36.589 --> 00:27:38.970
in terms of the actual investment, I guess if

00:27:38.970 --> 00:27:41.329
you add 70 plus 10, it's 80, right? But the rest

00:27:41.329 --> 00:27:44.089
of the time, like there's a school north of us,

00:27:44.109 --> 00:27:45.970
you know, that donated stuff that they didn't

00:27:45.970 --> 00:27:48.029
need anymore because they got, you know, some

00:27:48.029 --> 00:27:50.710
money thrown in and we've done a good job networking.

00:27:50.970 --> 00:27:53.289
And, you know, I do want to shout out and I don't

00:27:53.289 --> 00:27:55.170
know if I'm supposed to name school names or

00:27:55.170 --> 00:27:57.109
not, but I will, you know, Valhalla High School

00:27:57.109 --> 00:27:59.230
east of us, you know, was gracious enough to

00:27:59.230 --> 00:28:00.890
show us around their facility and give us a ton

00:28:00.890 --> 00:28:03.069
of ideas about how they lifted outdoors and sort

00:28:03.069 --> 00:28:05.130
of led to our field house idea. And then Poway

00:28:05.130 --> 00:28:06.839
High School north of us. us were teaching Olympic

00:28:06.839 --> 00:28:08.880
lifting at such a level above what we were doing

00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:11.740
and to a weightlifting class. So a little bit

00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:12.920
different than what we're doing, right? They're

00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:15.440
selecting only athletes, but nevertheless, like

00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:17.619
super gracious and showing us, you know, some

00:28:17.619 --> 00:28:20.339
of their routines and then Mission Vista is doing

00:28:20.339 --> 00:28:21.980
something much closer to what we're doing. And

00:28:21.980 --> 00:28:24.400
again, just good people who want to help, who

00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:26.720
are willing to pick up the phone and say, hey,

00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:29.200
like we are dying with like classroom management

00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:31.339
when we're trying to teach a snatch balance.

00:28:31.480 --> 00:28:33.319
Like that's, it's like a lot. How do you guys

00:28:33.319 --> 00:28:35.019
do it? Oh, we have, you know, they have. had

00:28:35.019 --> 00:28:37.299
worksheets, you know, answer these questions,

00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:38.819
kind of make the kids think about it, things

00:28:38.819 --> 00:28:41.200
like that. So that networking piece, maybe I'm

00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:43.440
lucky in San Diego, but I doubt it. Again, I,

00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:45.119
you know, I can walk into a gym almost anywhere

00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:46.819
in the world and weightlifters are weightlifters.

00:28:46.900 --> 00:28:49.420
So, so that's kind of how I would tackle, tackle

00:28:49.420 --> 00:28:50.900
that side of thing. And then the last thing is

00:28:50.900 --> 00:28:53.079
like, don't be limited by, you know, the facility.

00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:56.519
My favorite weight room is, is a classroom. And

00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:58.319
then, you know, we're out there lifting on a

00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:00.039
track and we have, you know, rubber horse stall

00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:01.740
mats down there to protect the track and things

00:29:01.740 --> 00:29:05.359
like that. Okay. I would like you. to now think

00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:07.880
about some success stories. You mentioned you

00:29:07.880 --> 00:29:10.220
have a girl who went to national competition

00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:13.259
in weightlifting. Maybe some other athlete from

00:29:13.259 --> 00:29:17.940
other sport and someone who was in the camp that

00:29:17.940 --> 00:29:20.680
I don't care about physical activity at all.

00:29:20.779 --> 00:29:22.859
And they are now caring more. So I'm not going

00:29:22.859 --> 00:29:24.500
to say her name because she's under 18 and I

00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:25.839
don't want to put too much pressure on her. And

00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:27.779
if she goes on and does something else with her

00:29:27.779 --> 00:29:31.259
life, I'll be ecstatic. But, you know, she was...

00:29:31.630 --> 00:29:34.329
14 years old, 15 years old. And she showed some

00:29:34.329 --> 00:29:36.549
aptitude. She was picking up the lifts really

00:29:36.549 --> 00:29:39.309
quick. And I kind of made an offhand comment

00:29:39.309 --> 00:29:41.769
like, hey, we have a club after school. You should

00:29:41.769 --> 00:29:44.750
swing by. It's a very intimidating environment

00:29:44.750 --> 00:29:47.170
after school because originally I was opening

00:29:47.170 --> 00:29:49.470
the doors just sort of for like the football

00:29:49.470 --> 00:29:51.650
players to bench press. And I was working out.

00:29:51.690 --> 00:29:54.210
It was kind of time for me to work out too. It

00:29:54.210 --> 00:29:56.410
wasn't anything formal, you know, but at this

00:29:56.410 --> 00:29:58.150
point I had sort of taken a more serious interest

00:29:58.150 --> 00:30:00.450
in weightlifting and she showed up by herself,

00:30:00.529 --> 00:30:03.039
which is. just like you don't see that very often.

00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:06.720
And then so we taught her the lifts and she's,

00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:09.279
you know, a really good athlete and not very

00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:11.720
strong yet, but technically very proficient and

00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:14.460
quickly sending videos to my friends who are

00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:17.180
coaches because her speed of development was

00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:20.140
exceeding mine. And, you know, I went and did

00:30:20.140 --> 00:30:23.099
USA, you know, level one at SoCal and then level

00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:25.660
two, you know, I flew to Texas to do that because

00:30:25.660 --> 00:30:27.579
I just felt like I owe it to this child who's

00:30:27.579 --> 00:30:30.759
so remarkable in her dedication. you know, and

00:30:30.759 --> 00:30:33.259
drive. And she made a comment like, you know,

00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:35.140
I at some point I said, what do your parents

00:30:35.140 --> 00:30:36.759
think about this? Because now we're starting

00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:38.740
to approach, you know, heavy back squats and

00:30:38.740 --> 00:30:41.240
things like this and like like genuinely heavy

00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:44.200
for her. And she's like, I think it's so cool.

00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:46.359
And they just wish there was a way for me to

00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:48.380
see if I'm as strong as other kids. Like, in

00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:50.960
fact, there is a way. And so, you know, we got

00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:52.559
her into some competitions and like where we

00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:54.619
started, like somebody came over and asked me,

00:30:54.660 --> 00:30:56.640
like, who do you have counting for you? And I'm

00:30:56.640 --> 00:31:00.039
like, counting what? Right. Like no idea. how

00:31:00.039 --> 00:31:02.059
to warm up or anything like this, you know? And

00:31:02.059 --> 00:31:03.980
so we're just going to warm up and when they

00:31:03.980 --> 00:31:06.180
say our name, we're going to go lift and see

00:31:06.180 --> 00:31:08.299
how much we can do to the point where we're at

00:31:08.299 --> 00:31:11.079
nationals and still sort of a comedy of errors

00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:13.539
there, but we did the best we could. And so,

00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:16.559
you know, for her, we think, you know, the ripple

00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:19.920
effects have been hard to even quantify. Another

00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:22.519
student really got obsessed with the Olympic

00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:26.420
lifts, very tall athlete, long limbs, quickly

00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:28.539
realized it's probably not a competitive sport.

00:31:28.650 --> 00:31:31.710
for him he was in a weight class way above where

00:31:31.710 --> 00:31:33.529
he probably should have been strength wise and

00:31:33.529 --> 00:31:36.410
just became um i'm going to be a coach and so

00:31:36.410 --> 00:31:40.329
he graduated last year and he we're looking to

00:31:40.329 --> 00:31:42.950
like get him certified and and he's talking about

00:31:42.950 --> 00:31:45.130
maybe you know pursuing that at like a very serious

00:31:45.130 --> 00:31:47.470
level when i was out of town he was he was coaching

00:31:47.470 --> 00:31:50.109
our our young female lifter with supervision

00:31:50.109 --> 00:31:52.869
of another coach who knew much less about weightlifting

00:31:52.869 --> 00:31:54.930
than, than he did. And so, you know, that was

00:31:54.930 --> 00:31:57.170
another one in terms of the, you know, the students

00:31:57.170 --> 00:31:59.390
who were, who were disinterested. I think we've,

00:31:59.390 --> 00:32:01.470
we, you know, we've had, that's, that's most,

00:32:01.609 --> 00:32:03.789
I think. And I think, you know, some of the ones

00:32:03.789 --> 00:32:07.630
where we had a student write in a thank you note,

00:32:07.710 --> 00:32:09.849
it's cool to be strong. And like, that was like.

00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:12.720
all we could ask for, you know, she, you know,

00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:16.000
is no longer in PE, but, but entered the class

00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:18.220
saying like, I'm just going to like do the minimum

00:32:18.220 --> 00:32:21.119
and I'll kind of do what you ask, but that's

00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:23.859
about it. And so cool to be strong requires like,

00:32:23.940 --> 00:32:25.339
like we're like, we should put that on a t -shirt

00:32:25.339 --> 00:32:27.339
or something like, because in that phrase means

00:32:27.339 --> 00:32:30.559
it's so deep in terms of what it requires to

00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:34.400
be strong and in terms of consistency and dedication

00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:36.759
and overcoming obstacles and lifting when you

00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:38.640
don't feel like it and all kinds of things. And

00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:41.269
so. Yeah, those are sort of the three that you

00:32:41.269 --> 00:32:44.220
asked for. What went wrong? What coaches should

00:32:44.220 --> 00:32:47.319
avoid, do you think? Okay, so this will not be

00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:49.980
news, I think, to people involved in the sport

00:32:49.980 --> 00:32:51.259
of weightlifting that there's this misconception

00:32:51.259 --> 00:32:53.779
that it's dangerous. And so there's a communication

00:32:53.779 --> 00:32:56.880
piece that has to happen. And I think where we

00:32:56.880 --> 00:32:58.880
hope to be successful this year is explaining

00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:01.000
this is a comprehensive physical education curriculum.

00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:03.380
We are meeting California state standards here.

00:33:03.500 --> 00:33:05.799
We are emphasizing strength and conditioning,

00:33:06.099 --> 00:33:08.900
but they are getting a holistic picture here.

00:33:09.299 --> 00:33:12.660
Once you do that... Right. You must, if you're

00:33:12.660 --> 00:33:14.940
a responsible coach, account for the injury risk

00:33:14.940 --> 00:33:17.500
of team and individual sports. The research is

00:33:17.500 --> 00:33:19.700
unequivocal that strength and conditioning can

00:33:19.700 --> 00:33:22.279
address some of those issues. And so that has

00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:24.619
really simplified our communication. The other

00:33:24.619 --> 00:33:26.960
thing is just the popularization of strength

00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:29.980
accounts. you know, on Instagram and YouTube.

00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:32.200
People, you know, we can, you know, San Diego

00:33:32.200 --> 00:33:34.160
Wave is our local, you know, women's soccer team.

00:33:34.259 --> 00:33:36.279
Being able to point to the Wave and they are

00:33:36.279 --> 00:33:39.299
posting videos of doing things very similar to

00:33:39.299 --> 00:33:40.799
what we're asking the students to do in class

00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:42.980
has been phenomenally helpful. In terms of other

00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:45.380
roadblocks, you know, I think the funding is

00:33:45.380 --> 00:33:48.160
one. So I think I would, you know, you have to

00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:49.920
build slowly. You know, you're probably not going

00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:52.619
to, we're so fortunate to have those four spaces.

00:33:52.819 --> 00:33:55.299
And they just came one at a time. Didn't come

00:33:55.299 --> 00:33:57.359
all four at the same time. And so, you know,

00:33:57.359 --> 00:33:59.230
so that. That was a challenge. But really, I

00:33:59.230 --> 00:34:01.769
think the lack of familiarity with the sport.

00:34:01.829 --> 00:34:04.549
But we tell people that we're lifting on perfectly

00:34:04.549 --> 00:34:07.769
flat floors with perfectly round bars and perfectly

00:34:07.769 --> 00:34:10.590
balanced bumpers. We control the variables, in

00:34:10.590 --> 00:34:13.690
some case, controlled temperature. And so we.

00:34:14.059 --> 00:34:17.039
We tell the kids, if all else fails, stand up

00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:19.219
and back away from the barbell. It's not going

00:34:19.219 --> 00:34:22.960
to come after you. In soccer, basketball, volleyball,

00:34:23.059 --> 00:34:25.280
very different. I can't control if somebody falls

00:34:25.280 --> 00:34:28.000
onto your knee or ankle. Clearly, there's research

00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:30.679
showing that weightlifting is safer than some

00:34:30.679 --> 00:34:32.159
of these other sports. Then when you add in the

00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:34.940
component that it can actually support our performance

00:34:34.940 --> 00:34:37.400
in those sports and our injury prevention, that's

00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:39.659
sort of where we're at now. I don't know that

00:34:39.659 --> 00:34:42.519
you'll ever get away from the idea that weightlifting

00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:46.119
stunts grow. or, you know, you'll have some sort

00:34:46.119 --> 00:34:48.900
of back issue forever if you perform even a single

00:34:48.900 --> 00:34:51.340
back squat. But sometimes you just have to be

00:34:51.340 --> 00:34:53.559
bold enough to say, like, I feel that this is

00:34:53.559 --> 00:34:56.460
in the best interest of our population and I'd

00:34:56.460 --> 00:34:58.500
be happy to talk to you later. We've had some

00:34:58.500 --> 00:35:00.320
hard conversations with, you know, parents and

00:35:00.320 --> 00:35:02.460
other coaches and, you know, we've been fortunate

00:35:02.460 --> 00:35:04.980
to make our way through most of them. I think

00:35:04.980 --> 00:35:08.340
we have to highlight the profound change. you

00:35:08.340 --> 00:35:13.260
are making so last few decades the physical activity

00:35:13.260 --> 00:35:17.340
on the level of society would be you like football

00:35:17.340 --> 00:35:20.139
so you will and you are footballers so you will

00:35:20.139 --> 00:35:22.260
do a little bit of strength conditioning to support

00:35:22.260 --> 00:35:25.170
you playing football whether you will do it as

00:35:25.170 --> 00:35:27.469
an adult there are some issues because you have

00:35:27.469 --> 00:35:30.329
to have a team actually and opponent team play

00:35:30.329 --> 00:35:34.010
it as your physical activity later in life now

00:35:34.010 --> 00:35:36.309
the profound change you are making is you are

00:35:36.309 --> 00:35:39.449
introducing these kids to something that is very

00:35:39.449 --> 00:35:42.309
individual almost self -sufficient you can set

00:35:42.309 --> 00:35:44.949
it up in your garage later in life and because

00:35:44.949 --> 00:35:47.630
you go through the program for two years you

00:35:47.630 --> 00:35:50.710
actually have some understanding how the programming

00:35:50.710 --> 00:35:53.690
works that they are heavy and they are back of

00:35:53.690 --> 00:35:55.989
days that, you know, there's time to go crazy

00:35:55.989 --> 00:35:58.829
and there's time to just focus on technical work

00:35:58.829 --> 00:36:00.949
and develop these skills. And they learn this

00:36:00.949 --> 00:36:03.829
process of periodization, the progression through

00:36:03.829 --> 00:36:06.650
the technique and weight and so on. And after

00:36:06.650 --> 00:36:09.940
two years, they... may not be self -sufficient

00:36:09.940 --> 00:36:12.659
in a sense that they can program for themselves

00:36:12.659 --> 00:36:15.159
and so on. But if they would have to, they have

00:36:15.159 --> 00:36:18.480
a starting point for life. So strength and conditioning

00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:21.659
becomes a base for them to build their health

00:36:21.659 --> 00:36:24.440
and their physical activity habits later in life

00:36:24.440 --> 00:36:27.739
on the basis what you provide in this school

00:36:27.739 --> 00:36:29.920
for these two years. Yeah, well, I appreciate

00:36:29.920 --> 00:36:33.860
you saying that. I will maybe copy that and send

00:36:33.860 --> 00:36:36.320
it to the doubting administrators that we may

00:36:36.320 --> 00:36:38.039
encounter in the future. Luckily, we don't have

00:36:38.039 --> 00:36:40.860
any yet. But no, that's certainly our goal. And

00:36:40.860 --> 00:36:43.320
we're going to end our year this year is going

00:36:43.320 --> 00:36:45.139
to end with some programming. So the students

00:36:45.139 --> 00:36:47.360
are writing their program. The other thing that's

00:36:47.360 --> 00:36:50.500
just so magical about the sport is that it exists

00:36:50.500 --> 00:36:52.500
in its own right. It certainly didn't for me

00:36:52.500 --> 00:36:54.659
until very recently. It was just something we

00:36:54.659 --> 00:36:57.219
did in the weight room. And I just loved it.

00:36:57.260 --> 00:36:59.880
It was so fun. But it supplemented track and

00:36:59.880 --> 00:37:02.880
field. And then later, I mentioned I did some

00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:05.519
military deployments. And it was just a fantastic

00:37:05.519 --> 00:37:09.199
outlet. when I was by myself, which kind of led

00:37:09.199 --> 00:37:10.940
it to being like, okay, maybe this is a thing

00:37:10.940 --> 00:37:13.480
that exists on its own. But that is our goal.

00:37:13.960 --> 00:37:16.139
My goal for the students is for them to be able

00:37:16.139 --> 00:37:18.000
to use it as a tool in the way that they choose

00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:20.239
and to make decisions that are best for them

00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:23.280
with as many data points and options available

00:37:23.280 --> 00:37:27.340
as possible. So we'll see how we do. I think

00:37:27.340 --> 00:37:30.079
it speaks also to the goals will change throughout

00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:33.360
life. But you showed already that it works for

00:37:33.360 --> 00:37:35.719
different goals and the students will see it.

00:37:35.719 --> 00:37:37.880
Even if you never mention it through two years

00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:40.579
of this program, they will see friends having

00:37:40.579 --> 00:37:43.300
other goals and they all went through it and

00:37:43.300 --> 00:37:46.320
adjusted and got what they needed at the moment.

00:37:46.420 --> 00:37:49.900
And they will have this vision that it can be

00:37:49.900 --> 00:37:52.900
used for that, that and the other. Yeah, again,

00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:54.760
I appreciate saying that it has the goal and

00:37:54.760 --> 00:37:56.579
I have a firm belief that it is impossible. to

00:37:56.579 --> 00:37:58.579
walk into a gym and see platforms in the back

00:37:58.579 --> 00:38:00.800
and not be drawn to them once you know that,

00:38:00.800 --> 00:38:03.219
you know, what you're capable of. So, you know,

00:38:03.239 --> 00:38:06.440
I joke with the kids like it's in you now and

00:38:06.440 --> 00:38:08.579
it's never going to leave. And, you know, the

00:38:08.579 --> 00:38:11.000
leg press and leg extension will become significantly

00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:13.019
less interesting to you once you know what those

00:38:13.019 --> 00:38:16.099
platforms in the back are capable or what secrets

00:38:16.099 --> 00:38:18.800
they hold. So, yeah, again, it's not for everybody,

00:38:18.900 --> 00:38:22.179
but certainly exercise is, it has to be. And

00:38:22.179 --> 00:38:25.420
so this is our way to introduce it. What is the

00:38:25.420 --> 00:38:28.269
fuel? for your program? My goal now for the program

00:38:28.269 --> 00:38:30.809
is to be more specific with the individual students'

00:38:31.050 --> 00:38:34.769
needs. We have now an entire class at our school

00:38:34.769 --> 00:38:36.570
because the ninth graders become 10th graders,

00:38:36.670 --> 00:38:40.050
obviously. And those students all have some familiarity,

00:38:40.329 --> 00:38:42.309
every single one of them, with the Olympic lifts.

00:38:42.429 --> 00:38:45.510
And so being able to program for the basketball

00:38:45.510 --> 00:38:51.070
athlete who is in season. vice the American football

00:38:51.070 --> 00:38:53.550
athlete who would have just completed his season.

00:38:53.690 --> 00:38:55.690
That's a lot of work. And then in terms of the

00:38:55.690 --> 00:38:58.949
Greycastle side after school, I need to continue

00:38:58.949 --> 00:39:01.929
to become a better coach. I'm obsessed. I'm intoxicated

00:39:01.929 --> 00:39:04.230
by high performance and high performing people.

00:39:04.429 --> 00:39:07.730
I don't think I'm one. That's the future is better

00:39:07.730 --> 00:39:09.809
programming, more specific to the individual,

00:39:09.909 --> 00:39:13.510
and then a club that'll serve our competitive

00:39:13.510 --> 00:39:16.909
side. I'm excited. I wish you well. I hope all

00:39:16.909 --> 00:39:19.389
future... brings all you wish for. Thank you

00:39:19.389 --> 00:39:21.590
so much. I really appreciate it. My key takeaway

00:39:21.590 --> 00:39:24.030
is that I'm, I've made a lot of mistakes as a

00:39:24.030 --> 00:39:26.650
teacher and I would, this is probably the most

00:39:26.650 --> 00:39:28.170
important project that I've, that I've worked

00:39:28.170 --> 00:39:30.329
on and maybe will work on. And, and I'm, I do

00:39:30.329 --> 00:39:32.809
not want to silo any information. So if, if we

00:39:32.809 --> 00:39:34.829
can help any, you know, obviously I understand

00:39:34.829 --> 00:39:37.789
American PE the best. So we'll start, we'll start

00:39:37.789 --> 00:39:39.769
there, but any physical education teachers who

00:39:39.769 --> 00:39:41.989
want to teach weightlifting within the confines

00:39:41.989 --> 00:39:43.750
of, you know, a standards -based comprehensive

00:39:43.750 --> 00:39:46.369
curriculum, boy, I would love to share anything

00:39:46.369 --> 00:39:48.599
we've learned. the hard way because I walked

00:39:48.599 --> 00:39:50.840
out of, you know, weight rooms saying like, what

00:39:50.840 --> 00:39:53.739
did we just do there? That was a mess. And the

00:39:53.739 --> 00:39:55.639
kids didn't know what to do. And all my cues

00:39:55.639 --> 00:39:58.019
were wrong. And I think we maybe got worse today.

00:39:58.059 --> 00:40:00.599
So helping people avoid some of those pitfalls

00:40:00.599 --> 00:40:02.480
that, you know, sometimes we feel like we drove

00:40:02.480 --> 00:40:04.760
our truck right into them, you know, is sort

00:40:04.760 --> 00:40:08.440
of the passion project. So I would love if anyone

00:40:08.440 --> 00:40:11.119
has questions, I'd be happy to answer. And then,

00:40:11.139 --> 00:40:13.900
you know, also pick people's brains in terms

00:40:13.900 --> 00:40:15.840
of how do we get better competitively. So, you

00:40:15.840 --> 00:40:17.880
know, some of them. our young athletes are getting

00:40:17.880 --> 00:40:19.880
to the point where we need to step our game up

00:40:19.880 --> 00:40:22.239
in terms of our technical proficiency. So I'm

00:40:22.239 --> 00:40:24.039
just really looking forward to continuing that

00:40:24.039 --> 00:40:25.800
process. Awesome. I think, Paul, you are the

00:40:25.800 --> 00:40:28.420
right person in the right place in the right

00:40:28.420 --> 00:40:31.300
time. So I'm rooting for you. Two short questions

00:40:31.300 --> 00:40:34.139
to finish. The first one is, what is your favorite

00:40:34.139 --> 00:40:36.539
lift? Yeah, so I listened to a few of your podcasts

00:40:36.539 --> 00:40:38.280
and everybody says snatch, which I think is the

00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:40.139
right answer. But I'm going to say clean grip

00:40:40.139 --> 00:40:42.199
muscle snatch. Me and my little brother, who

00:40:42.199 --> 00:40:44.099
is another big influence on me, are always in

00:40:44.099 --> 00:40:46.820
this argument about what's the... the best single

00:40:46.820 --> 00:40:48.980
lift. And is it a snatch grip muscle snatch or

00:40:48.980 --> 00:40:50.860
a clean grip muscle snatch? And I'm a big proponent

00:40:50.860 --> 00:40:53.920
of the clean grip. It quickly turns into an ugly

00:40:53.920 --> 00:40:56.639
clean versus an ugly press, but it's so fun.

00:40:56.760 --> 00:41:00.019
It's easy to teach. It combines some speed and

00:41:00.019 --> 00:41:02.139
some power and some pure strength. It's a good

00:41:02.139 --> 00:41:03.980
one that, you know, we can compete at. And I,

00:41:04.119 --> 00:41:05.900
you know, I have goals in that lift, which is

00:41:05.900 --> 00:41:08.360
just so funny to, to closest I've ever come to

00:41:08.360 --> 00:41:11.460
passing out is a clean grip muscle snatch. So.

00:41:11.480 --> 00:41:14.420
All right. And if people want to ask you questions,

00:41:14.420 --> 00:41:16.710
where, Where should they find you online? Yeah,

00:41:16.750 --> 00:41:20.429
so my public Instagram is Coach Coover, C -O

00:41:20.429 --> 00:41:23.130
-O -V -E -R. I don't do a great job of posting

00:41:23.130 --> 00:41:26.070
on there, but I do check all the messages that

00:41:26.070 --> 00:41:28.510
come through. If you follow me, you'll end up

00:41:28.510 --> 00:41:30.949
with some sports dates on when we're playing

00:41:30.949 --> 00:41:32.590
a volleyball game or something like that. And

00:41:32.590 --> 00:41:36.989
then I use the page to stay accountable to Will

00:41:36.989 --> 00:41:38.550
and my brother and some of my lifting buddies.

00:41:38.769 --> 00:41:40.989
I know I'm bad at Olympic lifting, so don't remind

00:41:40.989 --> 00:41:43.650
me at that. Be nice to strangers on the internet.

00:41:43.949 --> 00:41:46.250
But I do post, you know, that kind of stuff just

00:41:46.250 --> 00:41:48.469
to hold myself accountable and show the kids

00:41:48.469 --> 00:41:50.449
that, yeah, I don't lift when they're lifting

00:41:50.449 --> 00:41:52.349
because I'm coaching. You know, that we're all

00:41:52.349 --> 00:41:54.630
in this together. But yeah, Instagram, Coach

00:41:54.630 --> 00:41:57.610
Coover. And then my email is just myfirst .last

00:41:57.610 --> 00:42:00.269
at gmail .com. So paul .coover at gmail .com.

00:42:00.409 --> 00:42:02.269
Awesome, Paul. Thank you so much for today. Thank

00:42:02.269 --> 00:42:02.670
you so much.