* a Powerlifting Watch exclusive
PLW - Recently we published the case of a 15 year old Varsity football player that competed and did very well on a powerlifting meet. He is a small and light athlete and his goal was to improve there. His coaches did not approve. Our question is about how consensual is the employment of the lifts in S&C for other sports.
EB – Terrible. Many high school S&C coaches know next to nothing about strength training, and are frequently a former football player who “lifted weights” 30 years ago. This works to a point because at first young guys will grow doing anything. Unfortunately, by the time they get to college, the first year is often spent re-teaching things that were improperly instructed, correcting bad movement patterns and often dealing with injuries. Yes, there are good high school programs out there, but they are an oasis in the desert. If you go to a state high school “weightlifting” meet and see what passes for acceptable technique, well, that says all that needs to be said.


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