Pump you up: prep girls and weight training

The sounds emanating from the well-stocked weight room at Wayzata High School are familiar -- grunts of exertion, clanking of weights, voices of encouragement.

But step inside, look around and one thing becomes obvious: This is not your father's weight room.

While football players -- in this case, 50 or so incoming freshman -- are dedicating themselves to the conditioning credo of "bigger, stronger, faster," it's the people in charge of the room on this warm Thursday morning that stand out. Three women, all of whom graduated from Wayzata in the past three years, are running the show while weight-room coordinator Ryan Johnson takes former protegé James Laurinaitis to lunch.

Natalie Johnson (no relation to Ryan), Tami Hels and Jamie Miller are keeping a watchful eye over their young charges, demonstrating technique, answering questions and showing the boys how things are done.

Wayzata is not alone. All across the metro, girls have become a common sight in the traditionally male-dominated caves housing strength-training equipment.

As Apple Valley Athletic Director Peter Buesgens, a 1987 graduate of Jordan, said, "Things have really changed since I was in school."

College training influences coaches

One of the first things Meghann Green did when she took over as the girls' soccer coach at Champlin Park two years ago was to make sure her team became well-acquainted with weight-lifting equipment.

"I played soccer in college, and we lifted weights during the season and in the offseason," Green said. "When I took over as head varsity coach two years ago, I didn't think the players knew enough about lifting and the importance of strength training in soccer."

So Green, who had been an assistant coach at Champlin Park for two years before being promoted, developed a workout schedule for her team that included weight-lifting sessions four days a week.

"It was a little intimidating for some of them at first, I think," she said. "When you first picture a weight room, you think of big, sweaty football players. And some of the girls on the soccer team are really tiny. But I think it's good for them to be exposed to that. It gives them confidence they can use in other areas."

And while it's still early to make any definitive pronouncements regarding it's effectiveness, Green does see indications that the weight training is paying off, particularly in the area of injury prevention.

"We're focusing on preventing knee injuries, which is one of the biggest things that affect female athletes," Green said. "In my two years here before I was head coach, we had three knee injuries. In the last two seasons, we didn't suffer any."

Benefits not sport specific

While injury prevention is one of the primary goals of strength training, the main focus is the overall development of the athlete.

Ryan Johnson is in his ninth year heading up Wayzata's highly successful Trojan Power conditioning program. The focus, Johnson said, is not sport-specific; rather, it is geared towards improving overall athletic achievement.

"The definition of a traditional weight room has changed. Everyone here is lifting in the athletic mindset," Johnson said. "One of the things I was asked to do when I took this job was to create an environment that was welcoming to all students, not just old-fashioned metalheads."

If participation numbers are an accurate gauge, then Johnson and his program have been wildly successful. This summer, Trojan Power has 675 students enrolled from grades 6 through 12.

"We have athletes for all sports coming in," Johnson said. "We've got football, of course, but we've also got hockey and basketball and soccer and other teams coming in.

''The drama department is putting on [the musical] 'South Pacific' this year, and they've got kids down here working out. One of the hardest working groups we have is our dance team, the Trojettes. In dance, their movements are very athletic and they want to be trained like athletes."

Weight lifting is just part of it

Of course, weight lifting is just one aspect of overall athletic training. Programs like Trojan Power have sprouted up at many schools across the metro -- for example, Apple Valley has the Soaring Eagles and Centennial has two programs, Cougar Summer Pride and FIT, which stands for Females In Training. All of them incorporate weight lifting into a larger regimen that also stresses to improve flexibility, explosiveness and cardiovascular levels.

Just as importantly, all are focused on developing athletes regardless of sport or gender.

"When I started here, we had one universal gym, one Olympic free weight set and no summer program," said Centennial football coach Mike Watson, who will be starting his 32nd year at the school. "Strength training was voluntary, and it was all football players. But now we understand the importance of strength-training to develop athletic ability, give confidence and prevent injuries. And we've found out that girls love to lift weights. That's our culture now.