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John L. Braese
VALE – When Viking alumni Drew Dobney returned to the halls of Vale High School as an educator and the instructor for the strength and conditioning class, one goal, among many, was the return of the 1000-pound club to the students.
“I remember in grade school seeing high school students wearing the t-shirts for the club and I thought it was a great goal,” said Dobney. “When I reached high school, the program had just gone away. When I took the position her at the high school, it was one thing I really wanted to get going again.”
Before handing out t-shirts for accomplishments, Dobney first needed a weight room able to handle 1,000 pounds. Enter Vale’s Brogan Payne’s senior project. Students hit the streets obtaining sponsors for each pound lifted in the “Bench For Bounty” day. With the money raised, combined with other sponsor dollars found by Dobney, t-shirts and more importantly, updated weight equipment was purchased and installed for a safe facility for the lifters.
“The idea is to make the program fun and give the students a target to shoot for,” Dobney explained.
In addition to the 1000-pound club, target weights and t-shirts are also provided for weight goals acheived in individual lifts and separated by sex. For the 1000 pounds, the total weight is obtained through a combination of the dead, squat and bench lifts. Currently, four have achieved the goal including Evan McBride, Jake DeVos, Kase Schaffeld and John Saunders. The shirts given out to the successful are “retro” using the logo from years ago and also are colors from years gone past.
Walking the halls of the high school, one will see numerous female athletes sporting the shirts showing success in an individual lift.
“I wanted to make weightlifting and the benefits more accessible to girls,” said Dobney.
The success of the program has benefited beyond the classroom and Dobney’s weight room.
“The program has built confidence on the football team and builds camaraderie among the team,” said Vale football coach Jeff Aldred. “It has helped keep the players healthy and in shape during the off season.”
One of the most important benefits, according to both Aldred and Vale track and field coach Paul Bentz is injury prevention.
“The weight room is the foundation to all our athletics,” Bentz said. “Strength is a major component of speed and the program has been vital to my sport. You can see the effects of the program in all the sports played at Vale and the upgrade to the weight room and the program have been phenomenal.”
Bentz said the current track and field season has seen a decrease in injuries.
“You can see the difference this season,” he said. “Kids who find the weight program and do it correctly find success and less injuries throughout the year.”
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