The following are some of the outstanding inspirational posts on the forum.
If you have a favorite post, or one you find particularly inspirational, email the webmasters.

Warriors and Victims
Most Inspirational Post
A very inspirational thread
Lifting with diabetes
A True Quote
Adventures in Squatting
Saturday Thoughts (Powerlifters vs. Not)

Warriors and Victims
Posted By: Steve K
Date: Monday, 2 December 2002, at 4:27 p.m.

I'll quote an acquaintance of mine, because I could never say it better than she did:

"I look in the mirror: if I see any trace of the sad, exhausted, pale, weak, fat, pussy-whipped wage-slave desk jockey I used to be, I'm ready to lift some weight.
"I'm reminded of my sister (nothing personal), who's spent her life doing all the stuff other people want her to do, and all the stuff she figures she should do.
"A couple of weeks ago, she asked me with tears in her eyes when would it be her turn to have a life and do what she wants? All I could tell her was, "It'll be your turn when you get off the hamster wheel and take a fucking turn."
"It's up to you. No one else. You'll find the time to work out when you DECIDE you're gonna work out. You'll eat, and rest, and take care of yourself, because YOU decide you deserve it, you need it, you want it, and NO ONE is going to keep you from it. Not even you.
"And it does have to be YOU. No one's gonna watch what I eat for me, no one's gonna lift an ounce of my weight. I can make up any story I want about it, but stories are bullshit.
"I can be a warrior, or I can be a victim. For the warrior, no excuses; for the victim, only excuses."

A little bragging
Posted By: Mike Brookman
Date: Monday, 10 December 2001, at 7:51 a.m.

I have to brag a little today. I am so proud. I coach an 11-12 year old Girls BBall team. The past two weekends were have been playing in a Christmas Pre-Season tourny. Last weekend we won both games, 28-7 and 28-8. This sat we lost to on of the other 2(not counting us) teams by one point in a heartbreaker 19-18. We could not have played any worse in the first half and had to play catch up the rest of the way and we had the winning play designed during a timeout and it just didn't fall..we all have those days but we had already clinched a spot in the single elimination Final Four of the tourny to take place the next day (yesterday-Sunday). Well we played the other undefeated team on Sun in the Semis(prob the best team in the tourny to be honest) we stayed close led a few times and trailed most of the game, we ended up pulling it out with some clutch free throws, one by my sister and we won 20-18. So we now have to turn around 2 hours later and play the Champ game against the same team that beat us on Sat (they won the game after us so they only had an hour break), we ended up dominating them and running them to death, they were pulling on the shorts in the 2nd period. We were up 14-4 at the half and up 22-7 to start the 4th. The good thing is I think we just wore them down bec we play an up tempo defensive transition game, and they were worn out...bad thing is that we didn't score at ALL in the 4th period and about midway through the 4th we started to loose our legs and were finally showing our tiredness..we managed to hold on to win the tourny championship 22-16. Thank god we are great defensive team. LOL. It was the first time in 3 years I have won this tourny as a coach. The thing that struck me was the leadership of 4 or 5 of the girls in the last 4 minutes of the game when the other team was making a run to comeback, at one point the opposing coach was arguing with the ref and score keepers and our team huddled up in front of the bench and I started to get up but realized they were huddled on their OWN and were up beat and telling each other we can do it, let's shut them down..etc..etc..their intensity was unmeasured in girls Bball at this age..I have NEVER seen this in any team at this age in ANY sport. So I sat back down on the bench and let them get their selves together bec it appeared they were doing the job and didn't need me, plus being a preseason tourny this was a good test to see who was a leader and who was just out there bec I had them in the game. It worked well, the other team only scored 2 ptns the rest of the way and we forced 10 turnovers in the last 3 minutes. I must say this..I have NEVER been more proud of ANY team I have EVER coached or been apart of because of their sheer desire to win and their 100% determination and effort and their intensity level. Yes its great to win, but if we had lost I would still be just as proud bec these girls left nothing and I mean nothing on the floor when the clock struck zero. That is all I ask of them, win or loose to leave it on the floor and make sure they try 100%.
Now for the amazing part, Before the Semi game I gave a motivational speech and one of the key comments that got the team fired up was "A true test of any team is how the bounce back from a loss." they answered the bell and then some. In the Champ game (the rematch with the only team that had beaten us and if we had not played so bad they would not have done that either), I said "Now the true test of this game is how a team bounces back and responds in an effort to seek out revenge on a team that had already beaten them" They answered the bell AGAIN! Now your asking, what is amazing about this? Well for kids this age, for them to be actually listening and comprehend what I am saying and realize the motivation in the words, is simply amazing and how they responded is what proves how good their character is...this should be a great season win or loose when the regular season starts in Jan. We had only 3 practices to get ready for this tourny and I can't wait to hit the floor again. Our season opens the first week of Jan and I gave the kids the week off, we will resume normal practice next week. Sorry this is long, but I had to brag about some kids who I truly respect, love, admire, and am so proud about.

Re: A little bragging
Posted By: Marty
Date: Monday, 10 December 2001, at 10:16 a.m.
In Response To: A little bragging (Mike Brookman)

Mike,
That is a VERY inspirational story. I've done some youth coaching, and have been generally very pleased with the quality of the young people involved. In My Humble Opinion, people that gripe about the 'quality of youth today' are spending too much time watching TV and not enough time interacting with the youth.
Anyway, let me take the time to do something that doesn't happen often enough and thank YOU for the time and effort you put in!
By your time, effort, and example, you are teaching these girls lessons that go beyond sports, and will serve them well all their life.
So, MUCH THANKS to you and all the other coaches out there!
Marty
 
 

Re: A little bragging
Posted By: DanL
Date: Tuesday, 11 December 2001, at 8:18 a.m.
In Response To: Re: A little bragging (Marty)

Great comments Marty. I've coached baseball for about 6 years now. The rewards are outstanding, even with putting up with all the parental BS. The kids are rarely the problem- it's always the parents. "Why isn't my son playing infield" I think to myself "Because your son would get killed by a line drive. He can barely walk and chew gum at the same time." Of course I say "We evaluated all the players and feel he best helps the team in the outfield"
"Why is your son the pitcher- my son can pitch too" I say "Again, we have evaluated all the players and have taken into consideration their ability and experience at the pitching position. My son is one of the pitchers because he practices at home nearly every day to become a better player. I cannot teach your son to pitch in the 2-3 hrs a week I have with the entire team. Do you practice at home with him?" The Parent: "Well, no, I have to work" Me: "So do I, but it's important that I spend quality time with my child. We do this by practicing together. If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to take time out of my schedule and work with your son on a one on one basis in my backyard to help him" The Parent: "Thanks, but I don't have time for that" Typical, real, actual conversations I've had with parents. I think to myself, you had time to screw to make the kid, now you need to find time to be a parent!!
Sometimes you get that one kid who is on the cusp of turning to the wrong side of the fence. If you can help him become a better person, possibly lead him to the path of right vs wrong, you are a successful coach and mentor. A lot of times these kids don't have much of a home life, and any adult male presence is needed and welcomed once you break thru their shells. I lived that life with little guidance, and went down the wrong path. It took until I had my own kids to see where I was heading.
Dan
PS-I do the same thing for my daughter- I just don't coach her team. Although based on the instruction she's been getting, I'm considering it for next year.

Re: A little bragging
Posted By: gabrielle jayde
Date: Tuesday, 11 December 2001, at 10:37 a.m.
In Response To: Re: A little bragging (rickey dale crain)

: GREAT POST...AND MANY JUST DROP THEM OFF FOR
: PRACTICE OR CALL FOR RIDES AND HARDLY EVER
: SHOW UP AT GAMES?????
: WONDER SOMETIMES WHY THEY EVER HAD KIDS????????
This is a pet peeve of mine. I do whatever I have to do to stay at my kids events and practices, even if I'm the only parent staying. I know my son notices I stay for his baseball practice, but I also think that if he got hit with a ball or twisted his ankle, who's going to be there- his coach?
I especially like it when it starts to rain during a game and half the kids have to stand there for an hour till a parent shows up to take them home.
Putting my kids in sports wasn't intended to give me time to shop- its for them.
Gabrielle

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Weightlifting Discussion Board 

My feelings on this... LONG
Posted By: jordan steigerwald
Date: Saturday, 15 June 2002, at 10:46 a.m.

In Response To: An interesting article... (gabrielle jayde)

Ms. g,

Very interesting article. I have some serios feelings on this because I myself have had type one diabetes since I was 6 years old. The last 18 years have not been easy but I am thankful for every moment that I have. Having or rather overcoming diabetes has been the fire inside that drive mee to succeed. It was not long ago that my diabetes used to control me and until I controled my diabetes I got nowhere. I definately know what it is like to lose all of my strength. I have been on top twice and fallen to nothing. During my second year of playing football in college in 99' I got really sick and lost like 35 pounds in 3 weeks I got really depressed and gave up on everything. The road back has been very long but as I look back today what it took toovercome these things has made me stronger than I have ever been before. I started training again seriously in the middle of november of 2001 I was pretty weak when I started I don't have everything written down but I remember that I could barely squat 315 once, and I could only bench 205 twice. In a little over the last 7 months I have gain over 100 pounds on bench and over 150 on both squat and deadlift. These things have not come easy they came when I put my faith to the test and chose to face life head on and overcome. True living with diabetes everyday is a battle but it is not a battle that cannot be won.

Jordan Steigerwald

PS.. I hope that someday I can make it close to the top in a sport like powerlifting so that others can look at me and see that it can be done. No more excuses
Please note: Jordan Steigerwald is currently a missing person. If you have any information about Jordan, please email the webmasters.

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A true quote
Posted By: ANN K
Date: Tuesday, 25 February 2003, at 11:09 a.m.

I ran across this in my research on the elite athlete's mindset.

From an interview with Muhammed Ali:

"Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside.
"Yes, they have to have last-minute stamina, yes, they have to be a little faster, yes, they have to have the skill and, yes, they have to have the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill."


 Adventures in Squatting
Posted By: dian
Date: Friday, 25 April 2003, at 7:37 p.m.

Today’s squats were exhilarating. I was excited about them going in, and I had a big breakfast an hour or so before, and felt strong and good. My form was good, and my depth was good and they were fun from the beginning to the end. Which was, unfortunately, right after my first working rep.

Today should have been 190x2x2, and the first one went down and up perfectly, then the second went down and no place else! It was a first for me, a PR in it’s own right..dumping my bar on a squat. An obstacle I have needed to get out of the way for a long time. A barrier I don’t have to worry about anymore. The one rep at 190lbs was a PR, but the miss was every bit as exciting as the PR!

While I was down there at the bottom, holding my breath and pushing in every direction and not going anywhere, I had a moment to salute john wright and all the other paused squat aficionados. Getting out from under it was not nearly as tough as I had always anticipated. The toughest part was that some of my hair got wrapped around the bar and rolled with it as the bar rolled onto the pins.

I also squirreled something up in my left calf and when I crawled out, I had a big charlie horse. While I was standing there trying to decide if I was gonna unload my bar and move it and reload it, I realized that the cramp was not going away, and I just bagged the rest of the work out and came upstairs to ice it. It’s hours later now, and it still hurts, but..I don’t think it is any kind of serious damage, AND..I am still feeling a little bit of the high I got off my workout.

It’s odd to me that I am not upset about missing the doubles I was sure I was going to get when I started. But sometimes I get more out of the failures than the completions.

Part of what made me fall in love with lifting was that it was so full of lessons for me. Everything about it screams at me for patience. And patience is my life goal. What I mean by that is, that ..I think of it as the one thing I have to learn in this trip around the planet. Patience. The one lesson the almighty has for me that is a lifetime lesson. I’ve been chasing it all these years, and I still hold out hope that I am going to learn it. If lifting doesn’t teach me patience, nothing else will.

But it also gives me daily lessons. Sometimes, they just involve, improving my form, or moving more weight. And sometimes, it shows me things about myself that dazzle me. And today was one of those kind of days.

dian in spokane



Saturday thoughts
(powerlifters vs. not)
Posted By: bobc
Date: Saturday, 26 July 2003, at 12:59 p.m.

I have been thinking about how strong our feelings are about being powerlifters it came to me that I and many others reacted so strangely strongly to this. Almost the way people react to questions on their core religious belief systems. As if someone's having a different belief somehow might invalidate my own belief. It also makes me think of the debates on training systems, periodization, westside, 3x3 etc and how important they are and how we will defend them share them try and convert people to them. What I am trying to say is I have come to the conclusion that powerlifting is almost a way of life and what seperates the powerlifter from non powerlifters is the belief in the sport, infatuation in the almost obsessive nature of the sport and the people that live it.
bobc

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