Coach's Corner
Tips from Leo Totten

10 Things noted at the National Juniors
03.1999

This year's National Juniors in Savannah were a very successful venture for ECG. Our guys team placed 2nd in the 17-20 age group and with a little luck we could have taken the title. Overall, I was VERY pleased with the performances of our lifters and coaches and was very pleased with the CLASS way that we conducted ourselves throughout. That is why I am so proud of this team!

But, like every competition, I try to sit back, evaluate and learn from the experience, either good or bad. Here are my thoughts after this meet:

TEN THINGS I NOTED ABOUT THE NATIONAL JUNIORS
(No particular order)

1) Tenacity and Courage is not a gender thing: the performances of Gwen and Sally were awesome. Gwen just coming back from an elbow injury and hitting a 10Kg PR and Sally giving it a very gutsy performance after having bronchitis for the previous 3 weeks. Walter hurt his elbow on his last snatch and still was fighting to the end to get me to allow him to clean and jerk. As it turned out, the elbow needed surgery, but the fight was incredible!

2) Great lifting is not a gender thing: the performance of our girls plus those from around the country was awesome to see. Danica Rue is a stud!! Cheryl Haworth is simply the best (and only age 15 too!) The future of Women's Weightlifting is extremely bright!

3) The enthusiasm of young lifters is contagious: Positive attitude and an almost cocky "I can do anything" point of view makes the Juniors fun to watch. As we get older, we tend to be a little more cautious and conservative and "unsure" of ourselves. The better senior lifters have this same aggressive, positive attitude!

4) Supportive family and friends is crucial: It is always so nice to see parents and friends making the long trips to these events and supporting their young athletes. Our team is very fortunate to have many great supporters. Without the support of family and friends, it just doesn't happen. ECG is like a big family!

5) It's not what you start with, its what you end with!: Jason Gump is a fine example of this. He listened to his coach and took the right weights for his situation. The result was an outstanding performance that landed him on the Junior World team!!

6) Focus on one lift at a time: Time and time again, lifters are thinking ahead or worrying what their opponents are doing or focusing on a certain total - instead, they need to focus on one lift at a time. Those other things will take care of themselves if the lifter takes care of one lift at a time.

7) Plan ahead: When going to big meets, plan ahead with flights, rooms, etc. Always assume that the lifting is not going to be on schedule and assume that your session may last until midnight! I know it is a time and financial burden to stay an extra night, but it is worth it. All the training and planning you do for a meet deserves the very best at the end.

8) Plan ahead, but sometimes plans don't work out: DEAL WITH IT! One of the most profound facts that I have picked up over the years is that sometimes, life is just not fair! Accept it and deal with it! For example, Dave Fetchko was to be at the Juniors by mid-afternoon on Thursday. Snow prevented his departure and he was to arrive the next day at the same time. Well, sure enough, he didn't get into Savannah until 1:00 am Friday night (Saturday morning)! We didn't panic; we just dealt with the situation. Dave handled it extremely well and got into the flow of things when he arrived as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. Dave could have given up on even coming down to the meet or he could have complained but you didn't hear a word. His help at the meet was AWESOME and I really appreciate all he did.

9) T.E.A.M.: Together Everyone Achieves More. This is always exemplified by this team. Our assistant coaches do an awesome.