Stillwater athletes on Pony Power
When people think of high school, they usually think first of academic rigor–the challenges of classes and the daily grind. While that usually is how the high school day begins, it often ends, for athletes anyway, with a workout. What school is to the mind, Pony Power is to the body.
Pony Power is a program designed to assist athletes in strength and conditioning. It involves a wide array of athletes from various sports, who attend the sessions because they desire the best for their bodies in terms of building strong, well-toned muscles and speed performance.
After the last hour bell rings, many athletes head to the weight room on a regular basis for intense workouts guided by coaches Mike Weiss and Ryan McCauley. The goal is to build strength in the off-season for any athlete through the use of free weights, speed drills, and core endurance.
In the beginning of the program, athletes record their ability in many different workouts such as how much they can lift or squat. They then take several weeks to improve from their starting point, showing they made gains in strength and conditioning. Their daily schedule consists of starting out with a warm-up and going from speed training or various jumping drills. After that, they go back to the weight room and depending on the day they do various exercises to build strength. The program runs Monday through Friday, with Thursday as a rest day.
Junior Graham Laubscher, football and baseball athlete, who participates in Pony Power commented, “I look at Pony Power as a way for me to not only get better in the off-season, but as a way for me to improve personal goals as well.”
The vast majority of athletes have participated in sports for a number of years. Pony Power allows these athletes to transition into their seasonal sport by letting them engage in weight training and conditioning prior to their season, which not only puts them in better physical condition, but also helps them prepare for their upcoming season by getting back in the gym with their peers.
Junior Mitch Banken said, “I look forward to Pony Power because I can hang out with my friends at the end of the day and blow off some steam. For me, it’s motivating and easier to work out when people are right next to you.”
While most athletes workout, they enjoy being among their teammates, as Banken described. For most of them, they not only find strength in themselves but in each other as well. It helps build team chemistry.
With Pony power only growing from here on out and allowing athletes to get to their best with top notch equipment, it will only encourage more to get involved in Pony Power.
Coach Weiss had some comments on what is to come in the future and what he would like to see, “To start we’ve added 120 thousand dollars worth of equipment and are continually adding even more throughout the year. I would like to see more female athletes get involved with our winter sessions. As of now we have 22 females and I would like to see that number jump eventually to 45-50. Regarding the future, our new facilities coming in 2017 will allow for us to have the largest weight room and cardio room in the entire metro area.”
The program embraces athletes with injury as well. These athletes usually have to perform under the guidance of a physical therapist and are cleared to return to the program with specific exercises. Allowing athletes to have the one on one time if necessary with a professional.
Sophomore Hailey Laubscher enjoys the guidance of the coaches and looks forward to the after school grind, as she commented, “Having people know what they are doing really helps me develop as an athlete. It helps to know that they care and want to see you improve as time goes on.”