Tranfer Athletes

     Athletes that transfer over to weightlifting may be where we get most of our athletes. Most kids never hear about weightlifting to get started at the same time as the rest of the world. If they do hear about it, many parents think it's dangerous and won't let their kids participate. Many people finally learn some variation of the lifts to help them with their sports. Most of the time it's some sort of gag-reflex inducing technique but, still.

When do athletes get introduced to weightlifting?
~Usually in high school p.e.or team lifting
~If they're lucky, it'll be jr. high or younger
~If they're not so lucky, it'll be college or later

When do they transfer over?
~After their high school careers
~After their collegiate careers

When is the best time to transfer?
~ASAP!

Why do they transfer over?
~They get burn out on the sport they're doing
~They aren't doing well being in a team environment
~They realize that weightlifting is actually the sport they're good at
~They sustain an injury preventing them from playing their primary sport
One of my old teammates said, "i just lift weights...used to play football but the game let me down."

What sports to athletes transfer from?
~Football, Wrestling, Track and field, Gymnastics, and power lifting most commonly. Many other sports transfer over too.
What athletes make the best transitions?
~Athletes that do individual sports tend to make the best transitions.This is because they are used to training and competing by themselves. Sometimes it feels like a lot of pressure when all eyes are on you instead of the whole team so, that previous experience is helpful in preventing "shell shock" or "choking" in competitions.
~Gymnasts and wrestlers make good transfer athletes because of the risky nature of their sports and the level of confidence they have. They aren't afraid to get under heavy weight.


Examples of successful transfer athletes:
Cara Heads (track and field)
Tara Cunningham (gymnastics)
Shane Hamman (power lifting)
Jessica Gallagher (soccer)
Sarah Robles (track and field)
Mark Henry (WWF wrestling)
Jackie Berube (wrestling and gymnastics)