The Galena Barbell Club: GHS’s own school lifting program By Cael Ozee

The Galena High School has incorporated a brand new training program for young, dedicated athletes. What was initially a standalone service provided by the former gym Core Fitness Galena, has now been incorporated into the high school gym as a means of refining and improving the strength and safety of Galena High School’s (and GEMS’s)  athletes. The program is led by Zach Ozee, a figure who both acted as the weight room supervisor and an assistant coach for the Galena Football Team. He has a particular passion for lifting and has studied various books on not just weightlifting and conditioning, but managing and planning proper diets for athletes as well. 

“I didn’t have anybody to teach me the proper way to lift when I was growing up,” he said. “And because of that, I put all the motivation and effort and willpower into doing these lifts, but in the wrong way. As a result, I have a herniated disc in my lower back that creates sciatic pain and it’s changed my entire life. I can’t do any of the things I used to love to do because of that.” Ozee learned a harsh lesson about the importance of proper form, a lesson etched in pain and limitations. Now, he’s determined to ensure other young athletes don’t suffer the same fate. “My goal for this program is to teach kids how to lift correctly,” he explained. “I want to pass that along to kids going forward as they lift, so they don’t have to worry about those things when they get older.”

So far, the results have been very positive, if not noticeable, based on students’ experiences and the number of athletes (under his training) that are projected to top the high school’s lifting records. Ozee additionally expressed that there has been a clear improvement in students’ form, weight, and control since he started. “Most of it is form and technique, but there have been a couple of kids who have actually made some decent strength gains as well. Overall, I’m just happy that there’s order in the weight room. There’s people that actually understand what the lifts are now, which will hopefully aid them greatly going forward when entering school sports.”

As the school year progresses, there’s no doubt that students’ athletic abilities will benefit and ultimately show improvements in strength and skill. Therefore, the future of the GHS’s athletes appears to be substantially brighter.