Blue Springs 11!

The Meet – Blue Springs 11

Blue Springs 11 or the BS11 as it is better known was an awesome meet, lots of head banging music and record breaking lifting rocking the platform. Amy and Kyle came fully prepared to break new ground and smash their own PR’s as well as a few World Records.

Rodney Wood was the met director and had great equipment, good spotters and a very smoothly run meet. In attendance was the imfamous Ricky Dale Crain, who was supportive of all the lifters and shared a multitude of knowledge on both technique and prepreration. The caliber of lifters was high and the judging was very strict, but very fair and evenly called throughout the day.

The Big Wade Johnson and Little Big Kris rode in with us, and to be truthful, I could not have handled two lifters without them! Wade did all my Wrap Rolling, assisted with suiting and de-suiting and was there for every second to offer help anyway he could. I have never seen such an open display of love for lifting by giving your all to others for no reason other than genuine concern and dedication; BIG reminded me of all the good in this sport.

Amy’s Day

Amy opened up with a 475 squat and went deep to pop right up to thre whites. We decided to go ahead and venture to a new 148 pound Open World Record Squat of 495. Amy was full of intensity and desire, and as always, simply obliterated the squat. The depth could have been seen from the front, as she was leaving no doubts and decided to set a new standard in the field.

She ventured on to 515, but this is where the table turned. We have watched the video several times and the setup and descent was perfect, but as she hit the hole, it was obvious that something gave. Her hip tweaked and upper leg turned under her. The great spotting and quick reaction time got her out from the weight, but when we unsuited her, we knew there was a problem. She had a knot that ran down the side of her leg and her leg was going numb.

Amy, though, had persevered through 12 weeks of training under intense conditions and was determined not to stop – this is why she is one of the best female lifters of all time to me. Not because of numbers or records, but because of how much of her soul and body she gives to the sport. She doesn’t understand “quit”, and when she hits an obstacle, she finds a way to overcome it.

It was on to her bench where her new bench coach Smiley set her under 275 – which ties the open record. Amy simply blistered this weight and got up off the bench to brush her shoulder at Smiley and said, “Put some weight on the bar!”, but we could both see the pain in her eyes from her back. Smiley said we could get her through bench and let her token dead, so he called for 305 on the bar. The setup was flawless and the ascent up was pure determination, and as she racked the 305 to three whites and a new Open World Record – an increase of 30 pounds – she simply smiled and hugged her bench coach.

Then she put her headphones on to try one last attempt. When she crawled under 315, there was no fear. She came down and touched and pushed through the breaking point, but stalled three inches from lockout. She had an 800 pound subtotal at a body weight of 144. We opted to pull a 405 token and call it a day.

Amy immedaitly went to the back where they had a doctor on call and started trying to figure out what was wrong.

Smiley’s Day

In the meantime, we had Kyle “Smiley” Robertson who was determined to have an on day open up with a 695 squat with all whites. He ventured on to a 745 and hit it high. This only infuriated the former USA lifter who never gets called on depth, so he took the same weight and sunk it like the Titanic; no questions here, just whites.

Then he wanted a fourth, the first of his illustrious carrer, and wanted a Junior World Record of 775. This is what he came to do. With fire burning in his eyes and a yearning screaming in his heart, he descended downward. Way past the hole almost touching his ankles he went, I thought he was done and had gotten too deep to get the speed needed to break back through. But I never touched him, even if I doubt, I never quit believing or hoping. With nothing more than a pure desire to achieve what he had fought so hard for, he started coming up. This wasn’t technique, or gear, or any other outside asistance; this was pure heart. And as he came to a stop at the top and started racking the weight, the crowd went wild.

I grabbed him from behind and slung him around like a rag doll, and then Wade took him and realized that he was limp! Kyle had passed out cold – he doesn’t even remember the lift, but the video let’s him know just how much heart and potential he has.

At 21 years old and 216 pounds, he is one of the best squatters pound for pound in the world if you factor in his age. At 28, there’s no telling what kind of numbers he will be putting up.

It was on to bench and Kyle was supposed to take a token raw 385 due to severe tendonitis in both elbows. The best bench of the day in his class was only 500 and he wanted to win the Bench Only 220 as well. So, he went 505 on his second and the pain kept him from completing the lift. At this point, his hands were swollen and I knew deads were shot, so I told him, “Hey, you got one shot left at this 505, so show me results not excuses!” As he came up off the bench with tears in his eyes from the pain, and three whites behind his back, he said “Happy now?”

I couldn’t even begin to tell him how proud of him and Amy I was. I am not a powerlifter; I only assist those that have raw talent and heart, shape and focus what they have so that they might learn to utilize both, and allow them to be what they were always capable of.

He went on to pull a 605 dead which is far below what he is capable of, but his hand had swollen to the point where he couldn’t hold the bar. So, in the end, both of our lifters took token lifts and still ended up with great results.

Results

Firecracker a 495 Squat (WR), 305 Bench (WR), 405 dead, and a 1205 total. If she could have had an injury-free meet, she could have had about a 1275 total. Smiley had a 775 Squat 4th (JWR), 505 Bench, 605 Dead, and a 1855 Total (JWR). If all had gone well, Smiley should have been about 1905, but there are other days and other meets.

We came back and got an MRI for Amy. She has a severely herniated L4 and we are waiting for the specialist to tell us our alternatives. It’s at least a year off though and then, hopefully, the beginning for the quest to have the best 148 Women’s total of all time. At 23, she has not even begun to tap her well of talent, nor has Smiley, who should be one all the 220ers want to keep an eye on.

Brandon Cass, Roger Broeg and Cheryll Anderson all had awesome days with PRs and records as well as Ken Ufford, Nathan Gentes and Jeff Finnalson. On a side note, Lil Big decided to pull dead at the last minute. She was like an explosion – we need her to teach us some sumo techniques. She will be in the 400 club this year and pulling over 500 before too long. If you know what she’s gone through, then you know how impressive this is.

Set your Goals and Lift your Dreams!