Sunday, February 25, 2007
Power-lifting on rise for Special Olympians
Next year's power-lifting and basketball competitions likely will be held on different days.
Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times
Former Pulaski County football coach Joel Hicks coaches Cody Chrisley (front) as Vonda Shelton spots during weightlifting practice at Pulaski County High School.
Want to go?
- What: Southwest Regional Basketball and Power Lifting Tournament
- When: 9 a.m. today
- Where: Cassell Coliseum, Virginia Tech
She stood on the mat and stretched her legs. She swung her arms over her head and then pulled them forward.
Cody Chrisley, 16, stepped up to a racked barbell inside the Pulaski County High School field house Wednesday morning and asked her coach to put on 10 more pounds.
She squatted. She grunted. She lifted.
"That was 105," her power-lifting coach Joel Hicks said.
"I'd like to get 135," Chrisley replied politely.
She did.
The coach kept raising the weight: 145, 155, 165.
Chrisley had had enough. She rested on the mat, face down, feeling tired but content.
It was Chrisley's last day of power-lifting training for the week. On Monday, she worked on her dead lifts; Tuesday, her bench presses; and Wednesday, her squats.
She's competing today in all three events at the Special Olympics Southwest Virginia Regional Basketball Tournament and Power Lifting Competition in Cassell Coliseum at Virginia Tech.
The Dublin junior hopes to win. But she's happy to simply compete. She didn't get a chance to in February 2006.
Last year, Chrisley was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurological disorder that affects the nerves in her legs and feet.
"I've got knots on my feet," she said. "It messes up my bones. It wears me out."
She broke bones in her right ankle on Feb. 25, 2006, while playing basketball with cousins. She couldn't work out for two months. She missed the Special Olympics.
"I was sad," she said.
This year, Chrisley's in great shape and has molded herself into a leader. She regularly leads a group of girls through stretches during workout sessions and spots for them.
Hicks thinks she'll win today. He's been coaching power-lifting for Pulaski County's Special Olympics team for about four years.
After Hicks retired as the school's football coach -- he served for 24 years -- he began teaching a class called adapted physical education.
There are six power-lifters on his team. Two of them are in his morning class, including Chrisley.
Chrisley likes her coach. She thinks he's supportive and makes class fun.
He likes to bring along his little black dog, Monty, which he got from the pound. Monty likes to sit in the middle of the weight room and wait for others to pet him.
"They enjoy him," Hicks said.
George Marunich, the school's Special Olympics co-coordinator, said Hicks' instructive-but-fun style of coaching and Pulaski County's success with power-lifting has encouraged other Southwest Virginia high schools to sponsor teams.
Big Gap and Pulaski will have teams competing in today's events. Marunich said teams in Roanoke and the New River Valley have expressed interest in competing next year.
"We'll likely have separate events," Marunich said. "And have basketball and power-lifting on a separate day."
Some athletes, such as Chrisley, compete in both.
Marunich doesn't want the athletes to think they'll have to choose one over the other.
Chrisley said she likes power-lifting because she doesn't feel sore when she's doing it.
"It's real scary at first," she said. But when she's got the weight in her hands, she forgets her fears.
She looks at a spot on the wall to focus on. When she's done lifting the bar, she takes a deep breath and smiles.
"I'm happy," she said. "I'm happy."
