I have a confession to make… growing up I was far less than a mediocre athlete, in fact I was quite bad.
I wasn’t strong or fast, wasn’t “mean”, I choked in big games or moments, I wasn’t “football smart” (or any other sport).
There was just no confidence on or off the field.
But I was working hard, I was decently disciplined, did everything my coaches told me to do, but none of the dots were connecting. I was constantly running away from failure, but didn’t know how to run toward success.
So how did I go from back-up on the JV team to All-Conference to getting awards at the collegiate level?
Enter Coach Fitz…
The legendary Conifer Football coach who has shaped more than a couple generations of young men. His coaching staff and culture emphasized doing the hard work and occasionally getting chewed out when you didn’t do the hard work (which served me well in the Marines).
This program frequently brought us to the weight room, and this is where the foundation of my future confidence was made. Rep by rep, set by set, this is kind of like every other trainer or coach story you’ve ever heard except with one little twist. Again this is a story I’m not sure I’ve ever told anyone outside of family…
My father had a particularly aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) he was unable to walk, I only have a half dozen memories of him walking. Frequent falls resulted in a half hour fight to get his 6’ 7”, 250 lbs frame back into his chair. My father was going through his own confidence building using strength training, that is a story that deserves its own time.
One day after months of strength training and not really seeing a ton of improvement. My father fell while transferring chairs, a weekly occurrence.
But this time was different, I had a little spark, a spark of confidence from the weightroom and reps and reps. I told my mom, who was bending down to help hoist him “I got him”.
As a little freshman who had hardly done anything significant, I picked up my 6’7” , 250 lbs. Father and walked him about 10 feet and put him down on the bed.
To say that there was shock on my parents’ faces was an understatement.
At that moment a key domino fell, some preconceived notions I had told myself shattered and new thoughts appeared. Maybe I am or can be strong, using strength I can take care of my family… I have the strength to take care of my family. That drastic change in self talk in a 14 year old kid with no confidence changed the trajectory of….everything? At least, a whole lot.
My mom said I should tell coach Fitz what happened, but I never did
I didn’t turn into a decent athlete overnight, it took another 3 years, but that first domino set in motion everything else. There were another 1,000 battles, wins, losses, falls but it felt like for the first time my confidence was building.
As a teacher, coach and gym owner, building confidence and relationships is always the real goal. We just use dumbbells and barbells as tools to get there. The reason I am so passionate about coaching is even if people don’t tell me about every win they have, I know I’m making a difference. Cause it’s not the weight room or the training that makes the difference, it’s what you’re willing to do once you’re outside of it.
If you’re still with me, thank you for reading. I hope you found this story interesting or maybe a little helpful.
Thank you for reading!
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Ian Smith
Owner, Lead Trainer Mountain Speed Strength & Fitness
Evergreen, CO