HIGH SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT
PUMPING IRON AND
BUILDING ATHLETES
Jeffersonville High School takes different approach to weightlifting
I
Story and Photos by Jen McNelly
It’s 7:45 AM at Jeffersonville High School and
the first bell rings. A group of students shuffle into
the weight room. It’s early. Some kids choose to
snooze during first period, but not these students.
They are ready to attack the day with full force.
“Alright, focus!” yells coach Daniel Struck, right
after instructions are given. The music starts and
the lifting begins.
Struck, now entering his 15th year of teaching
and coaching at Jeffersonville High School,
18 EXTOL SPORTS / FEBRUARY 2018
has created a program that takes a different
approach to weightlifting. They call it Jeff Sports
Performance. programs have come together to help donate
and pay for the equipment that we have here
right now.”
The fully-stocked weight room is equipped with
free weights, squat racks, landmines, benches and
much more to fit the needs of athletes. “When I
first started here, everything in this weight room
was broken. It looked like a yard sale. So, what
did I do? We literally had a yard sale to get rid
of it,” explains Struck. “A lot of other sports and Students involved in Jeff Sports Performance
lift five days a week for the 180 days of school.
The program caters to every sport in various
different ways.
Brandon Wellington, a senior who recently
signed on to play football at the University of
Louisville, first heard about the class when he