One of my girls…a team mate, training partner, gym member…but, one
of my girls learned, as she will tell you, how to be a champion. And somehow,
in the mix of that, she says I helped. She wrote an incredible blog and truly
has a voice and I’d not only suggest you read it and the rest of her blogs but,
I’d watch, listen and learn. You might ask, how do you respond to such a
post on social media? And the answer is, you don’t, you can’t really so, what
to do? Well, I choose to offer my perspective and tell you about my part.
But first, a few things and people to mention. The unsung
hero here is Mike, Michael to her, I call him Mike. Mike is the other half of
the Millican parental units to 2 wonderful and delightful children. He works;
he takes care of things while Mom is training. He’s also a strong lifter in his
own right in weightlifting. The genes the children have received will
soon enough be known. He has an undeniable spirit and in his eyes, you can see
the joy that is brought by watching his wife and the love he has for her. He is
the glue. It is a wonderful thing to see.
Second, Arron Thomas. He does the programming. That’s right, she
doesn’t do my programming. This is a young man, whom I have known since he was
little playing football with my son. When I say he is bright, it’s clearly an
understatement. You may not know him now but, you will. He is a wizard with
putting things together and is open minded and in time, he is going to be as
busy as he wants to be. I wish I had time with him in person. He’s one of the
people I’d like to work with but, we do what we do and he, he is the brains.
Third, the team. See, many of you are just hearing about Jenn.
That’s what they call her. They watch, offer support and honest criticism as
they want to see her be that champion she has spoken about in her latest blog.
I have a picture in Missy and my house. It is when they called out the
best lifter at the SPF women’s pro/am…Annie, Missy are squeezing Jenn. It is
one of those moments that define team and team pride and team sharing. Those 3
competed, hit great big pr’s and had a tremendous day and Jenn got best
overall. The emotion caught and shared in the picture is a constant
reminder of the value of your team mates and that your training partners are
your most valuable commodity in the gym. They are the foundation.
So, now me…where do I fit in here? I am all the little things in
between I suppose. See, Jenn and I have come full circle. When she chose to do
different programming, I was pretty shocked. She was making such great
progress. I was hurt, even pissed but, she was a team mate, a training partner
so, I left it alone and that’s making a long story very short but, with some
time, I figured it out. We had lots of talks and it dawned on me how I was to be
of best service to her. Jenn will tell you about things that she feels I have
taught her or a Wadeism that has stuck and so forth. My job really is not about
coaching or teaching or whatever else you may think. My job is to help her
reveal the champion she is. My job is to be the constant voice that says, you
will do this, not can, not try, DO! You can, you will, you must! See, lifters
that compete and are good and, I’m lucky enough to have a gym full of great
lifters and athletes, but those lifters don’t need me to convince them that
they are good but, the expectations here are much, much higher. Titles,
winning, records, all-time records, best overall. These are the
expectations. So, imagine, if you will, here I am and I have this 5’ tall 125
lb lifter that wants to be the biggest lifter of all. How do you stand up to
that…week in and week out in training, the responsibilities of being a wife and
mom? Just every day pressures and then when you compete, the expectation
is history. It doesn’t ask alot, it demands it. See, I get to see the fear, the
tears, the anger and frustration. I see the moments where she is unsure
and then when she’s fired up and the whole gamut that makes her who she is and
most of the time, it’s really not easy. In fact, it’s really hard. So,
when she’s fearful, I know she looks to me to quell her fear. Sometimes it’s a
subtle word or two or sometimes, well most times, it’s me going wtf Jenn just
f’n do it for f’s sake. When she’s angry or upset, I have to be the
calming voice of reason. When she’s unsure, I have to be absolutely certain. My
job is to dig under the surface of doubt, fear, sadness and anger and reveal
all the surface things you, in turn, see as a champion. The confidence, the
focus, the ease in which she does things and the smile.
I am simply the guide. I make suggestions, help the lifter scheme, and I’m the proverbial extra hand on the wheel. For Jenn, I call her Shorty, it’s about a little guidance. I don’t lift any of her weights, work her job, and do all the things as a family person that she goes through day in and day out. I am the fractional things that are necessary to make all the cool things work well together and for her and the team, this has helped us be successful.
On this day, I had a great day going into Jenn’s session. Rusty competed in his first national meet and did well and hit some pr’s. Annie went 8-9 and hit a huge 325 pull. It had already been a super good day for the team and I was super happy with how everyone competed. Jenn was nervous, very nervous. So, hopefully, I was calming. I knew once she hit her 3rd squat, it would just be about building the total. I won’t bore you with a blow by blow account. It is blurry anyway. But, I was surprised when she got called for her fanny on her opener but, I knew I needed her to have momentum, even if it was 2.5 kg’s so, I went up. Usually, I’m adamant about repeating but, this was to be a championship performance and repeating would not do. Once she hit her 2nd and her 3rd bench, I knew it was over. Noone would be able to total enough. Noone would be able to pull enough to nudge her on the total. We had run a myriad of emotions and energies. In the end, Jenn not only became the 2016 57kg national champion, she took best overall lifter. For many, they will see this as just lifting weights but, for us, it’s a way of life and for those of us that know Shorty, this is of no surprise or shock. Simply, she revealed to everyone this year the champion we’ve always known.
My highlight was three fold. When she hit the last pull and we knew it was done, she ran off the platform and leaped into Mike’s, her husband’s arms. She has a great picture of it and I know that sense of elation and for the two of them to share it, priceless.
I am simply the guide. I make suggestions, help the lifter scheme, and I’m the proverbial extra hand on the wheel. For Jenn, I call her Shorty, it’s about a little guidance. I don’t lift any of her weights, work her job, and do all the things as a family person that she goes through day in and day out. I am the fractional things that are necessary to make all the cool things work well together and for her and the team, this has helped us be successful.
On this day, I had a great day going into Jenn’s session. Rusty competed in his first national meet and did well and hit some pr’s. Annie went 8-9 and hit a huge 325 pull. It had already been a super good day for the team and I was super happy with how everyone competed. Jenn was nervous, very nervous. So, hopefully, I was calming. I knew once she hit her 3rd squat, it would just be about building the total. I won’t bore you with a blow by blow account. It is blurry anyway. But, I was surprised when she got called for her fanny on her opener but, I knew I needed her to have momentum, even if it was 2.5 kg’s so, I went up. Usually, I’m adamant about repeating but, this was to be a championship performance and repeating would not do. Once she hit her 2nd and her 3rd bench, I knew it was over. Noone would be able to total enough. Noone would be able to pull enough to nudge her on the total. We had run a myriad of emotions and energies. In the end, Jenn not only became the 2016 57kg national champion, she took best overall lifter. For many, they will see this as just lifting weights but, for us, it’s a way of life and for those of us that know Shorty, this is of no surprise or shock. Simply, she revealed to everyone this year the champion we’ve always known.
My highlight was three fold. When she hit the last pull and we knew it was done, she ran off the platform and leaped into Mike’s, her husband’s arms. She has a great picture of it and I know that sense of elation and for the two of them to share it, priceless.
The second was simply having a beer and bourbon
with my team mate. To you, she’s a champion but, to me, she’s my little buddy
Shorty and I got to be there and witness it. Not the end result but all the
stuff in between the beginning and then to the finished last lift. And last,
prior to the meet, the messages back and forth talking about attempts, the
sheet with white out and the back and forth about her goals, then doubts , then
more numbers and changes and more white out and then her greatest gift to me.
Simply put, her trust and for me, that is truly golden.
So, to you, she is Jennifer Millican and she is the 2016 USAPL 57kg national champ and best overall lifter and to me, she is Shorty. So, to my little buddy Shorty! We are not surprised, not even a little. While I am proud for you, I know your best is yet well ahead of you. So, back to it…this is just the beginning…
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