It’s 7:38 pm Saturday, February 24th. We’ve been
at a meet all day where the lil hawt tamale, Melissa or Missy totaled Pro/Elite
. Yay, yes, I know. It is a big deal. She’s resting now in our bedroom next to
my office, watching basketball. She’s a fan, especially of Duke and I chuckle
quite often as she is one of those that yells at the refs and players while she
watches. It is indeed, quite entertaining. But, there is more and I want to
share this with you. I coach Missy. I live and share a home with her and our 4
dogs and our team of Ogres, if you will. But, a story is not told so quickly
so, I have to rewind a bit to explain.
April 13th, 2013 I was in Cincy at the Women’s
pro/am. This is where I met Missy. I remember vividly the stark look she had.
There was something that was just unique and I thought, that is someone I’d
like to get to know. We spoke briefly and we became pals on social media and
would talk and chat. As we got to know each other a little bit, she knew I
coached lifters and would ask questions and just chat training, etc. She even
asked me once, “if I was one of your lifters, what would you have me do?” I
told her I would have her put on weight and learn to cut. That she was so lean
and long that with some muscle and body weight, her leverages would be
dramatically improved. Now, she was not keen on the idea, especially when I
said 180-185 lbs. She was about 155 when I met her. AS time went on, we got to
the point where we chatted daily and spoke on the phone often. There was
clearly chemistry but, she lived in Charleston, SC and I in Mt Juliet, TN. Later in the year, she was going to be back
in Cincy interviewing for a job and it was the same weekend of the North of the
Border meet and I would be judging. We agreed to spend a couple of days
together and see, if this was something, was it a cool thing, could she and I
be an item. The morning of December 6th, 2013 was a training day. I
deadlifted that morning, jumped in my Kia with my packed bag, and headed north.
I literally got 20 minutes from home, in the rain, snow was coming and I was
hoping to beat it. But, at minute 21, my alternator went out. I limped to a
parts store, ordered the parts, called my son Wes to pick me up, and take me
home and I started my little Ranger pick up with 265,000 miles on it and drove
back to my Kia, picked up my bag and off I went. It was now 11 am and had been
a 3 hour turn around from the first time I tried to leave.
It takes about 3 hours to get just outside of Louisville,
Ky. Wes called and said yes, you will
run into some snow but, you could beat it. I got on the bypass in Louisville
and it was snowing and parking lot. I got to Louisville in 3 hours but, it
would take another 6 hours to get to Cincy. I got there, Missy had ordered
food, I had brought a bottle of wine, we ate and spent a couple of days
together. I knew at that moment, she was something special. I knew I wanted to
get to know her more and see where this would take us.
Melissa got the job and was going to move over the New Year
Holiday week. I had some time off and went up to help her move in. She had
emptied all the boxes by the time I got there and had returned her vehicle
trailer. So, she and I, in the cold and again, awaiting snow, emptied her
truck. We had a great dinner and spent the holiday together and the rest is
history.
So, how does this tie in to today and her amazing feat of
power? Melissa and I have shared and lived so much in our time together. She
told me early on that when she and her training partner back at Low Country
Strength, Shannon, that she wanted to eventually total elite. That was in 2012.
I remember her training and competing the following year at the women’s pro/am
and squatting and pulling 300+ and benching 135 which, she thought she’d never
hit. The following month, Melissa had landed a job in Nashville, I flew up and
we packed up and she came to Mt Juliet with me. Then the flowing month, as she
had always wanted to try Olympic weightlifting, she competed in her first meet,
totaled 100kg and qualified for master’s nationals. This had little impact
initially on powerlifting. Missy and I would have training dates where we’d go
to either the Sweat Shop or the Oly gym and train. October/November of that year,
she got a bronze at the American masters and then a couple few weeks later, she
hit an 800 total in powerlifting. She was 55 away from elite. I made a picture
and framed when she moved in and hung it in the office where is still hangs
showing what her goals would be for 2014 and what she needed for elite.
2015 became the year of weightlifting over powerlifting.
There was great success. A bronze at nationals, a silver at Pan-ams and a
bronze at the world cup. It was later
that year, she decided to come back to powerlifting. She also wanted to try her
hand at strongman. 2016 she went up in weight. She finally decided that the
weight would help. Competed and hit some big pr’s and then later that year,
made the cut back to 165, totaled 830-fell short 25. 2017 Missy competed in 3
strongman events. Winning 2 and then getting 3rd as master’s
nationals. She also went back to the weightlifting platform and hit some state
records. She stayed in the 181’s and hit a big total pr and lifetime meet pr’s
in all lifts. It was then she decided that training 3 sports was too much. The
focus would be strongman for 2018 but, she wanted to make the cut to 165 once
more and take a shot at elite as her lifts at her last meet would have been
more than enough,. Sounds so simple, yes? But, it’s not easy. In the midst of
training and this weight cut to 165, she would need to do a qualifier for
strongman masters nationals. Training was hard. The early hours, did I mention
we get up at 4 am Monday through Friday because of her job and it’s the only
way she can get the training in? Missy did well and qualified easily at the
strongman comp and then a few weeks to finish training. The training cycle was
horrendous. Lots of struggles, lots of missed lifts and lots of frustration and
tears. I was dreading the meet. I knew she would be devastated if this didn’t
go well and she had even said as much. I was very excited for our team but,
Melissa just struggled and even with adjustments, less volume and less weight,
it seemingly got worse. There were days that both of us were so frustrated that
it was just difficult to get through the day. As it always works, meet week
comes. She’s easily going to make weight and then, boom, she is sick. It’s a
cold but, she is sick and coughing. I spent the rest of the week preparing
myself for how I was going to handle it if she missed this shot. Keep in mind,
Melissa is a master’s lifter, life time drug free and turned 45 last year. We
both know, with the wear and tear of training multiple strength sports, the
window was narrowing and with the way the training cycle had gone and how she’d
struggled in past cycles with the heart breaking oh so close results, I was
worried to say the least.
And so, this morning, here we were. I got up super early,
fed the dogs, and trained some light aux and coached Carolyn through her
session and off we went. We drove to Murfreesboro and warm ups seemed pretty
decent. I decided to have her wrap on her last 2 warm ups and hoped it would
give her a boost and make the lifts easier and give her confidence. Opener was
305. We knew she had to have 330 to have a shot. 305 goes up and she’s in the
meet. I was going to go conservative but, she wanted the 330. I was pretty
nervous. I didn’t’ think 305 went in a manner that a 25 lb jump would be good
but, she wanted it. To her credit, she dug in and hit the lift. She hadn’t been
this heavy all cycle. I went to 335. I knew we’d need some extra pounds as the
weight cut seemed to effect her bench the most. Again, she had to grind but,
where she had failed in the past, she dug in and keep the weight where she
needed it to finish the lift and earn a lifetime pr of 335. On to bench, her
warm ups were fine and I was hopeful. I knew if we could at least get 150, she
had a 370 pull. She always pulls well on meet day. Opener of 140 goes solid. On
to 150 where she has to grind it a bit and so I call for 155. It’s our only
option. She’s tired and misses the lift. In situations like this, all you can
ask for is an opportunity to be successful, just a shot or a fighting chance.
While not her best lifts, she had a sub-total that if she could pull 370, she’d
hit pro/elite and finally hit her goal that started all the way back in 2012. She
warmed up to 275 and lifted well. I was starting to believe it could happen.
She opened at 315 and was solid. On to her 2nd was 345. It was
slower of the floor and it would be a fight but 25 more would give her a 370
pull and the 855 total that has been so elusive. I called for 370 and she set
up, loaded and the pull started and the weight did not want to move but, she
would not quit and finally, the weight pulled away from the ground, grinded up
the shins and then finally broken the knee where she finished the lift quickly.
And there you have it. 6 years of training, 3 sports, at that moment, she had
achieved her goal.
This is our story, our life. We get up early, have 4 girl
dogs to take care of and our team both home and all over. These people are our
family. We have traveled all over, judged meets, helped at meets and competed
everywhere. Each week, we plan and try to find ways to get better and for
Missy, she has to fight and earn every pound of strength. Our week and weekends
are packed with activity as the gym runs with a morning and evening crew and a
Saturday morning crew. I program mainly on the weekend and she runs the girls.
I grill on the weekend to prep for the week and she’s doing laundry. It is
truly a crazy schedule and pace of life. It’s just the way it is. We have to
tag team the house hold things each day and week just to get through the days
and weeks. It is now 9:38 pm. She is now, fast asleep and rest that is well
earned. I am a proud coach. It is my honor to coach her. She gets up 6 days a
week and leaves me laying there to get ready and once she is dressed to head
down to the gym, I get up and she gets the girls fed. I have an old pal that
asked me one time during a difficult time, how do you eat an elephant? A bite
at a time. When you build it, it’s brick by brick and you have to show up every
day. You have to show up when you don’t feel good because, the feelings don’t
matter. You have to show up when you are tired because being elite means you do
it when others won’t. And, she did that. She did it every day and as a coach,
you have to love to prepare and I am so proud of her willingness to keep laying
it on the line day in and day out. Elite is forever. I am also her ultra proud
man. I have shared the moments of triumph and wiped away many tears. I know the
road traveled to do this very well and the price you pay and for Missy, this
road has been difficult but, all in one moment, she arrived and now, is
forever, an elite level lifter. I am beaming, and everytime I see the video of
her last pull and her jumping in elation, I tear up. I could just bust and love
her excitement. For me, there is nothing sweeter than to see a dream achieved
and a goal met. It’s even a cooler thing to see what someone once thought not
only was improbable but likely impossible become a reality. You did it my lil
hawt tamale, you did it!
And now, strongman…
And, the journey continues…stay tuned
And until then, Lift Heavy, Train Smart & Eat More Pizza!!!!