Kennard-Dale Rams athletes medal at Powerlifting America High School Nationals

FAWN GROVE, Pa. — Powerlifting is a strength sport and competitions consist of three attempts to reach maximum weight during three different types of lifts; squat, bench press, and deadlift. Powerlifting differs from weightlifting where two movements, snatch plus the clean and jerk, are executed much faster.

In April, five Kennard-Dale (KD) Rams’ powered their way to medals at the Powerlifting America High School Nationals in Scranton, PA. Bringing home gold was Carly Vaughan, Alyana Hulslander, and Brian Liebknecht. Emily Nies and Sam Lighty returned with bronze medals. Logan Price placed 5th. During February’s PA Teenage State Championships in the Midsize School Classification (3A/4A) held at Parkland High School, the co-ed powerlifting team finished 2nd in the state and five Rams were crowned state champions; Dylan Harris, Annalise Renner, Emily Nies, Sam Lighty, and Brian Liebknecht.

Andy Loucks, Kennard-Dale’s current head powerlifting coach, founded the Rams’ powerlifting team in 2012 along with Joe Hasson. After the team’s first year, Andy returned in 2022 to again lead the team. A Lock Haven University graduate with 28 years coaching experience, Andy also assisted with the creation of the Strength & Conditioning Curriculum for Charles County Public Schools in Maryland. He is currently joined by KD assistant powerlifting coaches Dyan Hulslander, Zach McFatridge and Pat Maloney.

As a coach, Andy feels “Our focus is on PR’s (Personal Records), everything else is a bonus. A coach must focus on the athletes and getting them to believe in themselves. Coaches can’t focus on things they can’t control. The primary goal for our program is competition preparation. We utilize three phases to prepare for a meet; strength, power, and pre-meet phases.” Though the team doesn’t adhere to any pre-meet or practice rituals, they focus on each lifter always doing their best and supporting each other to create a positive environment. Speaking about team motivation, Andy commented how each team member brings “personal drive and how the lifters support each other, we’re a family.”

Family ties run deep on Kennard-Dale’s powerlifting team with many athletes and coaches truly keeping the passion for powerlifting “all in the family.” Among those connections are Andy coaches his son, Adam Loucks; Dyan coaches her daughter, Alayna Hulslander; sibling teammates including Zack and Katie McFatridge, Kevin and Kennedy Baker, Brooke and Jaime Little, Keller and Ryan Green, plus brothers Josh Radal and Richard Ruth, Jr.

Carly Vaughan and Alex Reed were elected as this winter’s team captains. Andy spoke highly of the captains, “They are tremendous role models for the younger lifters.” A popular KD sport, the current Rams’ powerlifting roster includes 40-50 lifters. For a high school having an enrollment of approximately 715 students, the participation is impressive.

Assistant coach, Patrick Maloney, a 7-year powerlifting veteran, has been coaching for 2 years and recalls, “My first year on the team (2016), we won the PSCPA Teenage Championships for the first time. I can’t begin to describe how awesome of a feeling it was.” He enjoys coaching because, “seeing the kids complete lifts they think they could never do and pushing them to complete that lift is very rewarding.”

Powerlifting is more than just physical strength. The highly disciplined sport builds confidence and follows a periodized approach for training. Very deliberate and calculated routines allow for these “ powerful” athletes to optimize their performance and at the same time, avoid injury. Coaches develop a training plan for each individual that provides for the team’s strength cycle coinciding with each meet.

When speaking about the past, present and future athletes he has coached, Patrick said, “I’m hoping to show no matter how much life throws at you, you can get back up and keep on moving!” Andy’s hope for his coaching legacy is the same as his hope for how his athletes feel, “Just that I did my best.”

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