The Multi-Sport winning ways of Logansport High School

nited we stand, divided we fall.” is an expression that dates back to as early as Aesop’s Fables from sixth century BC. Its emotional appeal has been used in countless speeches to inspire the populace to work as a team to achieve common goals. “United we stand, divided we fall” is an appropriate motto for what has taken place in the athletic programs at Logansport High School in Logansport, Indiana. And it’s their united mission to inspire all their athletes to succeed that has earned Logansport the title of 2006 BFS High USchool of the Year.

“I was extremely pleased to hear from my head football coach that were named the BFS High School of the Year,” says athletic director Greg Fisher. “We have worked very hard to improve our weight training over the past few years, and we are now reaping the benefits of the hard work put forth by our athletes and coaches.” One of the most dramatic examples of the weight training payoff is football. Logansport has been using the BFS program for the past four years and turned around a 1-9 team to subsequent records of 5-6, 11-3 and 10-1. Head football coach Bucky Kramer says that in addition to the team success they’ve achieved, many of his athletes have earned college scholarships.

What makes these results even more impressive is that Logansport, with 1,300 students, is the second-smallest school in the conference and has to compete against two schools with over 2,000 students. But the Logansport Berries’ athletic turnaround extends beyond football. The boys’ basketball team rose from cellarJULY/AUGUST 2006 Logansport High School’s united mission to inspire all their athletes to succeed has earned them the title of 2006 BFS High School of the Year.

What’s Up with the Mascot? Way back in 1926 Coach Cliff Wells and the Logansport the basketball court to boost the team’s spirit. basketball team arrived for a post-season banquet at a hotel that was displaying a small replica of Felix the Cat for sale.

The cat was made of oilcloth in the school colors of red and black, and Coach Wells bought the cat for his team. The cat spent the next season inside the locker of team captain Curly Hupp. When the team found itself down during an important game, Hupp retrieved Felix and placed him in the middle of dwellers to conference contenders, and the wrestling program recently won its first sectional title since 2000. Girls’ sports, too, have caught on, as the gymnastics girls have been ranked in the top ten for the past two years, with several achieving the highest individual scores in the state. All the cheerleaders can tumble, and many of them compete in other sports.

“Overall, the BFS system has been an integral part of the success of our high school,” says Coach Kramer. Just how unified is the Berries’ success? Here is a breakdown of the school’s teams that finished with winning records: • Basketball, Boys (16-7)

• Baseball (15-12) • Cross Country, Boys (5-4) • Cross Country, Girls (6-3) • Golf, Girls (9-4) • Gymnastics (13-0) • Baseball (15-12) • Soccer, Boys (12-7-1) • Swimming, Girls (13-1) • Tennis, Girls (16-5) • Track, Girls (8-1) • Wrestling (17-7)

The Program Coach Kramer had used the BFS program when he was in high school, graduating in 1998, and says, “I fell in love with BFS.” When he went on to play football at Wabash College in Indiana, he continued using BFS, as they didn’t have a set lifting program for the team. In 2002 Kramer joined the coaching staff at Logansport and was pleased to find they had implemented the BFS Program the previous year. Kramer explains, “In 2000 Jim Brown did a BFS clinic attended by 300 athletes and 50 coaches. The clinic was an eye-opening experience for the athletes and coaching staff, and the following year they started using it.”

Asked what he likes about the workout, Kramer replied, “The BFS program involves a unified program for high school athletes. There are better lifting In 2002 BFS Clinician Jim Brown did a BFS clinic at Logansport High School that was attended by 300 athletes and 50 coaches. The following year they started using BFS to unify their entire athletic program. programs for individual athletes if you want to go into periodization models, but a high school athlete who is involved in two or three sports doesn’t have the time to go through all those phases involved in a periodization program. With BFS you’re lifting in-season, continually seeing improvement – you never plateau.”

And at Logansport, Kramer says that girls are treated as equals in regards to lifting. Kramer says that at first there were concerns among the athletes and parents about having girls lift weights the same as the guys, but “when they were given the physiological proof that a girl cannot get as big as a guy, they understood.” It also helped them to see many female athletes lifting heavy without bulking up. Now, not only are the girls OK with lifting, many have embraced it, notes Kramer, adding also that he recently had a cheerleader deadlift 350 pounds! Logansport has developed a support system in which athletes are encouraged to participate in multiple sports.

In fact, the system is set up so that to earn a letter jacket an athlete has to compete in more than one sport. “A letter jacket is a big deal at our school, and it really means something when you earn it.” He also says that the regular, “non-athletic” PE classes use aspects of the BFS program, so that students who decide to try out for a sport the following year won’t be far behind, conditioning-wise. “We’ve been able to pull many kids from those nonathletic weight training class into our athletic program,” says Kramer. A final ingredient in the Logansport athletic program is a focus on character education, which Kramer says incorporates many aspects of the Be an 11 program.

“We stay positive with our kids. Some of our athletic programs may struggle at times, but everyone here is striving for the same thing – to excel at whatever we do!”

Four years ago the Berries football team had a 1-9 record, and since using the BFS program have enjoyed subsequent records of 5-6, 11-3 and 10-1. ran.

Seniors (left to right) Ross Tierney, Brandon Minglin, Zach Deitrich, Bobby Morock, Daniel Tribbett.

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From BFS Magazine — July/August 2006. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).