Alexander High School excels in athleticism and physical fitness
High School of the Year Alexander High School excels in athleticism and physical fitness hen Coach Sean Arno transferred to Alexander High School five years ago, he had what can best be described as a rude awakening. The football team had not seen a winning season since the 1990s, and since most of their athletes played multiple sports, some of the Wother sports teams were struggling. And a few of the girls sports were not living up to expectation. As for the weight training program, only a handful of athletes even bothered. But not today!
In fact, the Spartans have achieved such a remarkable turnaround in their strength and conditioning programs for all students that they are our choice for the 2010 BFS High School of the Year. Alexander High School is part of the Alexander Local School District in Albany, Ohio, about seven miles outside of Athens, which is the home of Ohio University. The school is a K-12 facility, and students are fortunate to have the experience of being in contact with many of the same teachers and administrators throughout their entire K-12 education.
The total enrollment is 1,800 students, with just over 500 belonging to the high school, and their high school sports classification is D4 (D1 is the largest). The accomplishments of the 2009 football team are remarkable. Last year was their first winning season in 13 years, and in fact they had not won a league game in 10 years. There’s more. The Spartans had not won a game against Vinton County since 1984, they had not won against Wellston since 1986, and they defeated Nelsonville York High School for the first time in – get this – 38 years. It was only the second time they had two rushers over 1,000 yards, and they scored a school record of 331 points.
And, finally, this was the first time they made the playoffs – ever! But it’s not just football that has been enjoying athletic success. The girls basketball team has not lost a league game in three years, and has been in the district finals three out of four years, winning two of them; last year they made it to state. And then there’s the girls volleyball team, which went to state three years in a row and won the In 2009 the Spartans, led by head football coach Sean Arno, turned around their football program, which had not had a winning season in 13 years. state title last year.
Despite a coaching change (their former coach moved to college level) and losing five seniors, this year they still were able to make it to the regional finals again. “Our girls are big-time lifters,” says Arno. One of the reasons Alexander High School turned around is that, as a whole, their athletes have become much stronger than in the past. Just ask Coach Arno, who was responsible for implementing the BFS program with Spartan athletes five years ago. “I’d used the BFS program in my previous school, and even though Alexander High School had a BFS clinic before I got here, it wasn’t being implemented when I arrived. Plus, few athletes took The Spartans have done amazing in girls sports .
The Spartans girls basketball team has not lost a league game in three years, and its volleyball team won the state championship last year. advantage of the weight program. So my first priority was to get the program back on track with BFS and increase the numbers of athletes who were training and get them training year-round. My philosophy is every great sports program is built in the off-season.” And the results have been impressive. “When I came here, we did not have one player on the football team who could bench press 215. Last season, every lineman could press over 250. Today, we have one player benching 350. We have several other players who have pressed and will press over 300.
And during our first football season after implementing BFS I had one rival coach come up to me after the first game and tell me that our kids were hitting much harder – that meant a lot to me, as it proved that I was on the right track.” Arno noted that one way to ensure continual progress is to use the BFS Beat the Computer program, which challenges each athlete to establish personal records every workout.
Back to the Future Next year the BFS program at Alexander High School will be expanded so that weight training classes are available for all students to take as an elective. Arno says the school is also in the process of building a bigger weightroom because of the popularity of the program. “We began with about 12 to 20 kids lifting on a regular basis, but now we are out of room. For example, we have about 40 varsity football players lifting three nights a week, 30 junior high boys lifting two nights a week for athletics along with about 30 softball players, and then there are baseball and basketball players.
We’ve added equipment from BFS each year, as our entire weightroom and training program are based upon the BFS Total Program concept. Now we need to raise about $40,000 to improve our current building to meet the needs of all the athletes who want to lift.” The Alexander High School Spartans have undergone an amazing metamorphosis in all areas of the athletic sports program, and they have taken steps to expand the program in the physical education system. This type of dedication to helping young men and women achieve their goals is why Alexander High School is worthy of its designation as the 2010 BFS High School of the Year.
Lucas Cunningham, Mike Douglas, Lucas Deeter A strong strength and conditioning program is key to the success of the athletic program at Alexander High School.
“The new BFS Total Program Clinic is a life-changing experience!”
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From BFS Magazine — May/June 2010. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
