Great Results from the BFS Program

RUNNELS BIIIIIIIII' B/lIBBBS By Kevin C. Sivils Head Basketball Coach Runnels High School Editor's Note Coach Sivils and his players are great examples of what can be done with the BFS program. They break records! Look at the chart. The eleven members of the team broke 1,277 records from September 25th to February 2nd. That's over 100 per player and an average of almost seven per week. What is interesting is that in late January the most records were broken. Their strength gains were multiplying! Our goal at BFS is to have a coach's hand in serious pain every day from giving so many high fives to their kids after they break records. It is a lot of fun for everyone.

Our congratulations to Coach Sivils, who must have a real sore hand, and most of all to his players who made it happen. In August of 1985 Kevin Sivils was hired by Runnels High School to start a boys varsity basketball program. In the first eight years of the program history, the Runnin' Raiders were a model of success. With the exception of the first season, the Raiders qualified for the state play-offs each year, won two district titles, two regional titles, and advanced to the state semi-finals twice. The program also won eight tournament titles, averaged 20 wins a season and produced two High School All-Americans who went on to play college basketball.

What is even more remarkable is that Runnels High School has an enrollment of less than 80 students, making its success on the court all the more remarkable. As a Class C school, Runnels com- Runnin' Raiders in Their New "Under construction" Weightroom petes in boys basketball, baseball and swimming. The girls compete in volleyball, basketball, softball and swimming. The total strength program for the entire athletic department prior to the start of the 1993-94 season consisted of a Universal Machine in a 16 by 16 room in a storage building. The boys basketball team was the only team that even used the equipment and then only in the summers.

Prior to the start of the 1993-94 school year, Coach Sivils was forced to admit that the prospects for a typical Runnels basketball season were slim. The team roster was made up of only 11 players and not one of them stood over 5-10. With only one senior and three juniors, the team would have to play freshmen a major portion of each game. It looked as if the Runnin' Raiders playoff string would be broken. While working at Don Meyer's basketball camp at David Lipscomb University, Coach Sivils learned of the BFS program and decided to investigate it.

While the summer was nearly over and school was about to start, Sivils made the decision to implement the BFS in-season program with his players in September. While the Runnin' Raiders finished the season with a 12-20 overall record, they earned their 8th straight berth in the state playoffs. Their record is better than it may indicate as the Raiders played 21 games against schools who qualified for the state playoffs, 9 games against ranked schools and 7 games against district champions. Sivils credits the teams strong finish and dramatic improvement in part to the BFS program.

With just II players and using just 600 pounds of donated free weights, the Runnin' Raiders broke a total of 1,277 personal records as a team. Sivils adds, "As the season went on and the players got stronger, they gained a great deal of confidence which then showed on the court. We gave up two days of practice a week in January and February so we could lift and it was one of the best things I have ever done as a coach." Our starting point guard, junior, Neil Matens could only bench press 75 pounds when we started in September. By the end of the season, he was working out with 135 pounds. His squat went up from a dismal 150 pounds to 305 pounds. His progress was typical for our team.

We did not have a single player who could touch the rim when we started in the fall. Now, we have five, none of who stands over 5-10 tall.

RUNNELS PLAYERS ADVANCE TO STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN BASEBALL The same kids plus four others make up our baseball team. They won the dis- ------~ trict title with a 7-1-1 record and advanced all the way to the state championship game. The team batting average was .315 with a slugging percentage of .418.

We even had one of our female athletes lift with us which was a first. This encouraged several other girls to lift and as a result the stigma of girls lifting has been broken. The BFS program was such a big success with the limited in-season use that the Runnels athletic program is now making preparation to make oU-season conditioning program mandatory for all high school athletes and is going to incorporate it into its physical education program. Coach Sivils, who will oversee the strength program for all athletes, is looking forward to the next year. He stated, "All of our teams will benefit greatly from this.

Michelle Maloue' proved to the girls' parents that weight lifting won't kill a girl. Our boys are really looking forward to the coming basketball season as it will be our tenth to field a team and we want to return to our past level of success. We need just 22 wins to reach the program's 200th win in just ten years. The kids are eager to get into the weight room, which has now been enlarged to 40 by 16 feet, and work."

SPECIAL NOTES The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) has two classes for small schools that do not play football. Class B has the same enrollment as Class A but does not play football. Class C has an enrollment of fewer than 95 students. Despite Class C and B schools' small size they play excellent basketball. C and B schools are allowed to play 30 regular season games and 7 tournaments. Their season starts in mid-October and runs until the middle of February when the state play-oUs start. Neil Matens is a 5-7 135 pound junior. He is the school's third all-time assist leader with 247 assists. He earned Second Team All-District Honors.

He should earn LHSAA Academic All State honors in his senior season as he maintains a 3.0+ GPA. Neil was also a starting third baseman. Bryan Graugnard was a 5-10 150 pound freshman center. He broke more personal records than any other player on the team and should be the strongest player on the team in the 1994-95 season. He benefitted more than any other player in increased self-confidence as at 5-10 he was always outsized in the post. He averaged 12 points per game and 7 boards as a freshman and earned AlJDistrict Honorable Mention honors. Bryan was also our starting centerfielder. Michelle Maloue' is a 5-6 sophomore. She was a three-sport varsity letterman last year.

She earned Second Team AllDistrict honors in both volleyball and basketball. She maintains a 3.0+ GPA and was a member of the school's Homecoming Court. Michelle also has a black belt in Taekwondo DTraining Plates 10 pound 25 pound 35 pound 45 pound Same size as a 45 lb. plate but weighs only 5 lbs.

Bumper Plate Rack Each Prong holds BFS Bumper Plates.

Keeps Olympic bars in their place not aU over the floor.

Pro-Elite Bar $189 (45 lbs.) Ultra-Lite Bar $69 (30 lbs.) Aluma-Lite Bar $119 (15 Ibs.)

POWER CLEAN PLATFORMS ·5 x 8 x 3/4" ......$99 Pictured on Left Full Size 4" High 6 x 8 Varsity Elite Platform ·Comes complete with a steel frame and all rubber interior. 12 year warranty! (SEE PAGE £-45 of the CATALOG)

$120 MEDICINE BALLS Large diameter air-filled medicine balls Upper Body PRICES Plyollletrics Video 1 Kg. $45 or 3 for s99 2 Kg. $55 or 3 for s129 s25 Order Any Three And The Video Is Free!

3 Kg. $65 or 3 for 169 4 Kg. $79 or 3 for s209 5 Kg. 589 or 3 for s249 1 Kg. = 2.2 Ibs.

2 lb. $14.95 12 lb. 545.95 4 lb. 521.95 15 lb. 549.95 6tb. $27.95 9 lb. $36.95 Full Set 5195 PLYO HURDLES TOTALLY REDESIGNED FROM LAST YEAR! Now you can jump over hurdles safely and add a great station to your plyometric workout. Equally productive for junior high to college athletes. The NEW BFS Plyo Hurdles are made of tough long lasting PVC. Each of the four hurdles have a wide, reinforced elastic that's sewn together and can be easily raised or lowered from 6 inches to 3 feet on clearly marked uprights. The light weight design is easy to transport and won't take up much room.

From BFS Magazine — Fall 1994. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).