How Strength Training Is Transforming Athletics at Ashley Hall

WRITTEN BY LIZ REGALIA | PHOTOS BY BRIAN PRINCIPE

It’s 6:14 a.m. and the moon is still up.

Even though their sports season is still five months away, student-athletes planning to play for Ashley Hall in the fall are on campus. One by one, they make their way to the turf to join a huddle around strength and conditioning coach Beatrice Puiu. She’s pacing back and forth.

“Are you still sore from Monday?”

Puiu asks with her hands in the pockets of her jacket. You can see her breath in the cold. A resounding “yes” echos out of the darkness. “Good. Take a lap.”

In the fall of 2022, Panther Athletics launched a new year-round program to offer off-season and pre-season strength training for student-athletes in grades 9-12, as well as in-season training to complement regular practice schedules. Sessions take place before and after school, and are required to attend for athletes who participate in tennis, volleyball, cross country, golf, basketball, track and field, soccer, lacrosse, sailing, and swimming.

“The difference is remarkable,” says Athletic Director Franny Slay ’80 who has been coaching athletes at Ashley Hall for over three decades. “With the start of the program, athletes are 2-3 weeks ahead of where they normally are when they start the season now. They are not having to get in shape; they are ready.”

The Program

“Our strength and conditioning program covers the entire body,” Puiu says. “The main goal is for each athlete to get stronger, more powerful, and more explosive.” Workouts are designed to cover the needs of all athletes, plus sports-specific needs separately. But it’s important to note that strength training is not the same as weight lifting or bodybuilding.

According to Mayo Clinic, light resistance training and controlled movements are best for strengthening young muscles, tendons, and areas of cartilage that haven’t yet turned to bone (growth plates). An emphasis on proper technique and safety is also important. With this in mind, the majority of strength training exercises in Puiu’s program utilize athletes’ own body weight and free weights.

Sessions start with a 10-15 minute warmup which usually includes sprints, arm circles, squats, calf raises, lunges, and stretches. Then athletes will grab a pair of 5-, 10-, or 15-pound weights to start a circuit, a combination of three or more exercises that will be completed back-to-back with very little rest in between.

“The circuits are very intense,” says Kylie Wojdyla ’26, a volleyball player who has now participated in the program during two pre-season sessions. “You’ll do each workout for a short time, but you don’t stop. You just keep going.” Circuits vary each workout, and Puiu keeps count by either reps or time performed. These are a few exercises that show up in a circuit:

• 75 burpees

• 150 lunges with free weights

• 100 kettlebell swings

• 60 seconds of lunges with twists

• 60 seconds with sumo squats with calf raises

• 60 seconds of sumo squats

• 100 crunches

• 100 reverse crunches

• 90 sit-ups

Sound intense? It is. But it comes with its rewards. When asked if she had a favorite part of an early morning strength and conditioning session, Wojdyla didn’t hesitate. “That’s easy: The end,” she says with a laugh. “We normally end with an ab circuit, then a little stretch, and you’re done. It makes me feel so strong after. I love it.”

The Benefits of Strength Training

According to the National Strength and Conditioning Associate (NSCA), creating a strength and conditioning program led by a qualified professional in the high school environment can benefit students in a number of ways, including:

Reduce injuries: Stronger athletes are much more resilient to injuries. Period. Strength training is an effective way to decrease the likelihood of injuries by strengthening muscles, tendons, and even the ligaments and bones. It also improves coordination and balance.

Improve long-term athletic development: A qualified strength and conditioning professional understands the many variables that go into designing age-appropriate programs that will promote continued positive results in the future.

Improve performance: Athletes who participate in a well-designed strength and conditioning program may be faster, stronger, more powerful, and move more efficiently during competition.

Improve confidence: Athletes who invest time in strength and conditioning tend to develop confidence through desired changes in their body composition and the knowledge they gain of how to prepare their body for competition.

Improve overall health: In addition to increasing muscular strength, power, and endurance, regular participation in a youth resistance training program may positively affect mental health and alleviate many adverse health-related conditions.