TigerAlum93

And to think "somebody" questioned me when I said that Barbe would be this dominant. :lol:

Barbe is the master at winning close games, they typically won't beat themselves, will use ANY means necessary, crowd the plate/HBP, small ball, etc.

I too saw that Terror team. They won something like their first 50 games before losing, playing mostly SUPER Majors NIT’s all over the south, won something like 8 of them. Lost in the finals of the Elite 24 WS to an East Cobb Astros team full of D1 guys too. Agree, have yet to see any youth team like them ever, and all from south LA. Coached by ex MLB Scott Sanders. That Lake Area Pirates team was a force, all south Lake Charles kids, won state every year from T ball to HS, won a Majors Natty at U11 I recall.

Yes. I prefer raw lifting, wish high school would too, but if you compete without the suits you WILL be at a disadvantage. She will also need some time adjusting to squatting in the suit, as it IS a different groove for sure.

The stiffness is related to the "ply". Single ply, double ply, etc. Make sure your federation rules allow whatever you purchase. Theoretically the more ply the more performance. And yes, it can be about how much money you are willing to spend.

If if were ME, I would go with the single ply, don't spend a bunch of money on the first one, and just see how that goes first. She WILL get some pop out of the bottom of her squat no matter what the ply is. I always liked going with just the suit bottoms/straps down for a session or two before even pulling the straps up. Once the straps go up, she will have to learn to sit back in it, as the straps tend to want to pull you forward and out of your groove. Suits can also be uncomfortable for a first timer, hard to breath, leave bruises, etc. so be prepared for that.

Getting a good fit matters too. You will most likely start out with a stock size, the website will have recommendations on sizing based on her measurements, but everybody's body habitus is different, and as you progress you can always pay more and have them tailored to her shape.

Those are good companies. Inzer has been in the game the longest, I have always prefered their products. I DO think the newer velcro deadlift suits are better, Metal King, etc.

I think I am looking at this from strictly a powerlifting perspective (which I thought that the poster was interested in), and I think you are looking at this from a long term athlete building perspective. If that is the case, I don't disagree with you.

If you compete in a powerlifting meet(s), you absolutely want to follow a peaking cycle, you don't just want to train and let the chips fall where they may. Powerlifters compete in meets that are basically three attempts per lift at one rep maxes. If you don't prepare your body for that, regardless of age, you are asking for trouble. There is an "art" to performing max singles well, which is how you are "evaluated" at a powerlifting meet. Many lifters are good repetition lifters but struggle when it comes to a heavy single. But you also don' t want to do heavy singles all the time either for many reasons. A well planned peaking cycle is paramount IMHO.

I appreciate your input, I think you typically mean well and have much to offer. I could reveal my credentials in an effort to gain more credibility but that is not my style nor my interest.

If I read the original post correctly, we are discussing a female freshman in high school. I think many mean well in these replies, but some of the replies are also the biggest mistakes I see with young kids. Us "smart guys" WAY overthinking this.

The Westside program is great, I use a lot of it's concepts. But I am also a seasoned veteran. I also dial the volume back because I am PED free. I think there is a time and place to introduce these things, usually later in their development.

At that age and minimal experience, the best thing she can do is focus on the squat, bench, and deadlift. I would not be adding in all of these different movements now. She has not done anywhere near close enough reps on the big 3 yet to be proficient at it. If you need some sort of program to follow for peaking, any basic progressive/linear overload should work at this stage, i.e. as the contest gets closer the weights get heavier and reps get lower. She will make significant gains just by creating the neural pathways involved in moving weights in these positions. I would also be trying different positioning when not peaking for a contest. Bar placement on her back for squats, stance, where toes point, etc. Hand and foot placement on bench, arch, sumo vs. conventional with DL, focusing on technique. It took me a few years to master my mechanics and figure out my best leverages.

When I was that age, i would run say a 12 week peaking cycle, set PR's in each lift, then reset the next cycle/percentages based off of the new PR. If the goals are reasonalbe (say 5% for BP, 8-10% for SQ/DL), you should be able to repeat this progression for a while before plateauing.

At some point you WILL plateau, and that is when you start the tweaking IMHO. But they ALL need a base of strength that they just don't have at that age. I would keep it simple, the big 3 lifts, a compound movement for each lift that supplements it, and maybe an accessory lift or two, address a glaring weakness for each lift, etc.

Even Saban has been wrong a lot in player evaluations. He went by metrics/measureables a lot just like the NFL.

Bossier High kids have always been a tough group, other side of the railroad tracks.

Most vastly underestimate how hard it is just to make an NFL 53 man roster.

G

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riffin should easily be top 20 regardless of which sport he projects in. His last 5 games or so were insane.

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Guessing you mean his last 5 games before the Neville game, he ran for negative yards against that defense.