Heavy Athletics: Changing Lives One Rep at a Time

Tom Hirtz, executive director of Heavy Athletics, talked about the great work that he and his volunteers are doing at the Serbu Juvenile Justice Center in Eugene, Oregon. A little about his program:

Heavy Athletics helps at-risk youth fulfill their potential, both physically and mentally, through the sport of Olympic weightlifting.

Heavy Athletics is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Olympic Weightlifting training program at the John Serbu Juvenile Justice Center in Eugene, Oregon. The program was founded in 2001 by two-time National Olympic Weightlifting Champion and American Record Holder, Tom Hirtz.

Hirtz, along with a committed group of five volunteers, has coached incarcerated 12 to 18 year olds six days a week, 52 weeks a year, since 2001.

Heavy Athletics targets incarcerated youth at the John Serbu Juvenile Justice Center and those on probation. Each member of the Heavy Athletics program believes that heartfelt positive reinforcement from a trusted coach can make difference in thriving and surviving in the juvenile justice system.

The program includes three steps:

o    Step 1: Detention Challenge Program
Heavy Athletics measures success by the number of at-risk youth who return for a second training session, and beyond. From this point on, kids are asked to give more effort and maintain more focus than they ever dreamed they could.

o    Step 2: Probation Challenge Program
When an at-risk youth leaves the detention center, they can choose to commit to more demanding and intense training at Ironworks, Heavy Athletics’ training facility in Creswell, Oregon.

o    Step 3: Heavy Athletics Team
The final indicator of success is becoming a member of the Heavy Athletics Team, competing in sanctioned competitions and returning to the juvenile justice system as a mentor to others.

2001    2002    2003    2004    2005    2006
Number of Workouts        76      178     261      600     608      699
Number of Participants        8     35       50       63       60      106

Heavy Athletics: Changing lives, one rep at a time.