Topic: College scholarships, grants, building and supporting clubs

[John Thrush]

Glenn,

I pretty much agree with just about everything said here so far.  This just about has to happen if we are going to get where we all seem to want to be internationally.  

The "fly in the ointment", however, is that without considerable fianancial support from USAW, I don't see how those athletes can commit to going to different extended camps over the next two years.  And I don't see the level of cooperation from personal coaches that would be necessary (I would like to be wrong about that).

But if we could get the Board to find the money and get a committment from the coaches and the athletes to be on board for the whole deal, the result could be something amazing.  I would sure like to get involved how ever I could - maybe host a month out here somewhere along the way.

But like Steve has said, there is a need for urgency here.  We are, in truth, probably too late for 2008 already.  But if we start as quickly as we can, we still may be able to salvage a new beginning out of where we are.  And for sure, we can get a significant start on 2012 (which I am hoping against hope will be in New York).

And also, Glenn, what you have said about money for scholarships (even as little as #500 a pop) is right on.  If I had that to offer parents, my program would double or triple in a heartbeat.  Parents want to see where the upside for them is in sports.  They certainly want their kids to be happy and involved in sports and many are sports junkies that all think their kids are Div-1 prospects.  But the majority think high school is the end of it unless there is some real positive benefit beyond the intrinsic.  Scholarship money speaks volumes and gives credibility like nothing else.  If we can ever make that happen, we'll be on our way.

John

[glennpendlay]

john, i dont think it would cost as much as it might seem.  things like this can be done cheap if you are creative.

i think with the right people behind it, it might be done even without USAW money, at least on a limited basis.  but better to get your foot in the door and actually do something than do nothing, even if the something isnt ideal.

ive thought about this a lot actually, and have some ideas on how it could possibly be done really cheaply.  and without offical USAW sanction, you wouldnt get all the best athletes, but i think you would get a fair amount of the young and hungry ones.

[John Thrush]

Glenn,

I was thinking more about the cost for the athletes to be gone from jobs or school etc., not the actual cost of the camps.  In my case, I might be able to find enough homes of athletes here to host the athletes while in the camp but I wonder in the lifters would be able to be gone multiple times throughout the next couple of years without some financial support for them from an external source, USAW or other.  And beyond that, you want them to have the ability to train hard wwhile back home, too.

Still and all, it's something that we all need to think about and maybe we can make it happen.  As you say, something is better than nothing.  We have to overcome inertia at some point.

John

[Steve Gough]

John and Glenn,

Finally, an exchange of dialogue and ideas in a matter that should be urgent to all of us.

John, you are not the only one who has addressed this problem of jobs and financial support with Glenn's proposition. An athlete brought that up immediately to me upon reading Glenn's plan.

And Glenn, you are right, creative ways can, should and must be found.

I hope others after due thought will throw in with our discussion. Time is of the essence. And two and a half years may be enough time to make the kind of impact we would like to see. And if not, it would still propel us on the way to where we should be.

Those members of the BOD who are indeed reading this Forum, please, contact your fellow board members and ask them to participate.

Steve

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Glenn Pendlay said:

rhys, improving our bottom line has really nothing to do with it. i think we are a rich, rich federation. whats our budget? isnt it something on the order of 2 million a year? we dont need more money. we just need to spend what we have on things that will make us better.

I don't quite see how more money could possibly hurt our situation. I am pretty much convinced that athlete subsidies will never work. No amount of money we can currently offer can compete with what an American can get by going out and getting a good job. But, what if we had a million dollar prize for the winner of each weight class at nationals? Don't you think this might pull some people into the sport that might improve the nationals results? Of course money is important. Nothing happens without money. Why are the best American athletes playing basketball, football, etc? Money. Our federation is not rich. It is poor, compared to almost all successful sports in our country. The question is how to spend it, how to make it work for us, how to make it grow, and how to make our use of it efficient.

Earlier in the thread, I said:

Another advantage of using such a grant system aimed at focusing our funding on coaches and clubs would also be the potential for applicants to apply for grants from other like minded organizations interested in community outreach, juvenile delinquency prevention, education, research, etc. The very grant process that coaches would go through to apply for a USAW grant could surely get them started on grant requests for other organizations. Perhaps, we could create grant request templates that then could be altered minimally and submitted to other funding organizations. Perhaps, the USAW grant committee, after approving a grant request and funding it at some level, could then assist these grant recipients in applying for further funding from such organizations.

I'm not sure if this point got overlooked. I thought it might get some response, so I'm going to mention it again. The fact is that there is a LOT of grant money out there, for those who want it and are willing to apply for it. There are many organizations interested in funding things that weightlifting can accomplish. Weightlifting is a wonderful tool for taking troubled kids and adolescents and giving them something positive to sublimate their frustrations on.

If we were to switch to a grant system of funding, or even assist coaches in applying for grants, we could significantly expand the money available to USA weightlifting, by millions of dollars, literally. The amount of money in available grants for programs that target at-risk children, offer after school activities, etc, is enormous.

Any comments?

[glennpendlay]

point one...  more money will never hurt.  but it wont help if we keep doing the same old things with it.  on the other hand, i think we have enough money to excell if we want it bad enough.

point two...  the grant thing is a point well taken.  we have applied for grants totalling probably over one million in the past year.  what we get are the modest grants we apply for from local foundations.  we get $500 for travel from a community development foundation quite regularly, we got $2100 for new platforms from an oil and gas foundation recently and are getting ready to recieve $4300 from the same foundation for a new elieko set and new team uniforms soon.  but the big federal $100,000 and up grants so far have not smiled on us.

but what do we need millions for?  if i can pay for travel to national meets, give the kids scholarships to college, and provide a good place to train with good equipment, what more do i need?  i need kids who will eat lightning and crap thunder and bleed and die to improve and win.  not more money.

i know its a reality, but im so tired of money.  i want the olympic gold instead.  and for that it takes only a little money, but a whole ocean full of guts and desire and courage.  seeing shankle fight each day is worth more than any big federal grant.  you cant buy that with a million dollars.

what is wrong with us?  will a million help a guy like shankle?  i dont think so.  will an extra ice bucket or an extra massage help him.  yes.  does it help him to have a phone call from someone he respects that tells him to man up and lift the weight?  yes.  what does that cost?  will a fancy house or a better car help him win gold?  no.

maybe this feeling is caused by my own mental inadequacies (whatever they may be) but i think we are drowning in the intellectual and starving for the spiritual...  to hell with the plans and the money, we need guts and courage.  we need to approach this thing like a test of manhood, get the best together and see who has the stones for it.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

point one... more money will never hurt. but it wont help if we keep doing the same old things with it. on the other hand, i think we have enough money to excell if we want it bad enough.

I agree. But, grants would allow money to be spent in new ways, individualized and specific to the needs of each coach/administrator.

but what do we need millions for? if i can pay for travel to national meets, give the kids scholarships to college, and provide a good place to train with good equipment, what more do i need? i need kids who will eat lightning and crap thunder and bleed and die to improve and win. not more money.

Well, I think all the posters in this thread have agreed that bringing talented, hungry kids together for camps where they are pushed hard by the coaches and the competition with the other athletes would be beneficial, for example. But, one of the first responses after that agreement was:

The "fly in the ointment", however, is that without considerable fianancial support from USAW, I don't see how those athletes can commit to going to different extended camps over the next two years.

A coach that wanted to bring out a group of athletes to his area for a camp, but couldn't do it because the athletes had to work and/or pay their bills could apply for a grant to support those athletes during the camp and make it happen. Or, grants could be used for a zillion other creative ideas.

what is wrong with us? will a million help a guy like shankle? i dont think so.

The money may not be the motivating factor for someone pure of heart like Shankle, but it might motivate some other talent to come compete with him. And, would Shankle let these guys take over without a fight?

maybe this feeling is caused by my own mental inadequacies (whatever they may be) but i think we are drowning in the intellectual and starving for the spiritual... to hell with the plans and the money, we need guts and courage. we need to approach this thing like a test of manhood, get the best together and see who has the stones for it.

Glenn, I think we all "feel your pain" and want to do something productive. So far, it seems we all agree on bringing some studs together periodically for intense, competitive camps. Thats a good start. We have some consensus. Now, we have to build more consensus, get it funded somehow, and make it happen.

My question is this, should we keep sending monthly checks to athletes, or, instead, institute a grant system, possibly combined with award money at national and international events? The grant process could serve to help USAW grant recipients get other grants as well (we should eventually have a grant writer on staff if we went this route), and would hold grant recipients accountable for where they spend the money and what results were obtained.

Just my two cents...

[Steve Gough]

Whatever approach is agreed upon it must not impede or water down the mission. Keep that in mind. We have had enough "window dressing" and bandaids for severed arteries, while our pride and honor slowly have bled to death. We must "stand-pat" for results.

I definitely empathize with Glenn inre the "spiritualism" aspect , though I prefer to be drawn to the "fighting spirit", a quality which has not been in evidence politically. Like I said previously, we need to be bold, otherwise it will only be "more of the same."

We want our athletes to take risks, to put out, then we should be willing to do the same for them. We have been mediocre far too long. How much longer shall we abide with this?