Because weightlifting is such a terrific sport in terms of youth development, we believe a weightlifting program should be part of every school and community center in the world. Virtually every child, beginning as early as the 9-10 year age range, but certainly as the Junior/Middle School age, can participate at a level appropriate for that child. No matter how weak or out of condition, or how strong and well-conditioned a child is, the proper level of weight training can benefit that child mentally and physically. And, done correctly, weightlifting is one of the safest sports activity one can perform.
If you are a school, athletic league, recreation center or similar non-profit organization in the Long Island/NYC area and would be interested in beginning a weightlifting program, we would be happy to comprehensively support that effort.
First, we can provide a complete description of the kind of space, equipment and coaching staff you’ll need. If you have employees or volunteers willing to learn Weightlifting coaching, we can provide training through USA Weightlifting’s Coach Certification Program (the USAW is the official governing body for the sport of Weightlifting in the US).
The great news for schools and other community organizations is that a Weightlifting program can be started with as little as a few thousand (sometimes as little as a few hundred) dollars, and as little as 200 square feet of training space (if that space has a ceiling height of approximately 8 feet).
You’ll also need coaches to oversee the program, but there is good news here as well. Our organization has instructors approved by USA Weightlifting to train your employees or volunteers to become certified as coaches. This training is available at reasonable cost and it only requires participation in a two day course to earn and first level certification.
For organizations that have available space for a Weightlifting program, and volunteers or employees wiling to coach it, but don’t have the funds for equipment or tuition for instruction, we can even provide equipment loans and tuition support for coaching certification courses.
If you are a student at a Junior High School, Intermediate School or High School, and your parents support your involvement in Weightlifting, we’ll be happy to talk to your school about starting a program there, through our new “Let’s Get Weightlifting Into Our Schools” program.
If you want to see whether our services and your school are a good fit, please Contact US.
If you are outside the Long Island NYC at area, we can provide online support, and/or you can contact USA Weightlifting at usaw@usaweightlifting.org to see what Weightlifting Clubs and other support may be available in local your area.
Our Leadership
Weightlifting.org, Inc. is led by a group of distinguished board members. We have no employees, only volunteers, so you can be assured that any money donated to the organization goes to the benefit of the athletes and community organizations we serve and support. Our Board members are:
Artie Drechsler
JoAnne Drechsler
John Paul Nicoletta
Joseph (Lo Bu) Yu
Dr. Theodore Ritzer, MD, Phd.
Safety and Clean Sport
While Weightlifting is among the safest strenuous sports one can compete in, we have a never ending dedication to making it even safer and more effective, so you will see a significant focus on that subject in our materials, including videos, blogs and podcasts.
In fact, our organization’s President, wrote much of the material that is presently USA Weightlifting’s website, and in its Level 1 Coaching Course. However, we’ve added additional material the USAW’s basic guidelines, material which is available both on this site and at the WeightliftingWorkshop.com website. See more about Safety here.
Over the past 50+ years, the coaches of our club and its predecessors have coached dozens of athletes to the National Championship level (not counting many additional National Junior, Youth, University, American Open and Master Championships qualifiers), including World Champion and World Record Holder – Karyn Marshall, Olympian and National Champion – Jerry Hannan, and National Champion and World Team member – Rhiannon Reynolds.
Our success has been based on proven methods and continuous innovation – in strength, power and flexibility training methods, technical skill development and special training equipment.
Whether you are a beginner or a champion, if you are serious about learning and improving in the great sport of Weightlifting, or improving your strength and power for other sports, we want to offer our help, as do the other athletes on our team.
Our current regularly scheduled “open gym” practice times are 7 to 10 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 2 to 5 PM on Saturdays. Other hours are available classes, clinics and individualized training, etc. by appointment. We are located in
53 Albertson Ave, in Albertson, NY (Nassau County – between Roslyn and Mineola.
For our full contact information, please click here. We hope to see you soon!