Anamosa weight room a place for athletes to grow

ANAMOSA - In the Anamosa weight room, Lucas Stanton pushes athletes to their furthest.

Stanton, Anamosa's strength and conditioning coach, has watched as students not only improve their strength but also become better teammates.

The high school weight room is filled with students and athletes, whether they are in a sports season or not.

The room is filled with new and more improved equipment. There are iPads on every rack for students to follow programs and lifting routines. Students log into their accounts on an app and can chart their workouts.

Abby Fairbanks and Dylan Rickels believe the new system helps them work better and harder, giving them a sense of reliability and responsibility.

'Showing up to improve yourself and team makes you want to win and work harder,” Fairbanks.

Being there and putting in the same work as everyone else during their free time shows athletes are striving for the same thing and can help the team compete better.

Giving these athletes this opportunity gives them a chance to grow bigger as teammates.

Stanton has changed the sports culture at Anamosa.

Volleyball coach Caitlin McVay said as Anamosa athletes even the playing field, success will follow. Working out and following the new programs will benefit all teams, and can make the volleyball squad quicker on defense with stronger blockers and the offense more explosive. Plus, she said, there will be fewer injuries.

'We're as good as our weakest link,” McVay said.