King's Academy is a small, home-schooled co-op in Crosby, Minnesota and is affiliated with Life Spring Church. A few years ago, the pastor of Life Spring asked me to provide an activity for the kids that would fulfill a physical education requirement. Having been an Olympic style weightlifter in the past, I agreed to train the kids. In the beginning, I trained only my grandsons. My goal was to prepare them for their wrestling competitions. Since then, we have added several more.

Olympic weightlifting is widely known as being one of the best ways to prepare athletes. It develops explosive power, stability, flexibility and stamina, all of which carry over to other sports.

The kids eagerly met the challenge and have been working hard for the last four years. In December we took four male and two female lifters to a high-school competition near the Twin Cities and returned home with five golds and one silver medal. In addition to those medals, all of them qualified for the 2025 Youth National Weightlifting Championships, to be held in June in Colorado Springs, CO.

Since the contest will take place over three days, we will need transportation and lodging. Any funds left over will be used for more W/L equipment.

We will be taking five athletes to the national competition. Two of our lifters are ranked in the top ten in the nation (one of them is #3) and stand a good chance of medaling. Just competing at a national level contest will be an experience of a lifetime for the kids so they will be forever grateful for anything you can contribute.