Latest / The Platform: a Michigan High School Powerlifting Association Podcast / Jason Kaminski, Manistee High School, MHSPLA B.O.D. | The Platform Episode 20
Transcript
- Chris Whittaker: Welcome to the platform where the stories weigh a ton. This is where some of the MHSPLA's best tell real stories about what it takes to build themselves and their teams under the bar. I'm your co-host Chris Whitaker, and we're glad you're here. Hey, if you're really enjoying this show, please make sure you subscribe, follow, and leave a review on all major podcast hosts: Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon Music, and many more. That support helps us continue to grow the show and And bring the conversations that you want to hear right here to the platform. And hey, if you want to rep the platform, head on over to our fourth wall shop at MHSPLA-shop.fourthwall.com where you can grab the platform logo cap, our podcast tee, and other MHSPLA gear that helps support the show. If you'd like to give us feedback or suggest a guest or topic for the show, please email info at mhspla.com. And we'll get back with you. Today's episode is episode number 20, featuring our conversation with Manasty High School powerlifting coach and MHSPLA's newest board member, Jason Kaminsky. Jason came up through the Manasty powerlifting tradition as a lifter himself before becoming a coach there for the past 12 seasons, helping the program win a state title as the smallest school to do it at the time, and more recently taking it from a club activity to an official recognized varsity sport. with letters and coaching style. In this episode, we get into rebuilding the girls program, his six week training cycle, coaching without a classroom in the building, and how lifting became his own tool for handling a tough diagnosis early in life. Lock in. Step up. It's time for the platform with Jason Kaminsky. Hit the intro music. And here we are, ladies and gentlemen. The bar is loaded for another episode of the platform. I'm your co-host, as always, Chris Whitaker. I'm here with my partner in crime, the executive director of the Michigan High School Powerlifting Association. That's Coach Chris Gillum. Coach Gillum, good to see you again. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, you too, same as always. Chris Whittaker: We're back. And we got one of our one of our own here today with us, one of our fellow board members out of Manistee High School. Right, new to the board this year, Mr. Jason Kaminsky. Welcome to the show, Jason. Jason Kaminski: Thank you for having me. Yeah. Chris Whittaker: It be good. It's gonna be good to talk with Jason. Him and I have gotten to speak at Meets a little bit. I know probably Chris and Jason have interacted a lot more. We we say hi to each other, we talk to each other at meets, but it'll be good to get to know him a little bit more 'cause we haven't had that time. so with that, right, we're gonna kick it off first, kind of with some background information about you, Jason. Like what's your day job? What do what is your occupation? Jason Kaminski: So I work for the city of Manistee as a wastewater treatment operator. So real nice and clean job. Chris Whittaker: Okay. Yeah. So and and like so all all the wastewater like so you guys are have just a treatment plan and you work out out of the plant or you going around the city and then all the Jason Kaminski: So we're small enough that it's it's both. You work out of the plant, but you're going out to all the lift stations that bring it to you. So quite a wide range. Chris Whittaker: And and I mean important job, health and safety of everybody to properly treat treat wastewater. Jason Kaminski: Yes. Chris Whittaker: besides powerlifting, what are your hobbies and interests personally? Jason Kaminski: Staying active. I mean, so football is another big hobby of mine, coach football as well for twelve years. and then just always a project, you know. Talk about remodeling the house, outdoors activities, you know, up here in Manistee, you got lakes, rivers, just being outdoors, enjoying all that. So Chris Whittaker: Right, so getting outside working on your house. You're we said before we started recording, you're in the middle of a remodel right now at at your house. Jason Kaminski: Yeah, the bas half the basement's being remodeled, so it's a big undertaking. It's way overdue. It's taken about two years to do do it, but it's a lot harder on the internet. Chris Whittaker: And you're doing all that work. You're doing all that work yourself. Jason Kaminski: Yes, this this part I've been doing it all by myself. When we when we first bought the house and moved in here, we did the whole first level in about a month, but I I had hired some help and did that with with them at the same time. So Chris Whittaker: Skills I don't have, Gillum. Skills I don't Chris Gilliam: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Chris Whittaker: have. I I I tell people all the time I teach kids to lift weights all day. When it comes Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: to building stuff, I call in the professionals usually. what is what's your ra relationship status? Wife, kids? Jason Kaminski: So I've been married for six year well coming up on six years next month and we have three kids. daughter that just turned five, a son that is three, and then our la our youngest is turning one next month as well. So been busy with that. Chris Gilliam: Well young family. Chris Whittaker: God bless ya. God bless you. I got two young ones, young ones too, around right around the same ages. So I I know what Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: you're going through, but I only got two. We're we're we we play man to man defense in the Whitaker household, much like the Gillum household was. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, when you're outnumbered, that's tough. Jason Kaminski: Yeah, we we our my wife's uncle said it it's like you said, zone with one, man to man with two, and then it's full court press when you get above two. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. That's awesome. It's a good good analogy. Jason, how d how did you get into the sport of powerlifting? Jason Kaminski: So I was a junior, I didn't I didn't go to a school at Manistey High, I went to Manistee Catholic, which is a tiny tiny school that's actually closed now, but we had twenty in my graduating class when I talk about how small we were. and two of the kids on our basketball team, their uncle was Todd Miller. And Todd lived down, he was down at Portage Northern at the time. And then this was when Gus Kapulka left Manisty and went to Cedar Springs. There was the rumblings that Todd was gonna get the job. Todd Todd had gotten up here. And so through his nephews I had heard about what a great power lifter he was. And I always had loved lifting. So it was like when he got up here, I had hunted him down, wanted to try it out and that and it all kind of grew and blossomed from there. Chris Gilliam: So what year was that when you were in high school? Jason Kaminski: So I graduated twenty fourteen and that was the in the s fall of twenty thirteen would have been when Todd got up here. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Jason Kaminski: So I it was their first year at Manistee having a program. There wasn't many varsity lifters at the time, so he c he was just like, Yeah, you you can you can lift with us. so it was fun. Never really was a deadlifter up until that point. You know, only did it for getting a t shirt, you know, we did t shirts for eight hundred thousand pound club and all that. so I'd only deadlift whenever I was getting close to something and I'd just put whatever was needed on the bar and pull it and call it good. So it was and at that point never straight bar deadlift. It was all hex bar which Chris Gilliam: Little easier. Jason Kaminski: Yes, a little easier. So th and that's where it was funny of it grew pretty quick. When I started with them in November, my max for deadlift was like three fifteen in the two seven weight class. And by the state meet, I was pulling five hundred. Chris Gilliam: Nice. Jason Kaminski: So it it moved quite quickly. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, Todd's lifters were always really good at deadlift. I mean, some of were tops. I mean, like if if it came down to the deadlift the his lifters were gonna win the meet. So that happened wherever he was at. So we're gonna have him on and then we're gonna also ha invite him back for a deadlift like a symposium if you wanna s call it that. Have him give us some what his keys were for deadless, so that's that's great that you mentioned that. Chris Whittaker: Right. So you said that you graduated high school in twenty fourteen, right? You power lifted in high school. how long have you been involved in coaching the sport? Jason Kaminski: it's been twelve seasons right out of high school. So my plan was to go to LBM College, play football there. I had actually torn my labrum in football in my senior year and never had it repaired until that following August. I was just someone that didn't want to sit out of sports, so I played basketball, power lifted, threw shot put and track, and played baseball, all with a torn torn shoulder. And then it kind of got to the realization of I need surgery before. There's no sense in going down there. I ended up staying home. and I got on coaching with Todd and all them and it grew way more than I thought it would from the beginning. You know, I thought I was just gonna follow them around and learn and showed up to the first day of football and the offensive line coach goes, good, you can coach the D line. I don't wanna do anything with that. So Chris Gilliam: Ha ha ha. Jason Kaminski: eighteen year old kid and took over the defensive line and been coaching that pretty much ever since. But it kind of grew with powerlifting too and they were always the three of them, you know, Mike McGuire, Troy Bitework, Todd Miller. They're all football coaches and big proponent in powerlifting, making them better football players as well. And truly see that. Chris Gilliam: Great. No, Mike Mike was a former board member, Chris. If I don't know if you remember him or not, but shorter type guy, probably a hundred and fifty, sixty pounds, beard, pretty rough, gruff voice. but yeah, he's coach powerlifting a lot and I think he kinda learned under Todd and Miller himself. So Jason Kaminski: Yeah. Chris Gilliam: yeah, he he was on our board of directors for a few years, back probably like two thousand eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Basically right after COVID he he stopped being on the board. So probably about the time you joined the board. Chris Whittaker: Yeah, probably. my th my spot was probably his or I don't know. Chris Gilliam: Maybe. Chris Whittaker: I don't know. Might have met him once though. I think. I think I'm 'cause I was around at that time. Our first year was nineteen and so might have met Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: him once. Might have met him once. all right, kicking to you, Gillam. Chris Gilliam: All right, so you've already mentioned Todd, obviously, and the other guys that they were like mentors for you in the in the football and in powerlifting. What what do you recall like learning that from them that like you still use today as the coach of Manesty? Like what what's something you learned that you're like, man, we're gonna keep doing this 'cause it works. Jason Kaminski: Knowing the numbers, chang you know, changing the deadlift, knowing knowing the rules and how to work the rules in your advantage. stolen a lot of places for kids over the years, you know, and that was something that the three of them were great at and big on teaching you, you know, and you can remember Troy was a big proponent of before we had all the technology we really had with it, and you had to do it by calculator and paper. Chris Gilliam: Mm-hmm. Jason Kaminski: Tro Troy would drive you up the wall of do the numbers twenty sometimes, but there was a reason for that because he had a kid that should have been a state champion and he did the math wrong and the kid pulled the deadlift no problem and he ended up losing the tiebreaker. So you know, I just saw it yesterday in our baseball district, how we ended up winning the district and it was on a rule of the first kid that touched home plate didn't touch home place and the next kid came through and touched it. Kid before is out and so instead of it being a walk off win for the one team, we ended up winning and it's details matter. that's that's something I've really just learned and I would really paid attention to in the last couple of years of like the details make the difference. Chris Gilliam: Nice. That's good. I mean we talked with so two thousand sixteen, I mean y that's like your third year technically helping. You guys won Jason Kaminski: Yeah, I would have been Chris Gilliam: you guys won the the the state title at Mannesty, right? Jason Kaminski: Yeah. You know, which at that point we were the smallest school to ever win it. And then I think Lawton the next year trumped us on that. But Chris Gilliam: Yeah, with five guys. That's nuts. Jason Kaminski: Yeah. Chris Gilliam: but so yeah, that man, you're a young buck experiencing all this success. It must have been pretty nice, learning from those guys. I mean, they're savvy veterans by the time you were learning from Jason Kaminski: Well, and that's you know, I I think of I think of those three as the big three. You know, for Manistee they hired all those guys at once. For being a small town, that that was a big move that not you don't really see that that often. but yeah, they were all seasoned veterans. They were great to learn from, you know, and they were all very different in their own ways. they'd they'd argue with each other until death, but Todd always said he goes, You don't want You don't want a bunch of people that just agree with you or you know, they want you you gotta think about what you're doing and challenge you to make you better. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Jason Kaminski: so the thing that I would say is I thought it was gonna go on for I still thought they'd all be here. You know, at twenty years old. I kinda naive in that way of how things change and how life pulls people in different directions. So that that definitely is something of I thought they'd all still be here, we'd all be still doing it and that that has not been the case obviously. I'm I'm the only one here now. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, I mean that is kind of unfortunate, but you know, I don't know that many people have the Rolodex of people to call for ideas and suggestions that you do. You know, that so I'm sure that they're willing and able to help you in any way possible. I don't know how often do you like reach out and talk to them about, you know, things or try and toss an idea around through them. Jason Kaminski: I mean, I'm I'm probably talking to Todd once a week. I mean I he's been like a second father to me. do anything for him. I'm actually he's moved around so much. I I moved him from here to Georgia, then a few years later he moved out to Phoenix, and then I moved him from Phoenix to Florida. So he's been all over. I ended up coaching with Troy the longest. Troy just left a couple years ago. still stay in contact with him quite a bit. he's still got a place up here that I kinda look after, so that helps keep us in touch. And then just with Chris Gilliam: Okay. Jason Kaminski: Mike, you know, Mike was only here I think Mike left in twenty seventeen. He went back to be the hometown hero at Martin and so you know, I reach out to him probably once a year just to see how he's doing, but we just never were able to get as close as what I was with the other two just through time together. Chris Gilliam: Sure. And for our our listeners, you mentioned Troy. Like Troy was integral in p helping develop the basically the program that we use for scoring out of me, correct? Jason Kaminski: So it's actually our offensive line coach who is also a Troy. Chris Gilliam: Okay. Jason Kaminski: he he was the one who developed the majority of it. And then I wanna say Denny from Croswell Lexington is the one that kind of tweaked it because Denny probably well, Chris Gilliam: Sure. Jason Kaminski: I know he knew the rules better than what our offensive line coach did with it all. but that that was a big game changer, bringing in the Ex Excel program. Because I can remember go being up at Traverse City West. And we're still doing it on paper and Coach War at the time is having everyone play horse for lightning. And it's like what are we doing here? There's gotta be there's gotta be a faster way, you know, and now to see how fast you know, instant results, how you can live track it now, it it's made the sport a lot better. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, th you're talking about the two thousand thirteen state championships at Traverse City West. Yeah. I mean that it was on paper for a long time. You know. Jason Kaminski: Yeah, which I mean that's a whole n that alone changed how you coach. Chris Gilliam: For sure. Changed how people had to work at a meet too, 'cause you had to make copies of the sheets in between lifts, you know, b in between s like squat and bench, so they could make sure that everything was done correctly, that they're adding everything correctly. Had calculators at all the tables, Coach Whittaker. So you know, 'cause there wasn't necessarily avid use of cell phones. So yeah, it was Chris Whittaker: Yeah. Chris Gilliam: it was different. It was unique. Chris Whittaker: Yeah. It's it is crazy. Like I can't mm without because everything I know is either what we use or lifting cast. So it's like I can't imagine Chris Gilliam: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Chris Whittaker: running a powerlifting me without it. it I can't at all. Can't fathom it. you wanna take the next one too, Chris, so then we get back on our rotation. Chris Gilliam: sure. Do do do. All right. so we know you're new to the board. Obviously, you know, you you talked about some of the changes since you started coaching and when you were a lifter. what are what what do you hope to do being a member of the board? you know, what's the reason why when we approached you about being being on the board that you decided, yeah, I wanna give this a try? What what are you hoping that you can help with? Jason Kaminski: I you know, I think when you look back to what what we've done when we first started hosting meets to what we do now as far as the involvement of people just in their surrounding areas, the sport has grown a ton. Our first meet that we ever hosted was a hundred and fifteen kids and that was girls and boys combined. This past year we had more than that in just girls. so to see that grow in a relatively eight eight year span. is cool to see. I'd love to see it grow more, but I also think if we get as big as like how football is, if we have five hundred schools participating in powerlifting, we got a lot of hurdles at that point as well. So I mean I wanna grow the sport more, but we're also gonna have to educate and have more people step up in order to make that happen. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, it's great. Thank you. Chris Whittaker: Yeah, I mean definitely w that's one of the reasons why we wanna do this is to use it as a educational tool, to use it as an inf information tool to to push the people that are involved in our association and maybe some that are thinking about it. You know, like I can think like in that area my area here alone, there are plenty of schools that have strength programs, but their kids don't necessarily get involved in this in the in the wintertime. So trying to pull all in. for any of those coaches that are looking to start a program, what's one piece of advice that you'd give to them just starting out? Jason Kaminski: I mean With with that, I would just say, you know, reach out to others. prime example would be one of our former lifters. She works at a s a county school around us and she got approached by some kids like, Hey, you power lifted back in the day, you know, would you do it? We wanna do it. You know, and so she had reached out to me multiple times this year. And I think it's just you know, with with introducing us board members and in the different regions, hopefully new coaches or people that are interested in it are aren't afraid to reach out and just see what that first step is. because it can be intimidating. You know, y I get I'll get emails in November and December about our meet about like it's a parent. Like, hey, can my kid lift? They're not a team. And it's like, yeah you can, you know, you're just gonna sign them up and all that. But I think I think it can be intimidating to get started, but you just find someone who who is able to reach out you can reach out to that you're maybe know or don't know, but I feel like everyone on the board and really all of our coaches and the whole community, I think that's what's cool about powerlifting is very supportive and helpful. Chris Whittaker: Yeah, absolutely. I mean even if they just shoot shoot to the info at MHSPLA dot com, like we can answer it. Ours you know, our Chris will probably answer it before me. He g he gets it to it way before me. I don't look at that email too often. Or at least Chris Gilliam: Yeah, unfortunately it's I check that one probably second. I'll check well, during the school year I'll check my school one, then I'll check the power lifting one, then I'll check my personal one. but yeah, it's a whole routine for me dur now that it's summertime, I won't be checking the school one. I'll just be checking the power lifting and personal one. So I usually get on that stuff. I check it a couple of times a day and I answer so. Chris Whittaker: Yeah. And and that it that's it. I think that is good advice. Like none of us none of us are here to keep anybody out. Like we want we want people to be better. We want our teams to be better. We want our kids to be safe all across the state and putting up big numbers in a in a good manner. So that I think that's great advice. Well, for the the new coaches coming in the to the organization. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, for sure. So at Manisty, is powerlifting considered a sport? Do the lifters receive letters for competing? Jason Kaminski: Yeah, so Chris Gilliam: you get paid a stipend as a coach? Jason Kaminski: Yes, so we've been paid, we were paid from the get-go. That was something that's always been there. this is my second year as a head varsity coach and never interviewed, they just said I had the job, and then middle of last year, it was like, hey, we're gonna count this as a varsity sport now, but here's the set of rules you gotta play by. And it was like so it kind of fumbled through that of like, well, we never did that before, but now we're doing it. so this this year was a lot smoother in that regard of like, hey, you gotta plan a banquet now. You know, you're gonna actually hand out some varsity letters, whereas before that was never a thing. So it is cool to see as as you listen to a lot of these how more and more are saying that they're considering it a varsity sport. Chris Gilliam: Okay, so I mean you're part of taking something that maybe, you know, taught and them got the the wheels in motion, but you've been the transition to making it an actual letter sport at your school and I mean that that's something to that's a feather in your hat there 'cause not many people can can say that, but we're finding more and more are getting into that with their schools and the you know, and some people are inheriting programs that already had that status, so That's awesome. Congratulations. I didn't realize that it was just like the last couple of years for you guys. That's cool. Chris Whittaker: So within your program over the years, coach, how have the numbers how have the numbers changed? Or have they changed at all? Have they stayed consistent in your time? Jason Kaminski: Yeah, yeah, they've they've floated around. I mean we're we're a school that's trending downward in enrollment. when I started coaching we are almost to five hundred kids in the school. This past count day we were at three forty one. So we've lost about almost a hundred and sixty kids. And so we're about twenty boys on the team. And this this year was actually before we had just two girls that lifted with us. Wasn't something that we really pushed too hard of trying to get the girls to lift. because in our day, being in Manastie, you're gonna learn Chris when you come up here next week. We're close to nothing. So coach coaching and driving down to Ionia, which is two and a half hours and you're leaving at three in the morning. We you know, we were kind of lazy in that regard of pushing it too hard to get there for the girls means. this past year we had seven girls lift though. And you can kind of see, you know, you're breaking down that barrier of like, it's just for boys. And you know, they're a little they're lacking confidence in lifting with boys. But you could see it grow this year. And I think also with me, I maybe come off as a little standish or rough around the edges, or I'm intimidating to, to the female lifter. But after they get to talking with me and they're like, no, he's he's fine. He he's not as scary as he looks. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, you might want to consider shaving, coach, like I have, 'cause that might be what's scaring them a little bit. I'm just kidding around with you. But Jason Kaminski: Yeah. Chris Gilliam: i if you're not careful, you know, two to seven, next thing you know, it's gonna be fourteen, twenty. you could see a big huge explosion. and then you start getting enough girls and the boys will be like, Well, we can't let them have more than us, you know. So maybe you'll see an explosion on your oscurs, who knows? Jason Kaminski: Yeah, I told I told one of the girls this past year, because she joined, she didn't even lift at our meet. Her brother was a lifter for four years for us. And I was like, I think he'd be really good at it. And then I had one of the girls talk to her. She's like, Okay, I'll try it. And she she had pretty good success. But I told her her goal now is I go, You need to get enough girls that we can take a bus so I don't have to drive the van in the morning now. Make it a little less Chris Gilliam: Nice. Jason Kaminski: stressful for me. Chris Whittaker: There go. Jason Kaminski: So Chris Gilliam: That's awesome. That's great. Chris Whittaker: No, not being a teacher in the building too, that probably makes it a little harder to recruit. Jason Kaminski: Very much so. That's that's been the biggest challenge. both both me and our head football coach who's our J V coach that we call it, you know, which we really are just co-coaches of it, you know, but title wise that's what it's goes on the paycheck. But neither of us are in the building and that that has been a challenge 'cause I don't get out of work until close to three thirty and the kids get out of school at two forty. We do have a lifting class during the day and I've I program that and then our middle school football coach teaches it. So we're working through that. Just in the last two weeks, we've created Google Classroom because I got tired of printing off Excel sheets every week and going in a filing cabinet and organizing for them on Sundays. So we're Chris Whittaker: Mm-hmm. Jason Kaminski: working through group Google Classroom right now, figuring that out. Yeah, trying to get a little bit of my weekend back. Well there we go. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, that's smart. Google Classroom's a great tool to use because you know, you can record videos and upload it on there and let the kids look over to cor you know, and leave notes on there for correcting form and technique. So I I kudos to you. I used Google Classroom a lot. So super Jason Kaminski: Yeah. I gotta give credit to my wife. She pointed it out to me. She's a teacher. She's like, Well, why don't you try this? Chris Gilliam: Okay. Nice. Jason Kaminski: Yeah, okay. So Chris Gilliam: Perfect. Chris Whittaker: Yeah. You just need that base of communication, right? And to share information, to collect information, it's it it does help a lot. That we wound up switching and started using Team Builder, and that that has taken us where like you can't ma you can't manage the number of kids that we see through our weight room every day, regardless of sport, very easily. But Team Builder helps helps us to do that for a lot of the same reasons you're talking about. Chris Gilliam: Mm-hmm. For sure. powerlifting's a sport where there's a people fail. You know that. have you had a failure in your own experiences? It could be as a lifter or just in life in general, where that failure ultimately set you up to have success later on down the road. Jason Kaminski: I would I would probably say so I was diagnosed going into my seventh grade year with type one diabetes and I think a lot of what transpired after that I would consider failures, you know, just how I handled it, and how I treated people in a lot of situations. it was just a lot of change and a lot of change of emotions that I didn't know how to deal with. And so looking back at that, that's definitely a a failure, but I also look at it and go, lifting's what ac also got me through that. li lifting helped me regulate that and kinda grow from it and mature with it. And I think that's where become I became so passionate and into powerlifting was lifting can be I say it all the time, a a great cure for mental health. it builds confidence, it it reduces stress in a positive way. I mean that That's where you can see where it's been so life changing and I can see it in kids that I've got to coaches life of how it's changed their life. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, it's therapeutic. I use it to if I've had a rough day, I'm gonna go work out for a little bit, get your mind off things, get some tension, you know. I th I think that's awesome. I think the that's been a common theme in some of the people that we've interviewed on this podcast too is you know, like you mentioned earlier, like people gaining a sense of confidence and within themselves and you can see it. You can see it. as it develops within the the kids and sounds like you had your own personal experience as a lifter, so it helps you connect with the kids a lot, I'd imagine. So awesome. Thanks for sharing. Chris Whittaker: Confidence building under the bar, doing stuff you never thought you could do. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Chris Whittaker: it's and then and then all of a sudden you go to this meet where you're afraid to be there and a person at your rack is, you know, can you know high fiving you, you don't even know when they come off when you come off the platform after a big lift. Like it it training and and the and power lifting in general, I think, does that a hundred percent. so what do you think, coach, is the hardest thing for you to teach within the sport of powerlifting or training? Jason Kaminski: I think deadlift can be a challenge at times to teach, you know, some some kids take right to it, and other kids you gotta really tweak the form with them of you know, we got some kids that are just naturally strong and they just wanna bend over and p hinge the whole time and lift it up. And it's like that's great, you can do that, but you're gonna hurt yourself. You you gotta you gotta do it right, you know, take your time, do it right. Chris Whittaker: Yeah, the the deadlift 100%. and even though it's called the deadlift, I heard somebody say this once and I think it's funny. Right? Kids get a little stupid with the deadlift because there actually is no fear of death. The bar's not gonna fall on you. Right? Jason Kaminski: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: The squat, the bench press, the bar can fall on you. Death. Right? Like, yes, we know we can get hurt hurt from deadlifting, but they get a little silly sometimes and put a little too much weight on that bar. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: No. And getting them to feel their hips to be able to do it right was always a big thing. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, I I trying to correct bad form on deadlift is super hard. You know, even with video even with video use from my experience. So I'd agree that that's one of the toughest things to teach. So coach, with your training, I mean you you learned stuff from Todd Miller and you probably have, you know, used some of that stuff possibly, in your your program, but like Are you a like RPE type coach? Like you know, the rate of perceived exertion? I'm not sure if you're familiar with it or not, and maybe you are, you know, do you have kids tell you what how it feels? Or are you more of a fixed percentages guy and we'll adjust the percentages if you're struggling? Jason Kaminski: So we do six week rotation, progressive overload. and it all depends, you know. I got almost all of our kids are multi sport athletes. So like they know they can back off a little bit if they're a two to three basketball game week. Like they're gonna take it easy. so they have that freedom in that. They they know I understand that. but that's I'm I'm a big Still in the one rep max. your max is your max. You know, you you gotta you gotta be able to do it. Chris Gilliam: Okay. Good. Chris Whittaker: That six week rotation. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, that's definitely from Todd, so we learned that. Jason Kaminski: Mm-hmm. yeah, it's Chris Gilliam: And it's great. Jason Kaminski: it has not changed. Chris Gilliam: I I I'm a six week rotation guy too. And I mean sometimes when you break it down, it's technically three weeks because a lot of times it repeats itself. You know, Jason Kaminski: Mm-hmm. Yes. Chris Gilliam: the the percentages could change slightly, but as far as the rep system, the rep and set system is like a three week repeat. a lot of times. So Jason Kaminski: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: Guys, the three-week pendulum wave is how you properly load from one side to the other. Chris Gilliam: I love it. He he keeps breaking out more and more. He's got a library of lifting stuff and it's awesome. I probably get Chris Whittaker: They're they're all within my reach. Chris Gilliam: lost in there reading all your textbooks and everything you got in there, but it that's cool. Chris Whittaker: I can't I can't get through all. Well th I'd be lying to you if I Jason Kaminski: I was gonna say I haven't read a a paperback book probably since college. Chris Gilliam: okay. Jason Kaminski: I'm I'm audiobooks now. That's I can't sit still long enough. Chris Gilliam: Well, Louie probably didn't have anything printed in hardback, so he has no choice but paperback. Chris Whittaker: Paperbacks. I even downloaded a app called Speechify where you can take text or upload PDFs into it and it turns it into an audiobook. So Snoop Dogg Chris Gilliam: Nice. Chris Whittaker: Snoop Dogg has read me a lot of information on on Speechify. Shout out to the homie Snoop. Chris Gilliam: That is pretty good there. I like that. Chris Whittaker: Basic basically any text you put in it, right? And you pick the voice and one of the voice options is Snoop Dogg. So, you know. Chris Gilliam: Nice. Chris Whittaker: I know the DOG. so we're talking a little bit there about kind of how you structure your your training, right? You run the your six week waves. any any more detail do you you want to share with us with how you program your kids? Jason Kaminski: So it's how how it is is your weeks one, three, and pretty much five, like Chris was saying, they're they're the same. So it's a one by five at fifty percent, one by four at sixty, one by three at seventy, and then five by three at eighty. And you and you're done with your percentages. And then we do like a speed squat or bench or deadlift with either bands or chains, which is like being week one, it'd be fifteen sets of two at fifty percent. And then three auxiliary lifts that we switch out just depending on what I feel like we're struggling with. And that that's pretty much our workout. Chris Gilliam: So does your volume tend to be very similar? It's just even though your reps change, you know, your sets will mimic it to where your volumes ends up being kinda the same all the time, or does that even taper itself like as you get closer? Jason Kaminski: It'll taper. So like the week five will really taper back 'cause then in week six you're maxing. So we're trying to rest that week Chris Gilliam: Okay. Jason Kaminski: before. So like I think our last set in percentages o on week five is only like seventy five percent. Chris Gilliam: Okay, so the percentages drop do the sets ro drop too? Jason Kaminski: No, the sets stay the same in that regard Chris Gilliam: Okay. Jason Kaminski: on that week. And then like on your weeks two and four, you're hitting your ninety and your ninety two and a half percent on like three by ones. So those Chris Gilliam: Okay. Jason Kaminski: are your heavier weeks where you're gearing up and then you have kind of a a rest week the next week is what I'd call it. Chris Gilliam: Nice. so when would you instill install this program? Is this like after Christmas? During the power lifting season? do you do it year round and you just kinda adjust as wherever it falls? Jason Kaminski: So yeah, it's pretty much year round because we'll use it for football as well. and that's what tell a lot of people I work with. Like they'll be like, You're still doing football or lifting? And it's like, Yeah, it's year round now. there's no time off. So it falls pretty good, like throughout the school year. I don't know if it's just been luck, but like before Christmas break will work out perfect. We'll hit a max week and then you come back off of Christmas break and you're resetting. we just finished this week was our max week, so I got one week of school left. I'll probably let the kids have a little free time, do what they want with it, and then we start football that next Monday, June eighth, and we'll start week one all over. Chris Gilliam: Awesome. Talk to Whitaker. He does like a bunch of different types of competitions when stuff falls like that, don't you, Chris? Chris Whittaker: Yeah. Well those we just mix those in to the the training period. So like Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: we do with ten throughout the year we do ten different events and then keep points like strongman style. So like tomorrow is it would start the last event, flip carry drag medley. So they'll flip a tire, they'll carry a Atlas Stone Atlas Stone loading pin with bumper plates and a clip, right? Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: and then drag a sled for that. And but that's really more for the the competition side of things. the way we Yeah. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. But it's just a it's a change up, right? Kids love it, don't they? Chris Whittaker: Yeah, I mean some Some of these kids, and I don't know if you guys see this, if they know they can't win, if they can't beat the best guy. Some of them won't do it. Jason Kaminski: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: 'Cause it's not we don't force every kid to do it, like, all right, hey, here's the rules, here's what we're doing. But they know at the end of that whole thing, if they score enough points, there's a big barbecue that I I cook all the food and we get trophies that are made by our ceramics and our wood shop classes for them. Like so, but if they know they can't win, they can't beat the first guy, they won't even go and try and Chris Gilliam: wow. That's that's too bad. Jason Kaminski: I think I see more of that too nowadays. And it's it's weird because I'm extremely competitive, probably probably over the top when it comes to that. Chris Whittaker: Yep. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, I'm with you. Like, don't tell me I'm gonna lose. I will know when it's announced. Other than that I'm gonna assume I can win. You know, but it's Jason Kaminski: I mean my wife my my wife's the same way. We can't even play cards together anymore. You can see what I can. Chris Gilliam: Ha. Jason Kaminski: So Chris Gilliam: I gotcha. My wife would say the same thing about me, so I'm pretty competitive. It doesn't matter. My kids get frustrated with me. You know, I've shared with Whitaker like just playing pickleball and stuff and I just have fun like talking a little smack and they get frustrated 'cause they think I'm showing off. Chris Whittaker: Mm. Chris Gilliam: I'm just trying to have fun with you know, but that's cool. Well, good luck Chris Whittaker: Not at all. Chris Gilliam: with this last week going into the summer and then I'm guessing you're gonna just reset the the training schedule after next week. Jason Kaminski: Yeah, yep, it'll we'll just start that week one so pretty much like a bi week we'll call it. We'll just and I'm Chris Gilliam: Okay. Jason Kaminski: with the last week of school, I'm I'm sure not much gets done anyways, 'cause they're taking exams maybe, so it's all they may not even have the class every day this week. so Chris Gilliam: Sure. Jason Kaminski: that's where it's like, yeah, just just enjoy it. They've they've worked their butts off all year, let have some fun with it. And all of our seniors have been done now. So there's only half the class is only there now, so it's like Yeah. We'll we'll take it easy for Chris Gilliam: Right. Gotcha. Jason Kaminski: a week. Chris Gilliam: All right, we're gonna do our rapid fire round. I'm sure you've heard it listening to the other podcast episodes. So but for you, what I want you to do is your first answer should be for you as a coach, like what you want your actual lifters to do, what you choose for them, and then give us a second response for you as a personal lifter. 'Cause you lifted yourself, I'm sure you still lift. So first response should be for as a coach, and then the second one as lifter yourself. So is the favorite lift squat, bunch, or deadlift? Jason Kaminski: I would have to go bench. I always enjoyed bench just 'cause I was always better than most at it, especially in the school in the area. but in that year of power lifting, squat squat crept up there too, 'cause that we never squatted below parallel or any of that. And it I don't know, it was just a different experience I had from lifting before and then once getting to know Todd how that changed and it it made it a lot more fun. Chris Gilliam: No. Chris Whittaker: With your squats you're putting the bar low or high, high bar or low bar square. Jason Kaminski: Hi bar. Chris Gilliam: All right. sumo or conventional for deadlift? Jason Kaminski: So for myself, conventional, I could never get my hips to like sumo, but for coaching, if you can get the kid to do sumo it's it's better than Chris Whittaker: one rep max or rep PR? Jason Kaminski: One rep max. Chris Gilliam: For the kids and you. Jason Kaminski: Yeah, I I believe the kids because when it comes down to competition, the kids gotta know they can do it or even have the idea that they can do it, 'cause otherwise there's there's that belief's not there. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. All w what is the the best accessory exercise that you have your kids do for squat and that you do yourself personally? Jason Kaminski: I would say jump squats for the for the kids. They hate but it helps drive that explosion. for myself, I would say pause squats. Chris Gilliam: So jump squats, are you doing that with the hex bar? Jason Kaminski: No, you're doing it with the bar on your on your back and you're you're leaving the ground as much as you can. Chris Gilliam: Okay. Awesome. Chris Whittaker: best accessory exercise with bench press. Jason Kaminski: coaching wise, I would probably say I'm gonna go with incline. Incline bench. And then for myself, and I think maybe this is cause because of having a torn labrum, but I always struggled with that second half of the lift. So we use two foam pads and I just called it two foam press. You know, doing that half rep or like a towel. Chris Gilliam: Yeah, like a board press, yeah. I gotcha. Chris Whittaker: into that foam. What's crazy 'cause they would do that at West Side too, right? The foam kinda grabs the bar a little bit on you. Now you gotta work a little bit harder to press it out. Yeah, it's resisting the the the distance of travel, but also like that kinda like sucking the bar in and then you have to work out of that. I know I might Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: have to program that one coach. I haven't done that one in a while. Chris Gilliam: Yeah. And for deadlift, what's the best accessory exercise that you found? Jason Kaminski: So I always like opposite. So if you're a conventional polar, I'm gonna still make you do sumo. believe you gotta be good at both or at least know how to do both, it makes you but that that'd be my one for kids and then me personally, I like good mornings. Chris Gilliam: Well. Chris Whittaker: Yeah. So that's the end of our speed set questions here. so now at this point, usually we we kick it to we've done it two ways, right? Sometimes Coach Gillum goes first, sometimes the guest goes first. Gillum, you wanna go first? Chris Gilliam: no, I mean I asked a lot about I wanted to earlier, so let's give this to Jason to take it on home. Chris Whittaker: Yeah, so anything, Jason, that we didn't discuss that you want to share with our listening audience? Jason Kaminski: Not I mean Chris Gilliam: What's the name of your assistant coaches that are helping you? And who's the middle school coach that teaches the class that helps train your kids? You wanna give a shout out to those guys? Jason Kaminski: Yeah, so Alvin Rochelle is our our J V coach, he's our head football coach. he's been with us since twenty eighteen. you know, and that it's been fun to have that. He's been one of the guys I've coached with longest now. this this year is actually I'll be the longest tenured coach in our program between football and and powerlifting. Our middle school football coach is Joe Hengis. He was a history teacher. And he co he coaches middle school football, middle school basketball, great with the kids. And I first asked him when Troy Boitberg was leaving. I'm like, hey, would you be interested in this class? Like there there's a lot of benefit to it. And he's like, No, man, I'm good. Like, and just completely shut it down. And I'm like, okay, well, I guess this is kind of dead because we there's there's no one else. Well then thankfully Troy had talked to Joe for me and was like, you should really do this class. And I'm glad I'm glad he listened to Troy because he's taken it over. He's he's made it a little bit of his own. He's a great motivator in his own way. That, you know, he's he's that get in your face kind of loud guy. He'll he'll have you running through a wall. So it's it's worked out great and he's gotten us through this transition period of changing, you know, changing heads, I guess you call it. Chris Gilliam: Awesome. Chris Whittaker: any social media, public facing social media that you have for you or your program? Jason Kaminski: I don't have any for our program. I probably should get you know, it's one of those things of trying to do a couple of things really well rather than do everything poorly. So it's probably something I should promote our kids more than what I do on social media 'cause that's how kids see it nowadays. I have all the social media, but I'm I'm not one that posts much. I'm the type of person that'll rip the whole house apart and then go, I should have done before and after pictures, but I didn't take any pictures before so Chris Gilliam: Mm-hmm. Jason Kaminski: They're that close. Chris Whittaker: So that it's blame me. Social media world Chris Gilliam: Yeah, you always forget to do that. Try not to do that with your kids as they're growing up 'cause my youngest will always go, Well how come there's so many more pictures of Morgan than me growing up? Jason Kaminski: My sister says the same thing to my parents about that. You know, they're That I'm the favorite. So Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Chris Whittaker: All right. Well, coach, if you don't have anything else, we will thank Jason for his time. appreciate you coming Chris Gilliam: Yes, thank you. Chris Whittaker: in. Jason, you're gonna be the which region? Which region Chris Gilliam: Secretary and he's region what, two and four kinda? Jason Kaminski: I d I don't remember the numbers. I just know I'm gonna be n anywhere from the US ten up at least. Yeah. Chris Gilliam: UK to the to northwest Michigan, yeah. One and two basically. Jason Kaminski: Yeah, I would I would say all the way up. Even even the east side. You know, like the Chris Gilliam: Yeah. Jason Kaminski: pinconning area on that, I would say. Chris Gilliam: Beauty. Chris Whittaker: Look at me. The New Yorker knows where Chris Gilliam: Yeah, he's one and two primarily and part of three. Him and Darren Conrad will share three. There's not as many schools in region three currently, but if it changes, then we'll probably look to add another person to the board to help organize and run those regions. But we're glad to have you on the board of directors, Jason. Looking forward to, you know, developing and moving this forward with you on board. Appreciate ya. Jason Kaminski: Yeah, no, I I appreciate the opportunity. Chris Whittaker: Well, this has been an episode of the platform where the stories weigh a ton. So there you have it folks, that's episode twenty with Jason Kaminsky here on the platform, where the stories weigh a ton. Until next week, I'm Chris Whitaker signing off.