Elite Athletics Training LLC

He thought the chalk was the problem.

Then he put the chalk on…
and still missed the lift.

At that point he wanted to quit.

But sometimes the biggest battle isn’t the weight on the bar.
It’s the voice in your head telling you you’re done.

So I yelled at him to keep going.

One more try.
One more fight.
One more belief in himself.

315 lbs.

A new PR.
Up from 245 in just 3 months as an 8th grader.

This is why toughness matters.
Not because it sounds good in quotes…
but because the kids who learn how to push through failure usually discover what they’re actually capable of.

“If you can take it from me, you can take it from anyone on Friday night.”

Today me and my 13-year-old son worked getting off the jam using hand-fighting drills and pad contact.

And yeah… he took some shots to the body.

But that’s part of the learning process.

Playing receiver isn’t always pretty. There’s contact. There’s frustration. There’s physicality at the line of scrimmage. You have to learn how to stay composed, fight through pressure, clear the hands, and still get back on your route path.

That’s why these reps matter.

Getting separation isn’t just about speed — it’s about leverage, timing, toughness, and mastering the art of the hand fight.

A lot of athletes want the catches and touchdowns.
Very few want to learn how to win the fight before the route even starts.

The details matter.
The uncomfortable reps matter.
The hits matter.

That’s where confidence is built.

What release are you working on most this offseason?

Nick is a sophomore.

635 lbs.

That’s not normal.

575 → 635 since February.
While balancing school, practice, life, and still showing up to work.

Proud of this dude. The numbers are earned. 💪

Most young receivers panic the second they feel contact.
They get knocked off their line, drift wide, and let the defender control the rep.

We’re teaching the opposite.

Absorb the jam. Stay square. Fight through pressure. Own the line of scrimmage.

At just 13 years old, he’s learning that releases aren’t about avoiding contact. They’re about handling pressure with confidence and toughness.

The line of scrimmage is the first battle of every play. Toughness is a skill that has to be trained just like speed, route running, and catching.

Proud of the work he’s putting in every single week.
No shortcuts. Just growth. 📈

Drop “TOUGH” in the comments if you would like to see more clips like this.

Before today, Raidan walked into the gym thinking his max squat would be 225 lbs.

And honestly, that’s normal.
A lot of athletes don’t realize how much they’ve truly improved because progress happens little by little through the daily work nobody sees.

The early mornings.
The hard sets.
The days you don’t feel like training but still show up anyway.

Today, all that consistency caught up to him.

Raiden ended up hitting 295 lbs — 70 pounds more than what he believed he could do.

That’s why confidence is built through action.
Sometimes the work has already changed you before your mind has had time to realize it.

Same 205 lbs on the bar, but two completely different athletes.

Left (February): Fighting the weight.
Right (May): Dominating the weight.

When you clean up the mechanics and optimize the movement patterns, the weight takes care of itself. Going from a shaky 205 to an easy 225 lbs real quick.

Proud of Nick.

500 lbs in the 10th grade is impressive, but what makes us even more proud is the consistency, discipline, and mindset he’s developed to get here.

This wasn’t built from shortcuts or hype.
It was built through commitment to the process day after day.

The weight room always reveals who’s willing to stay disciplined when things get hard. Nick continues to answer that challenge.

The goal is bigger than numbers.
We’re building athletes prepared for pressure, adversity, and success.