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Bigger, Faster, Stronger: How Gerrit VanLonkhuyzen Built His College Baseball Case
Gerrit VanLonkhuyzen was a good athlete.
At 5’11” and about 140 pounds, he was fast enough, jumped well enough, and played on the Varsity baseball team at Wayland Union as a Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior.
But by his own account, he was “always above average, just not anything special.”
Then, after his Junior season, he started training at PowerStrength in Byron Center. A few months later, his testing results put him among the top of all athletes across all PowerStrength locations: running faster, jumping higher, more explosive, and stronger.
He’s also 20 pounds heavier, and his goal of playing college baseball looks very different than it did last Spring.
THE STARTING POINT
Gerrit knew where he stood.
“I weighed like 140 pounds,” he said. “I was relatively fast, but I was just never outstanding.”
Like a lot of high school athletes who are good but not yet standouts, he knew that “above average” wasn’t going to be enough to be noticed at showcases or by college coaches.
WHY POWERSTRENGTH
Gerrit’s mom first told him about PowerStrength. He’d also seen clips on Instagram and knew athletes from his school who trained here.
“I thought, I might as well try it for a month and see how it is,” he said. “It went pretty well, so I just kept going.”
THE RESULTS
Gerrit has been consistently getting results since starting at PowerStrength.
He says the first moment he realized it was working came at school, in his own strength class.
“I was jumping a nine-foot broad, and then I retested it in my school strength class, and all of a sudden I was jumping 10’2,” he said. “I was like, oh, crap!”
He says the speed was noticeable early.
“Within the first two months, I was way faster.”
He runs 60-yard dashes at baseball showcases, and he says his times kept dropping.
“I was getting bigger, faster, stronger.”
Athletes are tested multiple times through the year at PowerStrength to measure their progress and adjust their specific training plans.
Over the last 3 months, Gerrit’s gains stood out across all locations:
- 10-yard sprint: dropped 0.16 seconds
- Broad jump: increased 6 inches
- Vertical jump: increased 4 inches
- Max pull-ups: 5 more reps
- Body weight: up 10 pounds
Asked what the test results mean to him, he put it simply.
“It feels pretty good. It just shows that all the hard work is paying off.”
NOT JUST LIFTING
Gerrit lifts every day in his school’s strength class, which he calls “good” weight training. At PowerStrength, he says the sessions add something different.
“It’s not like we just do lifts and get stronger,” he said. “We’re doing sprint-specific and jumping-specific exercises to increase your speed, your agility, your vertical, your broad.”
For a middle infielder and pitcher, that’s the part that translates.
“My power off the mound, my fluidity through my motions, just felt so much better, because I’ve gained 20 pounds since I started coming here.”
CONFIDENCE UNDER PRESSURE
The training changed how Gerrit feels, too.
“At first, I would go into sprints and wouldn’t feel too confident, because I didn’t think I was that fast,” he said. “But since I’ve been coming here, we’re competing every day. I’m trying to win every sprint, getting faster, sprinting consistently. That boosts my confidence so much. In pressure situations, it takes pressure off me.”
He’s also paid attention to what goes into his body. “I’m eating right. I’m not eating processed foods. All those things are increasing, and PowerStrength is showing that.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Gerrit has a few goals for this Winter and spring. He’s now a little over 160 pounds and wants to reach 180 by baseball season. He plans to keep training three sessions per week.
Most of all, he wants to play college baseball, and he says he’s now in a position to do it.
“I definitely could play college baseball, and PowerStrength has helped me get there a lot.”
Faster times matter to recruiters.
“If you’re running a 7.1 as an infielder, they’re not really going to take much of a look at you,” he said. “Now I’m running like a 6.7, 6.8. That’s pretty elite compared to a 7.1.”
His high school team has big goals, too. Wayland won its conference and district titles last season and reached the regional finals without a single senior on the roster.
“This year I’m thinking state championship,” Gerrit said. “We’re trying to win it all.”
HIS ADVICE
Gerrit’s advice to anyone considering PowerStrength is practical.
“Give it a month,” he said. “If you’re seeing improvements, if you’re getting stronger and faster, your lifts are going up, you’re jumping higher, then keep going. And from what I’ve seen at PowerStrength, that would happen.”
Asked to describe PowerStrength in one sentence, he didn’t hesitate.
“PowerStrength is exceptional. This is some of the best athlete-based lifting you can get.”
WANT TO SEE BIG RESULTS?
3rd–12th grade athletes of all sports and ability levels can sign up at PowerStrength at any time throughout the year while spots remain. Choose the PowerStrength location most convenient for you — Alpine, Kentwood, Jenison, Plainfield, Holland, or Byron Center. Visit powerstrengthpro.com/athlete/contact/ to learn more or click below to schedule your assessment and get started.