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All-Conference From Day One: The Remarkable Rise of the Ingles Twins
There are athletes who take a year or two to find their footing in high school sports. Then there are athletes like Emma and Olivia Ingles.
The Belding High School Sophomores didn’t ease into the Varsity experience — they stepped right into it.
As Freshmen, Emma and Olivia each earned spots on the Varsity basketball and softball teams, and by the end of that first year, both had been named All-Conference in both sports. In West Michigan, where Varsity minutes are earned and postseason recognition has to be taken, that kind of debut doesn’t happen very often.
Now, as Sophomores, they’ve done it again. The Ingles twins were All-Conference in basketball this past Winter and just helped lead Belding’s softball program to its first conference championship since 2012 — a run that will almost certainly bring more hardware with it.
What’s behind the rise? Genetics play a role. Hard work plays a bigger one. And since the summer before eighth grade, PowerStrength Training Systems has been a significant part of the equation.
LATE BLOOMERS WITH BIG AMBITIONS
If you had watched Emma and Olivia walk into PowerStrength for the first time back in 2023, you might not have predicted what was coming. They were small — 5’1″ or 5’2″ heading into eighth grade — and by their own admission, a little intimidated by what they saw.
“It was a little intimidating,” Olivia recalled. “I walked in, and people were lifting really heavy, and we were like, ‘Well, we’re smaller than everyone, and we want to lift as much as them.’ So we just really worked hard. And then after a while, you got used to it.”
Late-bloomer athletes are nothing new in sports. But the Ingles twins come from a family that understood exactly what it would take to close that gap — and when to start.
Their mother, Megan, played golf at the University of South Florida in the Big East. Their father, Zach, played college basketball at Eastern Kentucky, then spent years playing professionally overseas before transitioning to coaching. He’s now the head men’s basketball coach at Montcalm Community College — and someone who has watched strength training evolve from a side activity into a cornerstone of athlete development.
“It’s one of the most important things we do,” Zach said. “It’s a game changer. It’s kind of reckless if you’re not taking advantage of weight training for your specific sport.”
When the family started looking for a training program, they weren’t just looking for a weight room. They were looking for the right environment for young athletes still growing into their bodies.
“PowerStrength was one of the best things they’ve done,” Zach explained.
The twins themselves pushed for it. And once they were in, they were all in.
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
Those early sessions weren’t easy. Pushing through something unfamiliar never is. But Emma and Olivia kept showing up, kept putting in the work, and started to feel the difference — both physically and mentally.
“Coming to multiple sessions a week and doing it more, even though we were scared at first — it definitely helps when you get used to something,” Emma said. “Because then we got into a routine and we could lift heavier, get stronger, and then it really did help us.”
The results came faster than they expected.
“It definitely showed a lot more than we thought it would,” Emma said. “Especially when we weren’t expecting to play varsity basketball as freshmen — training here really did help prepare us to play. We definitely got a lot stronger. We definitely could jump higher.”
By the time they arrived at Varsity practice before their Freshman year, something had shifted. They were still among the smaller players on the floor, but they were no longer the weakest. And as the season unfolded, that difference became visible in the box score.
“Everybody knew that we were just going to shoot it,” Emma explained. “So getting stronger and jumping higher — I think freshman year we both were like second and third in rebounding on our team. We could get into the paint a lot more. No one expected that we were just going to shoot, shoot, shoot — we could do everything.”
THE SMALL GROUP DIFFERENCE
What separates PowerStrength from a standard weight room isn’t just the equipment or the energy in the building — it’s the intentionality behind every session. With no more than seven athletes per certified trainer, the attention each athlete receives is fundamentally different from what’s possible in other settings.
PowerStrength provides the individualized, sport-specific programming that a small-group setting makes possible.
Emma explained the difference plainly:
“The workouts are specified for our sport, which is really different. When they make it for you — especially when you’re in season versus out of season — they really narrow it down to what you want to do. If I want to say, ‘Hey, I want to work on my vert today,’ they’ll say, ‘Okay, let’s modify this.’ They really do help with that a lot.”
Zach noticed the same thing from the outside looking in.
“I like that it’s sports specific,” he said. “Sometimes high school strength coaches don’t have the luxury to make it sport specific. It’s basketball-specific, it’s softball-specific — and you can see those benefits when they’re playing the respective sport.”
On the basketball court, that shows up in change of pace, change of direction, and the physical presence to compete in the paint. In softball, the difference has been just as dramatic. Exit velocity off the bat. Pitching endurance through long innings. Explosiveness on the base paths.
“You can tell there’s an almost immediate clear difference because of the exit velocity on the bat — you just get to the ball quicker because you’re stronger,” Olivia says. “The ball gets hit farther, you can run faster, be more aggressive on the base paths.”
For Emma, the impact on the mound has been just as significant.
“I’ve definitely gotten a lot stronger. That means my bat has been more powerful, and I’ve been starting to hit them over the fence. And on the mound, some of these hard workouts get you through long innings — it really helps me a lot.”
CONFIDENCE: THE UNDERRATED RESULT
Ask Zach what the biggest change has been in his daughters since they started training at PowerStrength, and he doesn’t lead with vertical jump numbers or exit velocity. He leads with something less measurable but just as real.
“One of the main things is confidence,” he said. “They are crazy late bloomers. So to see them when they first started — they were the smaller ones, they weren’t as physical. PowerStrength has given them confidence to see other athletes working in and out of there all the time. When they’re in there with other athletes, and they’re bigger and stronger and quicker — part of that comes with the discipline and the environment that PowerStrength offers.”
For Emma and Olivia, that environment is a big part of what keeps them coming back. The energy in the gym, the relationships they’ve built with the coaching staff, and the presence of other high-level athletes have all contributed to a culture where pushing harder just feels natural.
“It’s fun because the coaches are around,” Olivia said. “Sometimes they’ll randomly yell, and that makes it fun — and it makes you want to lift harder, push harder. It’s a good atmosphere with high energy where they’re pushing you to work harder, but then it’s fun in between.”
YEAR-ROUND AND EYES ON THE FUTURE
One thing that separates serious athletes from casual ones is what they do when the season ends — and what they do while it’s happening. Emma and Olivia train at PowerStrength throughout the year, in season and out, because they understand what happens when you don’t.
“You don’t want to waste all the work you did in the summer,” Olivia said. “You come in consistently during the season so that you don’t lose what you built, and you still keep getting stronger.”
Emma puts it just as directly:
“You don’t want to fall behind everybody else by taking a break because of the season. When you maintain that routine, you can lift heavier and get better.”
With two years of high school still ahead, the goals are clear. Both sisters love basketball most, and both want to play at the college level. They know what the path looks like.
“This takes care of the strength part and the agility part and speed,” Olivia says. “So when we get to basketball, we can work on more of our skills so that they both come together.”
The milestones are already stacking up. And Olivia, for one, isn’t planning to slow down.
“It means a lot. But it also means you have to prove yourself again. You can accomplish it, but then you have to do it again next year — and then you can get All-District and All-State.”
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL SOMEONE ABOUT POWERSTRENGTH?
For the parent sitting on the fence, wondering whether a program like PowerStrength is worth it for their athlete, the Ingles family has a simple answer — delivered by the people who have lived it.
“It is okay to be scared and intimidated,” Emma said. “But once you walk in here, most of the time, in the first ten minutes, it’ll go away. If they really want to get better, this is the place to go.”
Olivia agreed:
“Don’t be as intimidated as I was when we first walked in, and just grab the weights and start lifting hard. Do what your coach tells you, and you’ll get really far.”
And from a father who played at the highest levels, coaches at the college level, and is watching his daughters grow into two of the most decorated young multi-sport athletes in the area:
“If you’re going to chase something, then give everything you have to chase it. PowerStrength is an awesome option because it’s sports-specific, it has trainers who know what they’re doing, and it’s got a community of athletes coming in and out of those doors. It’s worth it. It’s worth everything.”
Emma put it simply:
“I love it here. I know everybody else who comes here loves it.”
And Olivia, in the way only a competitor can:
“You work hard, you train hard. It gets you where you need to be. Where you want to be.”
GET STARTED AT POWERSTRENGTH
3rd–12th grade athletes of all sports and abilities can sign up at PowerStrength at any time 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.