Blog
Luke Spoelma and the Advantage of Early-Age Habits
Most athletes start thinking about strength training when high school gets competitive.
Luke Spoelma started in seventh grade.
Now a Junior on the baseball team at South Christian, he’s roughly 50 pounds heavier than he was as a Freshman, hitting for power he didn’t have as a middle schooler, and drawing college attention as a pitcher.
THE DECISION
Luke’s reason for starting was simple and, surprisingly, forward-thinking for a seventh grader.
“I started coming here in seventh grade,” he said. “I knew I needed to get ahead of the game: start lifting early, get bigger, get stronger, get faster, so I could get ahead of the competition.”
That approach was to prepare for high school baseball well before it began.
THE HEAD START
The payoff showed up quickly.
“It was amazing starting early,” Luke said. “I got a lot faster, a lot stronger. You could tell I was just bigger than everyone on the field, hitting the ball harder, farther, throwing harder.”
He’s now been training at PowerStrength for years, and the work looks different than it did in middle school.
“I can move a lot more weight now,” he said. “I can just tell a big difference.”
THE TRANSFORMATION
Luke came in as a tall, lean kid. The numbers since then tell a clear story.
“Freshman year I was about 140,” he said. “Now I’m 190.”
His next goal is 200, and he expects training at PowerStrength three to four sessions per week to get him there soon.
The results at the plate follow the same trajectory.
“When I was in seventh grade, I didn’t hit the ball very far. Now I’m hitting two, three, four bombs a year, as opposed to zero.”
WHAT TRANSLATES TO THE FIELD
For a player who splits time between the mound and the infield, Luke says the work carries over directly.
“I can feel all the workouts I do translating on the field: core strength, rotational, from the ground up,” he said. “When I pitch, when I hit.”
On the mound, he describes himself as a strike-thrower first.
Beyond pitching, he plays the corner infield positions.
THE COACHING
Luke does his school workouts, too, and he sees PowerStrength as the perfect complement to it.
What stands out to him is the coaching and the intensity of the sessions.
“It’s a lot of ‘get after it’,” he said. “They really help you understand what kind of weight you can do and how it’s going to translate.”
The guidance reaches beyond the weight room.
“They help with nutrition, recovery, knowing I can get better in the weight room, but also at home, and on the field.”
He also values training next to other athletes who are serious about leveling up.
“Being around people putting in that hard work, not comparing myself but competing with the people around me, to better myself.”
WHAT’S NEXT
With two high school seasons left, Luke has his sights set on playing in college.
His added size has helped on the mound.
“I’ve gotten bigger, and that’s helped me put on a lot more muscle and velocity, especially pitching,” he said. “I’m getting a lot of looks right now.”
It’s early in the process, but Luke has built his habits and mindset enough to know what he’s looking for in terms of finding the best fit.
“Somewhere competitive where there’s a winning culture and a good community of teammates.”
And he’ll keep working to have every opportunity.
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.