Blog
Never Peaked: How Maggie Szlachcic Trained Her Way to Tusculum
Maggie Szlachcic has been walking through the doors of PowerStrength since seventh grade.
That was years before she became an All-State volleyball player at Hudsonville High School, years before committing to play at the collegiate level, & years before she earned a spot on a college roster as an incoming Freshman.
It started simply as a middle school athlete with big goals who made a decision to start doing something about it.
THE BEGINNING
The introduction came through her club team.
Maggie plays for FaR Out, a club program that has worked alongside PowerStrength for years. FaR Out has long emphasized the importance of strength training — and the program actively steers its athletes toward the gym.
Read about the Partnership between PowerStrength and FaR Out
That push landed Maggie at PowerStrength.
“Our club was promoting it,” she said. “I thought I should probably start getting in the gym. I knew I wanted to play college volleyball.”
She was young and already thinking like a college athlete.
WHAT HAPPENED EARLY
The results didn’t take long.
“I immediately noticed that you just start feeling so much more confident,” Maggie said. “And at that age, that’s something you need.”
Confidence was just the beginning. Strength followed. And then the court started telling the story on its own.
“It really started showing on the court. Parents were saying things to my mom and asking where I was going.”
When the people around you start noticing the change — that’s when it becomes real. That’s when you stop wondering whether it’s worth the time and effort.
“When you start feeling like it’s noticeable,” she said, “is when you want to keep on coming.”
WHAT KEPT HER COMING BACK
Ask Maggie what sets PowerStrength apart from other options, and she doesn’t start with equipment or programming first.
She talks about the people.
“You walk in, and the coaches immediately notice you, talk to you — and they don’t just care about your athleticism or how strong you’re getting. They actually care about you as a person. You feel that energy.”
That environment made it easy to stay consistent. Even through long school years, club seasons, and the scheduling grind that comes with being a serious high school athlete.
“I definitely always enjoyed coming to this gym the most,” she said. “So I would make it my priority.”
TRAINING THROUGH EVERYTHING
Balancing PowerStrength with school volleyball, club ball, and the rest of life wasn’t always the most convenient thing to do but Maggie created a way.
During her club season with FaR Out, she made training a constant. School volleyball was harder to manage — practice times, team lifting schedules, and the physical demands of a full season made it challenging. But she kept showing up.
What helped was that the coaches paid attention.
“They knew when I would come back from tournaments and that my body wasn’t feeling the greatest. So we would make sure to hit a lot of stretching as well.”
The training adapted to where she was. And that made it sustainable.
“If you want to be the best,” she said, “sometimes you’ve got to do it even when you’re tired.”
A PROGRESSION THAT NEVER STOPPED
Some athletes plateau but Maggie didn’t.
Through all of her years at PowerStrength — middle school into her Senior year — the progress kept coming. Not every session felt great. Not every week was a personal record. But the trajectory never reversed.
“I just felt like I never peaked. And I was always progressing by coming here. I never felt like I wasn’t getting stronger or better — and so it just kept on pushing me to come.”
As she moved into her upperclassmen years at Hudsonville, that progress carried a different kind of weight. Being a leader on a team isn’t just about how you carry yourself. It’s about what your physical presence communicates.
“When you become an upperclassman, you want to be that leader — not only as a person, but physically too. You want to stand out.”
WHY STRENGTH TRAINING MATTERS FOR VOLLEYBALL
Maggie is clear-eyed about what strength training does for a volleyball player, specifically.
The sport doesn’t look like traditional athleticism on the surface — no sprinting, no sustained runs. But the physical demands are real, and they’re specific.
“If you’re a hitter, you always want your arm to be faster — and to do that, you need to be stronger. Jump higher, obviously great to always be working on your legs.”
Speed and agility matter just as much as raw strength.
“Volleyball is all just quick movements. There’s no sprinting — it’s not running up and down a court or a field. But you do need to be able to move quickly.”
And for any young player with bigger goals, the message is direct:
“If you have bigger aspirations than just playing in high school, you’ll definitely see it. And when you do go to college, you won’t be behind compared to the other girls.”
ALL-STATE AND COLLEGE BOUND
Maggie’s senior season at Hudsonville resulted in an All-State honor. She was All-Conference in the OK Red twice.
She committed to Tusculum University — located in Tennessee — during her Junior year.
The decision came down to more than geography or roster fit.
“When I originally just met the coach, I was like, wow, this is the kind of person I want to be around, the kind of person I want to be coached by.”
The visit confirmed it.
“It’s Tennessee. It’s just beautiful. It’s hard to not want to be in the warm weather. And everyone from the South is just so nice.”
She had conversations with programs closer to home — Ferris State, Grand Valley, Albion, among others — and spoke with schools like Morehead State and The Citadel. But Tusculum felt different from the start.
“It definitely felt like a click immediately when I had talked to Tusculum, compared to the other schools.”
READY FOR WHAT’S NEXT
Maggie arrives at Tusculum as a Freshman, and her season begins quickly. There isn’t much of a ramp-up period. The competition is there from day one.
She isn’t worried.
“That’s exactly what I think PowerStrength is giving me — the confidence to go there and feel ready, and to feel like I can keep up with girls who are four years older than me.”
That confidence was built one session at a time, over years, at a place where the coaches knew her name, adjusted for her schedule, pushed her past her comfort zone, and helped her become exactly the athlete she set out to be when she was in middle school.
“They do know how to push you past your comfort zone — but in the best way possible.”
Maggie is proof of what happens when a young athlete makes a decision early — and sticks with it.
WANT TO SEE BIG RESULTS?
3rd–12th grade athletes of all sports and abilities 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.