Rockford Lacrosse Displays Drive, Earns Big Results at PowerStrength
The Rockford boys lacrosse team wasn’t satisfied with the way the 2023 season ended, so the Rams spent the winter coming to PowerStrength Training Systems to get better.
“I am very excited,” Rockford senior defensive midfielder Sean Kuzma said. “I think we have all taken massive leaps this year. I’ve seen kids who haven’t worked out as much and they come in here and just dominated it. They are completely better on the field, off the field, in the weight room. I’m really excited to see them on the field.”
The team spent January and February training at PowerStrength 2 sessions per week. 9th-12th grade athletes got individualized attention from the expert PSTS coaches which has led to increased strength, speed, power, and explosiveness.
As a team, they averaged 4 inches gained on their broad jump, 1.4 inches on their vertical, and dropped over half a tenth on their fully-electric 10-yard sprint – that’s over half a step on every athlete!
Colton Kesteloot and Brody McConnell each added 1o inches to their broad jump, Ethan Gregory added 4.9 inches to his vertical, Hudson Hensley jumped 3.2 inches higher, Kesteloot dropped .21 seconds from his 10-yard sprint and Ben Vitkauskas dropped .18.
“I feel it will pay off, I have seen improvements myself,” said Rockford senior attack Cullen Silverman who added 8 inches to his broad jump. “I think it will help the team to get us stronger. In the short time we’ve been here I have already seen improvements and I have seen improvements on everybody else.”
Madden Leslie is returning at attack, but his off-season took on a new challenge after an injury during football season forced him to have hip surgery. He is good to go now and has seen big improvements at PSTS.
“I know I’ve been jumping farther,” Leslie said. “I’ve gotten faster, stronger.”
“I’ve gained weight, I’ve gained strength, my bench, squat, and pull-ups have all gone up,” Kuzma added. “My speed, I feel faster. I feel heavier, but also I feel faster and lighter, so for me it has been really good.”
Justin Ray has 2 sons that play lacrosse at Rockford and train at PowerStrength. His oldest, Braylon is a junior and returning all-conference player.
“They want the best out of the kids, they get the best out of them,” Ray said about PowerStrength. “The kids love showing up here everyday.”
COMING TOGETHER
The PowerStrength workouts don’t just get the athletes bigger, faster, and stronger, but also serve as a bonding experience.
“Many of them are underclassmen,” senior attack Ethan Silverman said. “I know a couple of underclassmen, but mostly I get to know the incoming freshmen and the sophomores that were freshmen last year – I get to know them, and the seniors this year, I know they will work hard.”
“The camaraderie, the guys that come in and workout at PowerStrength become friends outside of here, they push each other to the extreme,” Ray added. “It’s worth every dollar I pay.”
Kuzma was no stranger to serious training at PowerStrength before and was looking forward to leading his lacrosse teammates in the gym.
“It is nice to build chemistry before the season,” Kuzma said. “Being a senior, I thought it would be a really good opportunity to meet a bunch of younger guys that I hadn’t played with before and have an opportunity to become a better leader.”
INTANGIBLES
Being stronger and more athletic will pay dividends for the Rams this spring on the field, but the confidence this group has gained during their time at PSTS is really shining through as the season approaches.
“I definitely feel like I have gained a lot of confidence and leadership,” Kuzma said. “Just being around all the guys, going around trying to hype them up, trying to help them do their best, it helps me do my best as well when I am trying to help other people and they give it back to me. That is what is really cool about PowerStrength, is that it happens a lot.”
“I get a lot of confidence with all the coaches here,” Cullen Silverman added. “They motivate us to do better, to lift heavier. And if we are going to lift something heavy they get everybody around to motivate you and get all the adrenaline pumping.”
An important component to the physical gains is nutrition, hydration, sleep, and recovery. These are things that PowerStrength teaches all of their athletes and serves them well in their season and beyond.
“This is a lifelong lesson for them going onto the next level,” Ray said. “Nutrition, working out, all that stuff are things that they need to carry on to the next level to maintain whatever they are doing. The mental aspect of life and the healthiness of life, so I would spend every dollar here.”
RAISING THE BAR
The Rams won 12 games last season and were the number 1-seed in their division 1 regional, but lost an overtime game to 3-seed Grand Ledge in the regional final.
“We fell short of our goal of a state championship (last season),” Cullen Silverman said. “I hope this will motivate us to finish through all the games, not get lazy in the fourth quarter, and the overtimes, because we lost in overtime last year. I hope to see that this just helps us to perform better through the season, get more powerful shots, and have better stamina.”
Rockford will once again compete in Tier 1 of the OK Conference with state powers Forest Hills Central and East Grand Rapids.
“I’m really excited to see what the team holds this year, how each of us have personally gained through this workout routine,” Leslie said. “I just want to see our team grow from last year to this year. I feel like we have a chance to bring some hardware back before the end of the season.”
Rockford’s first game is scheduled for March 20th at home against Byron Center at 7pm.
WANT TO SEE BIG RESULTS?
PowerStrength offers specific partnerships and team training options in all sports to get faster, stronger, and more confident.
5th-12th grade athletes of all sports and ability levels can sign-up at PowerStrength at anytime throughout the year while spots remain. Multiple sessions are offered after school and into the evening, specific times are varied by location.
PowerStrength has 4 locations in West Michigan – Alpine, Kentwood, Jenison, and Plainfield
Visit https://powerstrengthpro.com/athlete to learn more or click below to Get Started.