Freshman Nick Maier enters high school already an active member of the CHS community. As an up and coming baseball player, as well as a strong academic student, he is constantly busy. Maier said he hopes to remove his after-school athletic training, and get some free time, by participating in Advance Physical Conditioning (APC).

“I thought it would be an excellent class to take for an athlete,” Maier said. “APC will help me get stronger and faster for my high school sports.”

Maier is just one of many freshmen who will be part of the first group of freshmen allowed into APC without completing P.E. 1 and 2. The Indiana Board of Education passed a bill that allows students to receive a waiver for physical education if they participate in a school-sanctioned sport. This allows many students to skip the prerequisite for APC and start their freshman year.

“The natural step is if they worked out some as an eighth grader, and some as a freshman, prior to entering high school, the natural progression is to go ahead and integrate them into the more advanced class.” said Kevin Wright, head of the CHS weight lifting program and head football coach.

Wright said that this year APC has increased to over 400 student athletes,  which is an 160 student increase from last year. The influx of freshmen plays a large role in the increased number of students enrolled in APC. Wright said he plans on combating the inexperience of freshmen by giving them steps towards lifting instead of starting them off equal to every other student.

“We have a progression where you can’t go up anymore than five or ten pounds per week, and you must demonstrate perfect form on any exercise before you can even do that,” Wright said. “We’re never worried about weight, just technique. As long as you’re smart you don’t put people in (over training) positions.”

Aaron Bosket, strength and conditioning coach said he helps freshmen by creating specialized workouts for them. “I may go in and say, here’s how I want you to progress with your lifts. I’m not going to let him put on a lot of weight and lose all their technique… I provide guidelines on how I want (freshmen) to lift.”

Bosket, said he agrees with Wright’s philosophy on freshmen in the program.

“From the beginning I thought what he (Wright) was doing could be a real positive thing,” said Bosket. “Freshman year is an excellent time  to get them introduced to the training process in general.”

Bosket said he believes that lifting as a freshman is a safe activity, and does not limit the athlete’s future. He also said that the slowed introduction into the lifting program creates athletes that know how to lift, which prevents injury.

Wright said, “I think what’s happening is a natural progression in what’s been going on the last few years at the middle school level. You’ve got more and more athletes doing athletic enhancement,” said Wright. “With kids that are incoming freshmen in a variety of sports, their own individual coach’s have had them involved in weight training the entire summer before entering APC.”

Wright said his goal in APC is to increase the overall fitness of all the student athletes and not just big weight gains on lifts. He also said that weight training is beneficial to all sports, not just traditional “strength sports.” Wright said he thinks the addition of freshmen in the weight room will significantly improve Carmel’s athletes, if the training is done correctly.

“If you go back ten years ago the amount of taxation a fourteen year-old kid, an eighth grader getting to go into high school, was being asked to do is not the same as it is right now. You have to prepare your body,” said Wright. “I think it has the ability to impact us as a whole, both in male and female sports and hopefully take what has been traditionally very good and enhance it.”

Wright said that he has done freshmen lifting at other schools in the past, and  he hopes to meet many other high schools that have had a freshmen lifting program.

“It is something I’ve been personally doing for twelve, thirteen years… I don’t want to say we’re behind on this but it’s certainly not groundbreaking.”

Bosket said he can see the benefits of starting to lift as a freshman.

“There has been a night and day difference between the freshmen that have lifted and those who haven’t,” said Bosket. “The big push was let’s get it in a more structured environment and not give them options to think about what else I’d rather do after school. Since its a class, you have to go.”

Both Wright and Bosket said they are happy in taking most any student athlete that is willing to work hard in their class. Wright said if you initially signed up for APC but then decided high school athletics was not for you, you should still consider continuing APC for a semester. Although Wright is willing to work with these athletes, you must still participate in some sort of sport to enter APC.

Wright said, “Just for the general student what we’re doing has the ability to transform your body, I mean it’s not going to hurt you.”

Bosket said he agrees with Wright and said he believes that the class is open to any student athlete who is willing. Bosket said he warned students that aren’t dedicated that he does not want them participating in APC.

“If someone doesn’t want to do the work, they shouldn’t join. I’d rather not have any student athlete who feels like they’re pushed in APC,” said Bosket. “If you honestly feel like you’re pushed to do it, you’re not going to like it. Anything you’re pushed to do you’re not going to like. You don’t really have to do anything you don’t want to.”

Sattler said he hopes that by entering APC he will see improvements in his sports. He also said he was very excited about taking it during the day and getting it out of the way. Bosket said he agrees with Sattler’s ideas for taking APC.

“What I’ve aways said to students is if you can take it as a class, get it in. That way you can take it as a class in the day. You don’t have to worry about before school, you don’t have to worry about after school as much. Then you can go do your thing.”