Q&A with Adena powerlifting coach Josh Jones
FRANKFORT, Ohio — Powerlifting is a sport that is seeing some growth in the area. The sport has finally made it to Ross County. I recently learned that Adena High School has a new powerlifting team. I had the opportunity to have a conversation with coach Josh Jones.
Is it a school sport, is there a league or club, etc?
Josh Jones: Yes, powerlifting was approved as a school sport in July. There is no league that we compete in, but there are high school powerlifting meets around the state that we can attend. Unlike other sports, we do not have many meets because you need time between meets to rest, recover, and train.
Our first meet is scheduled for Saturday, December 10th at Madison Plains. The meet coordinator is expecting nearly 400 lifters there from numerous schools from around the state.聽 Almost all of the schools that we will compete against are outside of Ross County.
There is a state meet at the end of the season that everyone on the team can compete in. There are individual awards and team awards at all meets.
How does competitive powerlifting work in high school?
Jones: Most powerlifting meets have three events the student-athletes will be competing in.聽 The event order is squat, bench, barbell deadlift. Each lifter gets three attempts in each event. The total weight lifted between all events is calculated and used to determine where a lifter finishes in their weight class. For example, a lifter’s top lifts in each event could be 400 lb. squat, 250 lb. bench, 450 lb. deadlift. Their total weight lifted would be 1100 lbs. Lifters are placed by their total weight lifted and how much they lift over their own body weight.
Team awards are given out to the top girls and boys team at each event as well. The total number of pounds lifted by a team determines how they place as a meet. Our first meet is a push/pull meet, which means there will only be two events. Bench press and barbell deadlift.
Powerlifting meets charge admission and has concessions just like other high school sports. One difference is that lifters have to pay a small fee to compete as well. This helps the host programs raise money for their program.
Could you share some of your background and how this came about?
Jones: My background in powerlifting started when I was about 34 years of age. I am now 42. I had been going to a gym, but didn’t really take my workouts that seriously and was inconsistent. Someone told me that I should train for a powerlifting meet. I trained for several months and competed in my first powerlifting meet in 2014. I competed and fell in love with the sport. After that meet, I registered for another competition. Long story short, I eventually competed in over 20 powerlifting meets in the next 4 years. My best memory would probably be competing and placing in the top 3 in the PowerX Championships at the Arnold Classic in Columbus twice.
During that time frame, I also competed in four bodybuilding competitions. After my last competitive meet in 2018, I fell in love with running. I have run 7 marathons, with my most recent one in 2021.Simply put, powerlifting ignited a spark in me to find ways to challenge myself. The sport helped me cope with stress and make me feel better about my own well-being.
How did powerlifting come about at Adena High School?聽
Jones: I have a son, Caden, who grew up watching me compete at meets. He competed with me at the WNPF Championships in 2018. He was only in 6th grade at the time. For the past two years, I have watched him train around basketball practices and games. It was obvious he would rather be lifting than playing basketball. He loved the sport. My son found out that there was high school powerlifting and would rather do that than any other school sport. He got me back into training as well. I train regularly, because I know he grew up watching me.
I approached the school about starting a powerlifting team and I would volunteer to coach it. The school approved the sport, and I was hired as a volunteer head coach. At the time, I had no idea if there would be any other interest from students to compete in the sport.
We currently have 20 powerlifters on the team. Our team is co-ed and consists of 15 girls and 5 boys. I am thrilled of the interest, and it has been fun watching them progress the past few weeks. I am excited to see how the rest of our first season plays out. One big goal I have for the program is to see the sport help students the way it has helped me. I want to see their self-confidence grow and it gives them a hobby they love that helps them cope with stress.
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