Since we started including athlete/coach interviews in this magazine several years ago, we’ve been fortunate to get contributions from a lot of big names. National Champions, Olympians, Hall of Famers, etc. It’s been great to share the stories of so many major players in the sport.
 
However, we’ve also made an effort to share interviews from individuals who are making tremendous contributions to the sport despite getting a late start in the game and not accumulating those major-league accolades. Neil Kanterman is a solid example of this. Neil, like many of you, found Olympic weightlifting through CrossFit when he was in his 30s. When you get started in the game like that, you’re not going to have a performance record like Chad Vaughn or Morghan King. But fortunately for all of us in US weightlifting, that doesn’t stop people like Neil from becoming important members of our national scene. Neil has done some outstanding masters lifting himself, winning the 2016 National Masters Championship, and he has also become what I call “an everything guy.” Everything guys (and gals) are the ones who lift, coach, run meets, volunteer, referee, and do every other kind of job you can think of that makes this sport survive. Through his work in South Florida with coach Danny Camargo, Neil has created his own program with dozens of lifters competing at all ages. His selflessness and willingness to work hard are paving the way for the future careers of several up and coming weightlifters, and Catalyst Athletics is pleased to share his story with you.
 
Tell us about your background. Where are you from, where do you currently live, what’s your occupation, family life, what kind of sports background do you have outside of lifting, etc.
 
I am originally from New York, but I have lived in Florida full-time since 2004, currently in Parkland, Florida. I am a practicing pediatric ophthalmologist, focusing on surgical and medical diseases of the eye in children. I have two children, a 19-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter. I played some hockey and volleyball growing up as well as lots of sandlot baseball games and neighborhood basketball games, but not a whole lot of organized sports.
 
Describe your weightlifting history. When/how did you start? Who have your coaches been? What are your proudest accomplishments?
 
I started lifting seriously in 2012. I “discovered” the sport through CrossFit, which I had started in 2010 and was instrumental in transforming my health after two decades of sedentary decline. I was a member of CrossFit Hardcore here in Florida, and Danny Camargo from Team OC would come down from Orlando every other week to work with the competitive CrossFit team on their weightlifting. I had developed a real interest in the sport and learning how to lift more efficiently, and Danny and I struck up a friendship while I trained with him regularly. While learning the basics of the snatch and clean and jerk, I did seminars with just about anyone I could, including Glenn Pendlay, Donny Shankle, Jon North, Dmitriy Klokov, Ilya Ilyin, Vasiliy Polovnikov, Yasha Kahn, and Nikita Durnev. At around that same time, my daughter showed a real interest in the sport, and I began to coach her as my first athlete. I received my USAW level 1 and level 2 (Advanced Sports Performance Coach) certifications as well as the Catalyst Seminar and Certification with Greg Everett, as I built my toolbox and became a more effective coach. In 2014, my wife and I opened a new location of CrossFit Hardcore located in Parkland, Florida, out of which I coach our satellite of Team OC, which includes around 15 lifters of all ages. Danny Camargo remains the only coach I have had, and I am very proud to carry the banner of Team OC. As a lifter, I am probably most proud of winning the 2016 Masters National Championship in the M45 -105kg class. As a coach, I am very proud of our youth development program. My daughter has been to Youth Nationals for the last four years and as it has been incredibly rewarding to see her and my other youth athletes develop a love of the sport and the life lessons to be taught by the barbell. I do enjoy the technical aspects of teaching the lifts, but my favorite place to be is in the back room during an important competition session. The strategy, emotions, even the math. It’s an environment unlike any other.
 
Please give a basic description of your training method. Just tell us as much as you can about your program, weekly/yearly planning, etc.
 
Our program tends to be one of basic periodization, with a preparation phase, strength phase, technical development phase, and competition prep and taper. As a master’s athlete, I found it incredibly helpful to have the dates of the major competitions that I wished to compete at circled on the calendar and to program all phases of training back from that. I try to train five times per week, but lately it seems rare that I get a full week in as my lifters take priority over my training and it has been a busy summer with Youth Nationals and our Masters team trip to Barcelona for the Masters World Championships with around a dozen masters lifters between our gym and Danny Camargo’s gym in Orlando.
 
Tell us about your experience in masters weightlifting. Positives and negatives. What kinds of changes would you like to see, either personally or with the master’s division in general?
 
I have been so happy to be a part of masters weightlifting. The camaraderie in the sport is just incredible. Earlier this year, we hosted a local meet at my gym to help the masters of Florida that couldn’t make it to Buffalo for Masters Nationals to get qualified for Masters Pan Ams/Worlds. We had IWF category 1 referees, there were no medals, no prizes, it was simply to be used to make a total to qualify, and it was so refreshing to lift in such a purely cooperative and supportive environment. Everyone had a great time, and we qualified over 30 lifters to international competition. Just in my six years in the sport, I have seen tremendous change as the numbers have grown drastically. I think as a whole, the USA Masters Organization has done a tremendous job in keeping the sport alive, especially when interest was low. As the membership booms, it creates lots of “growing pains” as the landscape of masters weightlifting is constantly changing. It is my hope that as participation expands, our organization continues to serve the members with the goal of maximizing the experience for all members. Communication is, as it is in all things, critically important.
 
What are your plans and goals for your weightlifting career? How do you see your future in the sport?

It’s an interesting thing to be a masters weightlifter, and to know that at some point my lifetime maxes are going to never be surpassed, but there’s no way of knowing when exactly that happens. I have dealt with a few nagging injuries that I have to remain mindful of. Going into Barcelona and the Masters World Championships, I am very excited to go, and I am training very hard, but right now I feel like 90 percent coach and 10 percent lifter, and my primary focus is for my athletes to have an experience they cherish, including my teammates traveling with me, as well as preparing my athletes back home for their next step, some of which have very lofty goals. I am also privileged to be a National Technical Official, and I look forward to continuing to serve the sport I have come to love in that capacity.
 
Who are some of your major influences, people you look up to, etc.? Who are the people you want to thank for your success?
 
There have been so many influences on me, as an athlete, a coach, and an official. I have to thank Danny Camargo for my introduction to the sport and his continued support and friendship as I grow my team in South Florida. I would like to thank the entire Cohen family from Savannah, including Howard, Mike, Sheryl and the boys for their efforts in keeping the sport of masters weightlifting alive in this country when nobody else cared. As USA Weightlifting as a whole enters what really seems to be a new era in the sport, I am excited to see how USA Masters follows suit.
 
Keep up the good work down there in Florida, Neil. We appreciate your efforts and wish you luck in all future endeavors!