I remember hearing about an up-and-coming young lifter named Wil Fleming back in the 90s. His coaches were friends of mine from the old days and they said he was a kid with a lot of talent, but I never actually saw him lift. He quit the sport early, and since he was from Indiana, I figured he probably opened up a corn farm or started selling overalls or something.
 
Wil actually left weightlifting for track and field, where he became an All-American hammer thrower who competed in the Olympic Trials. Fortunately for our sport, his passion for the Olympic lifts never completely drifted away. Wil is now the owner and coach of Force Fitness and Performance, an impressive facility in Bloomington where he trains athletes for a wide range of sports. This includes an Olympic weightlifting team. In a short period of time, he has already established a highly competitive squad with multiple national competitors who are working their way up the ladder. His competitive itch is back as well, as he prepares to hit the biggest lifts of his life in the masters division.
 
Wil comes from the same kind of old-school mentality as me, so it was a pleasure to read his thoughts and philosophies about weightlifting, life, and coaching. It’s our pleasure to give you a look at the career of a top American coach and soon-to-be masters champion.
 
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.
 
Matt, thanks for letting me be a part of the Performance Menu. It has been a real pleasure getting to know you and Greg. I’m pumped to be here. I currently and pretty much have always lived in Bloomington, Indiana. It’s a relatively small town of about 50,000-60,000 people but also has Indiana University, which has about 50,000 students at any given time.
 
My parents grew up in other parts of the state of Indiana but met at IU during the early 70s. My dad came here to play football and my mom came here to probably start trouble. (It was the late 60s. I was just told that she was a “hippie,” so a pretty good assumption, that and her favorite story was causing a riot in her dorm). Anyway, they loved the place and decided it would be a great place to raise a family. I’ve been here since I was six years old or so.
 
I played football, basketball, track, and baseball growing up, focusing on football and track in high school. After getting a bunch of concussions in high school, I decided to go to college for track. I was an undersized shot putter who was converted to a hammer thrower, and spent a brief amount of time as a resident at the OTC in 2000.
 
As a hammer thrower in college, I was an NCAA All-American, and competed in the Olympic Trials with a best throw of 69.96 meters.
 
Now, I’m still in Bloomington. I own a training and sport performance facility called Force Fitness and Performance. Most of what we do is personal training and sport performance, but we have about 35 members of our weightlifting club as well.
 
Describe your weightlifting history. When/how did you start? Who were your coaches? What were your proudest accomplishments?
 
I started weightlifting because I wanted to be a better football player. I actually remember the exact play that drove me into weightlifting in the first place. We were playing our crosstown rivals, and I was starting as a 5’10 155 lb. linebacker (I was also slow as molasses, I ran a 5.2 40 yd. dash before that year).
 
It was an Iso play where my job was to meet the fullback in the hole and let the middle linebacker come over the top to clean it up. I met the fullback in the hole but wound up five yards downfield with the linebacker on top of me shaking me, with a vision of the running back heading to the end zone.
 
On that play, I realized I was too slow, too small and too weak to be good at football, so I started asking around about where those guys worked out. I found out that both of them worked out at the Hoosier Weightlifting Club, which was took place in Indiana University’s varsity weight room. The fullback had gone to junior nationals and the running back was on the junior world team the year before. I decided those should be my goals when I started.
 
The day after the season, I showed up at the weight room and said to my new coaches that I wanted to be better at football. They explained that they would help me do that but I had to compete in weightlifting to be a part of the team. I was hooked.
 
Those coaches were Frank Eksten (former president of USAW BOD), Paul Fleschler (1992 Olympian), and Geoff Eliason (multiple time junior and senior national competitor).
 
I walked in having never snatched, never jerked, and with an UGLY power clean PR of 185lbs. In the first six weeks, I qualified for junior nationals with a 65/85 meet (totals were LOW back in the day), and six weeks later I went to my first juniors and did 92.5/115 to qualify for the National Junior Squad.
 
On the football front, I had no business getting recruited at 5’10/155 lbs., but by my senior year I was 215 lbs., had run a 4:59. I was also getting recruited for track, in which I had won the state championship as a junior in high school. To me, that was all because of weightlifting.
 
On the weightlifting front, I went to juniors as a 15 and 16 year old and I won the Junior National Championship as a 94kg lifter with 122.5/150 when I was 17.
 
I moved out to the OTC after high school to lift, but didn’t have a great experience. I went back home to lift and actually quit the sport after three “bad” meets. In hindsight, it was silly. They weren’t bad meets, I just didn’t hit PRs. I totaled 272.5 for four straight meets and freaking quit. I realize now, every meet up to that point had been in that honeymoon period where you PR all the freaking time, and I could not put up with not PRing. Unfortunately, I think a lot of lifters have that period of time and get pretty frustrated.
 
You’ve made the transition from athlete to coach in the sport. What are the similarities and differences between those two lifestyles?
 
As an athlete, I loved the fact that I was responsible for my own success. It’s why I gravitated towards weightlifting and track in particular. It’s probably why I am an entrepreneur and not working for someone else.
                       
Weightlifting is a democratic sport. Your work is reflected in your results.
 
As a coach, your “success” is largely dependent upon the wills of other people. Most of my competitive athletes are college kids. If you are depending upon college kids to measure success, you are barking up a weird ass tree.
 
Factor 1: Do they even come to the gym?
Factor 2: Are they fighting with their girlfriend/boyfriend today?
Factor 3: What were the beer specials around town last night?

That list can go on forever. So as a difference, that is as stark as it can get. I don’t want to minimize my importance. I am, after all, the person they rely on to give them good feedback, coach them at meets, design their programs, etc., but all of that can be completely destroyed by a tough chemistry exam. Weightlifting is about the work you are willing to put in. A coach is really only a catalyst to the process, not the reason for an athlete’s own success.
 
I enjoy coaching as much or more than being an athlete. I got into the profession because of my experiences as an athlete.
 
If I hadn’t had the impact of Frank, Paul, and Geoff on my life, there was little chance that I would have had the opportunities with which I ultimately was blessed. So to me, coaching is about opening doors for athletes. In weightlifting, I’ve had athletes that have washed out of other sports get on the medal stand at national meets, set athletic goals they have never even considered, and done cool stuff like getting on a plane for the first time in their life.
 
In both cases, as an athlete and a coach, my days are made or broken by snatches and clean and jerks.
 
Describe some of the obstacles you face, or maybe some things that frustrate you in your weightlifting life. What kinds of changes would you like to see, either personally or with the sport in general?
 
A general frustration with coaching and particularly weightlifting coaching is the speed at which someone can become an “expert” and similarly the speed at which athletes think they should get good.
 
The weightlifting I grew up with and like to practice is a “wait your turn” sport, to steal a line from Matt Foreman. I really have never heard a more true statement. It takes freaking time to get any good at this sport, in coaching and competing.
 
In coaching, Instagram and YouTube allows one to produce content at an amazing pace; videos, Facebook posts, blog posts, and clicks “turn you into a good coach.” Basically, marketing becomes the new coaching. I think the real weightlifters and coaches know who the real coaches are, but it can be a little frustrating.
 
Similarly, athletes EXPECT to be good right away. Sometimes that means that they come into the gym expecting me to make them PR on day 1, but more troubling they often expect that they should be incredible weightlifters right away and put that burden on themselves.
 
When I learned to lift, I didn’t go over 40kg in the snatch or 50kg in the clean and jerk for six weeks. My first meet, I did 65/85. A little over two years later, I did 122.5/150. 17 years later, I’m doing 135/165. Imagine if I took the belief that my progress over two years would be carried over for the next 17. I would have been frustrated.
 
Nothing happens immediately in this sport. When I first started coaching athletes in meets 5+ years ago, I sucked. I was having other people count attempts for me, I didn’t have a good eye for lifts (even though I was good at them myself). Now I think I’m getting better, but it takes time.
 
What are your plans and goals for your coaching career? How do you see your future in the sport?
 
I want to advance the coaching ladder, and ultimately produce enough athletes to be a Level 3 coach and higher. My only path to doing so is to continue to develop athletes locally that can achieve junior and university (and maybe one day senior) world teams. That in and of itself will be a reflection of my own advancement. Our prior and current success as a club will be the shoulders on which our future success can stand.
 
I really just want to introduce people to good weightlifting at any age, and show them the cool opportunities that competing against yourself and the weights on a daily basis can give you. I want to teach young athletes to lift, and help older athletes hit PRs they never thought possible.
 
I still compete here and there and just entered the master’s weightlifting age group. I’m excited to continue with that on a part time basis, and see if I can hit some PRs despite getting a little older.
 
Who are some of your major influences? Who are the people you want to thank for your success?
 
My whole weightlifting journey started with Frank Eksten, Paul Fleschler and Geoff Eliason. They were my coaches as a young athlete and people I still lean on today. Without them, I would not have gotten hooked on this awesome sport.
 
I would be silly to not thank the coaches that work with me at the gym: Matt, Branden, Derek, Vince, Shannon, Tessa, and Katie. I learn a TON from them in all areas of physical training outside of weightlifting.
 
My athletes for letting me coach them.
 
I want to thank my wife, Ashley, for letting me stay the gym late to coach my lifters and putting up with me still going to competitions as an athlete and a coach.
 
Keep making the Hoosier State stronger, Wil. We’re looking forward to the great things you’re going to do as both a coach and competitor. Best of luck to you and Force Weightlifting!