A few weekends ago, my wife and I took a trip to Chicago. We left my older son with my mom and headed south from our hotel to go watch a couple of the Saturday afternoon/evening sessions at USAW Nationals. It was the first time I have attended Nationals since I became a part of the weightlifting community back in 2012. A fellow lifter also pointed out that it was my youngest son’s first ever weightlifting meet. That made me a very proud dad.
 
I am, by nature, an observant person, so I was paying attention to a lot of things going on. I noticed that almost every two white light lift that went to the jury was overturned. I was witness to how many logistical efforts are being made even in the middle of the sessions. For example, chairs were added to the wings of the venue because so many people were standing or sitting on the floor just to see one particular platform. But most of all, I noticed the amount of coaches that were pulling double duty, coaching lifters on different platforms in the same session.
 
As I watched, it dawned on me that I had a unique perspective on what was going on. I have had the privilege of being in a busy back room during sessions where two platforms were being used, as well as sessions with more than a few elite lifters lifting simultaneously and being coached by the same person. But here I was, sitting out in this huge room, watching these coaches orchestrate some pretty awesome performances on both platforms.  I realized that if someone had never been back behind the curtain, he or she may not fully appreciate what all was going on.
 
From where I sat, I could see most of the judges for each platform, an announcers table, some of the jury, and probably four or five other people whose roles were unknown to me in front or beside each platform. The front area of a weightlifting meet is like a well-oiled machine being run right in front of your eyes. There is so much going on, and unless they’ve been to some larger meets or have been following the sport for a while, one could easily find themselves wondering what all those people were doing. Even I was surprised by how many people were announced before the sessions.
 
But there were the coaches. They came out for each attempt, encouraging each of their lifters in some unique way. Some coaches anxiously watched while others had their phones out trying to catch the next big Instagram lift. Some were loud while others just silently nodded or clapped. These coaches watched big makes and big misses. Often, they would usher their lifter off the platform only to run around the divider to cheer on their athlete on the other platform. Some coaches seemed nonchalant about going back and forth, while others maintained high energy, whether they were filled with anxiety or eager excitement.
 
I can only imagine what it must be like to watch multiple athletes at various places in their lifting journeys perform in the same session at such a high-level meet. So I have a few assumptions to share on what must be going on in the back room to make all of this possible.
 

1. There is no “I” in team, but there are quite a few eyes.
   Each team usually has multiple coaches in the backroom during these meets. I was able to see some of the passes that were required for people to enter the backroom. I think each lifter could have up to three people with them in the back. This probably helped those with more than one lifter in the session because more people could be in the back helping with loading the bar, counting warm up attempts, counting cards, and prepping the lifter for each of the three attempts.
2. There is no crying in baseball, but there are tears in weightlifting.
   Each coach responds differently to both the successes and perceived failures of their lifters. Some lifters bombed out, while others went 6/6 and hit new PRs in both lifts. Tears of sadness and joy were shed that evening, and sometimes the emotional attachment a coach has to their lifter shines in either circumstance.
3. There’s a chess match going on, but some coaches are playing checkers.
   During the A sessions of these meets, a number of things can be going on at the same time. Some lifters are there to qualify for international teams, while others are only there to continue gaining experience on the national stage. Some need PR attempts to be put on the bar, while others could power snatch or clean and jerk their way to victory and move on to the next meet. Sometimes it depends on which big meet it is and who is competing. Regardless of the circumstances, each coach comes in with a game plan and a backup plan to the backup plan in case things do not go well or get really interesting really quickly.

 
While it is exciting to me to watch both the athletes performing their skill at such a high level with big stakes on the line, it is equally exciting to see the coaches using their skills to orchestrate and bring the opportunity to its fullest realization. Split second decisions and precision timing are needed to afford a lifter the right amount of rest and mental preparation for the next attempt. If a coach is not paying extremely detailed attention, any number of things can go wrong and impact the athletes’ ability to realize their full potential for that meet. Of course, once that athlete walks up those steps to the platform, it is their time to shine in the moment. I see so many coaches with their hands on their knees or leaned back with their arms crossed just waiting to see what happens. There is so much pressure, and yet all the pressure is off.
 
I won’t forget my short, yet fulfilling experience at this year’s Nationals. I am eager to get to more big meets in the future, where I hope to see more amazing performances from both athletes and coaches. Until then, I’ll keep live streaming meets and scrolling my way through all the Instagram lifts these lifters and coaches are producing on a daily basis.