Midview invests in Strength and Conditioning

It has been said that a winning athletic culture begins in the weight room.  

There is archaeological evidence of Midview's weight room being in the Kubuski storage room and Adelsberg Stadium barn before moving to its present location inside the southeast corner of the high school. One of the unique aspects of Midview's weight room is that it also houses the district's Athletic Training Office.

When Midview needed a new certified Athletic Trainer for the 2013-14 school year, Cleveland Clinic Sports Health Program Coordinator Jim O'Leary, who is also the Head Athletic Trainer at Avon High School, knew the perfect fit.

Cody Florian had recently joined the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health staff following a short stint as the Athletic Trainer at Chardon High School. In addition to his strengths in the medical field, he also displayed a passion for strength and conditioning. O'Leary was confident that his skill set would be just what the Middies needed.

One of their first projects newly hired Athletics Director Dan May and Florian undertook together was an evaluation of how the athletic department utilized the weight room. They quickly learned that outside of  football, only a few sports regularly used the space. In addition, the space was not conducive to team-style lifting. At that time the weight room featured a hodgepodge of equipment either donated from the local prison or  left over from a "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" campaign football  joined years earlier. 

The facility underwent a $40,000 overhaul during the summer of 2014 to streamline activity within the roughly 3,000-square-foot space. The main upgrade—seven double half racks from Stray Dog—provided more stations per square foot, allowing  more student-athletes to complete a workout in a shorter period. 

"We received generous contributions from the Midview Athletic Boosters, Midview Touchdown Club and Midview Youth Football as well as the booster accounts from individual athletic programs to offset a large portion of this initial project," May said. "The new setup made it more user-friendly for our teams, which helped us increase their comfort in using the facility."

A second component of the 2014 project was to secure annual donations from the individual sports programs so that Midview could continue to update accessories and build upon the initial investment. In the years to follow the department was able to cycle out many of the old plates while also adding hex bars, an ergometer, a treadmill, a stationary bike, medicine balls, sleds, dumbbell sets and storage racks.

When Florian was not servicing Middie student-athletes as their athletic trainer, he was coordinating lifting programs for coaches to oversee or running his own evening and summer sessions for off-season student-athletes wanting to take advantage of his expertise.

With positive momentum now inside the facility, Florian and May set their sights on what they knew was the next step  in securing the district's long-term ability to compete in the rugged Southwestern Conference. 

"As the smallest school in the SWC we rely on multiple-sport athletes to compete," May said. "Those athletes struggle to strength train year-round. We had to develop a program where our kids all trained under a similar format, ideally during the school day."

With that goal in mind, Florian went to work. He researched how area schools were able to implement their programs. Using that knowledge and data he developed a curriculum that would fit the Midview system, which was adopted for the 2020-21 school year. 

Florian, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Sports Medicine with a concentration in Athletic Training from Mercyhurst University and a Master of Science in Wellness and Human Performance from the University of Pittsburgh, initially proposed that the class be taught by a member of the Health and Physical Education Department. The Midview administration, however, had a different plan in mind. They all agreed that the best person to lead Midview into this new era was Florian himself.

After some careful thought and discussion with his family, the father of three young kids decided to change careers. He resigned as a Cleveland Clinic Athletic Trainer to officially join the Midview staff as a teacher.

"I have been given the opportunity to help Midview establish a culture of hard work and dedication that begins in the weight room; what an awesome opportunity that is!" Florian said. "As I enter my third year, we have made great strides in creating that culture. Our students have really taken to this program, and it shows in their confidence, morale and the way that they carry themselves."

Students can now enroll in a Strength & Wellness for Athletes class within the Health and Physical Education department. In year one, 116 athletes took advantage of the opportunity which  was offered in four of the eight periods during the day. Due to its popularity, the course expanded to five periods in 2022-23 and grew to 150 athletes. Today, 168 students attend the class which is now offered six periods each day of the first semester.

This full-credit course is designed for any student-athlete interested in improving his/her success through advanced and rigorous training methods. Athletes in all levels of competition use training and conditioning techniques to improve their performance and decrease their chance of injury. The course includes training methods to improve strength, quickness, speed development and flexibility. In addition to weight training, this course focuses on other areas of wellness such as nutrition, sleeping habits, stress management, recovery methods and time management skills.

In November of 2021, a weight room supplemental was also approved. Two 90-minute sessions after school provide students not able to fit the class into their schedule a chance to still get the structured training. These slots are mainly used for off-season training and often include middle school members of those specific programs.

In 2022-23, an additional $60,000 was invested via a private donation to add seven more racks, additional dumbbells and rubber plates, which further optimize the space for the increased class sizes. In addition, two-timing systems were purchased to aid in speed training and the mirrors were also replaced to bring the aesthetics more up-to-date. A small class fee has also enabled Florian to make further updates throughout the last 12 months and begin to build a fund for equipment repairs and improvements in the future.

"Now that we have established our expectations at the high school, we are centering our efforts towards our middle school athletes," Florian said. "Last year we made a concerted effort to include our junior high kids with their associated varsity lifting programs. That worked well, but this year's efforts will be more inclusive and provide more opportunities for our younger athletes."