This weekend our team competed at the Relentless Open in Meadville, Pennsylvania . This was a pretty cool weekend as it was hosted by one of our remote athlete's Fernando Hernandez. This also was our largest turnout as a team for any meet as 11 of our athletes competed and we coached a total of 13 athletes over 4 sessions . We had two athletes trying to qualify for the AO Final, one competing in their first meet , and the rest chasing PR's and working to improve their performances on the platform. The meet ran smoothly and the venue was awesome (www.crossfitxba.com/relentless-barbell-club.html) . I can't wait to go back . 

​Session 1 
We had 2 PFP Barbell  athletes competing during this session and coached  2 other athletes as well. Tracy Weaver and Brandi Darby would set the tone for our day during this session . They went 11 for 12 and combined for a meet PR total of 16 kg !  Brandi matured a lot this meet and lifted really well she was extremely close to a 6 for 6 day with and even more impressive 14 kg total PR by herself. Tracy Weaver was the surprise of the session however , she had one of the best meets of any athlete I have coached. We really challenged her this meet to attempt weights she was uncomfortable with and she answered big time with a 6 for 6 performance with PR's Across the board. We also had Meaghan and Mary working with our coaches and they had very good sessions as well. 

Session 2 
This sessions we had 4 PFP Barbell Athletes compete along with an athlete from Shadyside Barbell working with our team for session.  This session was the one I was most nervous about . 5 athletes is a lot and I wasn't sure how we would manage. Our coaching staff came up big this session putting all of our lifters in position to perform at their best . Maggie Duer , Dom Gomez, and Marisa Galli kicked butt in the back  . Maggie and Dom are both our rocks in the back and make sure every session their involved with runs smoothly and on time . This was Marisa's first time counting by herself in the back and she managed two athletes . I am so grateful for our team and how they continue to learn and develop . 

Now for the athletes. Jack Weaver our youth lifter answered his mom's amazing performance with a 6 for 6 day of his own. He and Maggie were such a good team and I am excited to see how they work together in the future in bigger meets in the future . To my knowledge this is the first time we have had two athletes go 6 for 6 in the same day.  Luke Darby was next! This was Luke's first meet and Coach Dom was there to make sure he was in position to crush it. Luke ended up going 4 for 6 hitting a couple PR's and winning his weight class in his very first meet! Andre and Andrew were both opening at similar weights and warmed up together all the way out to the platform. Andre won the award for best singlet ever as he was dressed as Pee Wee Herman and has his best meet to date. Andre is generally a quieter low profile athlete for us so it was great to see him get out of his comfort zone and have a really good meet. Adam Closed out the meet for us and was our first lifter working towards the AO Final . He had the ability to hit the numbers he needed but would have to have a good snatch session . He had a pretty good training cycle leading up to the meet but it was his first time competing in about a year so I wasn't sure how he would do . Unfortunately we didn't make any snatches and his chanced were over before he took his first clean and jerk . I am really proud of him as he came back and made all of his clean and jerks after a disappointing snatch portion of his meet.  

Session 3
This was a fun session for our team. The rest of the meet we only had 2 athletes per session so we got a little break from the madness of the first half of the day . Marisa and Bre were up in the last women's session. They are two of our more experienced lifters so I was excited to see how they would do . Bre was working towards an AO final qualification and Marisa to qualify for Under 25 Nationals. While both ultimately came up a little short they both enjoyed good meets and had some major breakthroughs. Bre is always extremely constant and totaled and impressive 168kg . We have some adjustments to make but I wouldn't be surprised if she qualifies for her first national championship this spring. Marisa had the more stressful meet of the two . After a great warm up session she ended up missing her opening snatch , making the second and missing the third. It was the same story on her Clean and Jerks, however with a twist. Marisa is a much better athlete and weightlifter than she thinks. After her snatch session we wanted to light a fire under her ass and told her she would be opening with a 1 kg PR on her clean and jerk . She zoned in and answered the bell. She finished 2 for 6 with a PR Clean and Jerk and Total and left a ton on the platform . I believe this was a more important meet than she realized and this is give her confidence in the future and raise her expectations for herself. 

Session 4 
Coach Dom and Mike Phillips closed us out for the day. Both had really good meets. Dom has been on a tough busy rotation and has not been able to get into the gym on a regular basis. He came out and lifted great working up to about 90% of his best total . Dom leads from the front and his meet performance on Saturday was just another example of that. Mike had a fun session going 5 for 6 and with Competition PRs across the board. He came out and surprised everyone after a very rough warm up in the snatches. He was not close to his opener in the back at all and we had to drop him down considerably . However he regrouped lifted well enough to come close to his best after some great lifts on the platform. He also crushed his clean and jerks almost making a 100kg attempt  with a great clean and a close miss on the jerk. Rumor on the street is that his coaches made the jump by accident and he still had an great attempt and was excited to attach this big lift. 

Overall 
We ended up with 8 of our 11 athletes medaling in their weight class. From the top down I thought our team had one of their best meets to date. Every single athlete and coach stood out in their own way. The culture and support that PFP Barbell has never ceases to impress me . I am blessed to be able to lead such a wonderful group of athletes and am excited to watch and help these athletes grow and progress in the future!

To join the team email : [email protected]

As a satellite of East Coast Gold Weightlifting we have access to some of the best coaches in the country . This is an blurb written by Brendan Mcdaniel from HQ it was originally posted here : 
eastcoastgold.org/2018/10/18/mcdanecdote-monday-the-light-weights-arent-there-to-inconvenience-you/

This one is personal to me. I try to explain to all of my lifters that the the warm-ups, or light weights in training are programmed to make you a better weightlifter not just to get you loose for the working sets. The light ones are designed to dial in those positions, focus on the movement patterns that help you avoid your common faults, and build confidence for the heavy weights. they are also a great way to determine how you are recovering from previous training. don’t take them for granted.

To join the winningest team in America , Email : [email protected]
to get started! 

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Recently Brandi was featured on the website The Shadow League : 
theshadowleague.com/story/black-girl-strength-brandi-darby-the-complexity-of-albino-excellence?fbclid=IwAR2aQ7cTZbXfA3BYr7uYZNHMzNZVNERkHVcOWKG-4Pd5MssLS3ItNCJlyrY

​This is a story about tears and the many emotions contained within them.
It’s a tale about emotions, the memories coloring them and the sometimes daunting change of identity that comes with accomplishment.
Our heroine? An albino woman named Brandi Darby who became the first legally blind woman to medal at a USA Weightlifting event last July. And if she’s being honest with you, she’ll say it was an honor she wasn’t sure she was ready to accept.
In fact, the day she walked into the American Open Series 2 in Valley Forge, Pa., Brandi didn’t even think that making history was a possibility.
She was too busy taking in her surroundings.

Because of her albinism, Brandi has trouble deciphering objects beyond 20 feet in front of her — and everything in between is hazy at that. Still, backstage at the Valley Forge Casino Resort, she could see each athlete in all their brawn and vigor warming up their lifts backstage. She even made out the silhouettes of some of her favorite athletes from Instagram. Like Cara Heads Slaughter, an American Olympian. The sight of her made Brandi’s stomach flutter.

"The pomp and circumstance of it all is what was getting me,” Brandi told the Shadow League.
As excited as Brandi was to be in that convention hall, a part of her was still trying to find her place. The 36-year-old from Pittsburgh had only started competing in Olympic weightlifting in February. This was the biggest event she had ever been a part of. She was slated to compete in the 90-kilogram masters weight class against six other women.
Thankfully, she knew that the organizers of the event were ready to accommodate her impaired vision. They let her coach, Tom Duer to walk her up and down the steps so she wouldn’t trip over any of the cables. The judges also said they would give her audible cues instead of visual ones. That way she’d know when she had completed her attempt or cleared a weight.

With all that in mind, Brandi knew she could relax a bit and just focus on what she set out to do:
Go six for six on her lifts.
She thought that was enough to make her coach proud. But even more so, Brandi wanted to honor her father who passed away two and a half years ago. The late Charles “Chuckie” Young had albinism, too, and overcame his disability to become a competitive powerlifter.

He was her greatest inspiration.
“I only do this because he used to punish me with it when I was a kid,” Brandi laughed. “I had to do air squats and deadlifts with a broomstick when I was being mouthy.”
Unfortunately, Brandi didn’t quite make her goal. She hit four out of six for a total of 135-kilograms between the snatch and the clean and jerk categories.

She went backstage and packed her bag while the other girls made their lifts. As each of her competitors walked by, she congratulated them with a smile and a tinge of disappointment. The competitor in her was focused on failure in that moment.
But when Brandi heard that she had placed third at her first-ever national meet, all she could do was cry. She started thinking about her father and how he would have loved to see her on that podium.

Daddy’s Little Leo
Brandi often credits her dad for teaching her how to move through a blurry world. Growing up in the projects of Pittsburgh with two working parents, she was far from a sheltered child.

“We had too much going on for my disabilities to rule the conversation at the dinner table, you know what I mean?” she said.
What she means is that she and her sister split the chores equally. Her sister mopped and vacuum the floors because she could see all of the crumbs and dust on the floor. Brandi did the dishes and made the beds because she could feel the grime on the silverware and the wrinkles in the sheets.

Beyond that, Chuckie made sure that his daughter Brandi learned everything that her sister and cousins did. She learned to take the bus on her own just like everyone else. She jumped into all sorts of sports like basketball, dodgeball, softball — a lot of sports many would assume a blind person would have trouble participating in.


But Brandi was the type of kid that if you told her she couldn’t do something, she’d do it anyway just to stick it in your face. She’ll attest she’s a fiery Leo.
When 10-year-old Brandi told her mother that she was going to try out for the softball team, her mom said she was better off playing something else. Chuckie jumped to Brandi’s defense.

“Let her,” he said then looked at his daughter.
“He told me I have to set my own boundaries in order to know which boundaries are mine or which boundaries were given to me,’’ added Brandi.
Even though she didn’t end up playing softball, she remembers the sheer glee of just being able to participate with other kids in activities she enjoyed — like cheerleading. Above all, she’ll never forget the day her father taught her and her cousins how to ride a bike.

“I remember having to practice riding the bike longer than everyone else because I couldn't see,” she said. “I was so distracted by everything that was going on around me that I was afraid of running into the chain link fences beside me. I wanted to quit. But my dad would just run right in front of me and say, ‘Just chase me. Just come and get me.’ Suddenly, I wasn’t as scared anymore.”

Then one day she asked her dad to take her to the gym with him, and her love for powerlifting began. Later in her 30s, she’d find CrossFit and find her passion for Olympic lifting.

Which brings us back to those tears streaming down her face at the American Open Series.

Those tears weren’t just streams of joy. They traced back to a deep-seeded fear that she couldn’t quite shake.

She was afraid of being different.

The Layers of Black Albinism
As daring as Brandi has been most of her life, she has never intentionally set out to be the first blind woman to do anything.

Because that would make her a somebody.

And being a somebody meant like she couldn’t just be like everyone else.

"I don't want to be any more different than I already am,” said Brandi. “I'm already albino. I just don’t like newly added layers of being different because it’s never easy being the odd one out.”

The idea of being “the odd one out” brings up painful memories of being left out of games of hide-and-seek with her cousins. It reminded her of the moments she thought her fair skin alienated her from her family.

“Growing up there was always this dichotomous thing where I wasn't black enough for a lot of people because I had what they perceived as white privilege,” said Brandi. “And then some white people didn't even know I was black or enjoyed the fact that I looked like them. So they would give me things like scholarships and stuff to feel good about helping out a girl from the projects. It took me a while to find myself in that balance.”

Layered on top of that is the complex guilt that sometimes accompanies black youth who achieve “success” defined by a white-dominated society. Brandi felt that her scholastic achievements strained her friendship with her cousins.

“In fifth grade, I went to private school while my cousins went to public school,” she said. “When they caught on that I was probably going to do well academically, they started accusing me of trying to ‘pass’. They used to say I thought I was better than them because I knew all of these SAT words. I'm like, ‘Y'all, when I see you, I see me. But when you see me, you see them.’ It wasn't fair.”

Brandi admits, that sometimes she felt the need to make herself small to stay close to the family she loved so dearly.
This is why standing tall on that American Open podium with that bronze medal around her neck brought a smile to her face and dropped pit in her stomach. She knew her whole family was watching her on the livestream.

“I honestly thought that they were going to think I was better than them and that somehow I’d have to prove that I'm not,” said Brandi. “I had this temptation to shrink so that I’d stay common.

I want people to know normal.”

Finding the Courage to be “The First”
When Brandi returned to the hotel from the medal ceremony, USA Weightlifting asked her coach if she was willing to do an interview. Word had got around that she had broken a barrier for blind women everywhere and USAW wanted to feature her on their website. Her Coach Tom urged her to go and Brandi once again started to cry.

“I felt insane because of all of these highs and lows,” she said. “In a way, it was so humbling to be asked for an interview because I felt like one of the gang. I already love the Oly community and I’m so happy I found a coach that lets me be independent. But at the same time, I didn’t want to do it because I didn't want to have a whole new group of people to shrink for.”

In the end, Brandi mustered up the confidence to speak to the reporter and she did so without flinching. If you ask her where the sudden courage came from, she’ll tell you it was because she was thinking of the new friends she  at a conference a few years ago.

In 2014, Brandi attended an event held by the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) in San Diego, and it was there for the first time in her life that she made friends that looked like her.

“It was amazing,” she said. “But I was also surprised by the questions people were asking me. They were like, ‘Wait you can legally drive during the day? You travel internationally? How do you work out? Aren’t you afraid that you are going to walk into something at the gym?’”

I didn't know that I was doing things that we didn't do. I went to that conference thinking that I would find other people who had have a certain joie de vie. But I didn't find a lot of that. I found fear and doubt.”

Brandi understands that fear and doubt, especially when you don’t have a community supporting you. For her, starting CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting was scary and a bit intimidating at times. At the first gym she signed up for, she said that the coaches were a overly cautious around her and didn’t seem like the friendliest people. But it wasn’t long before she found a home.

That home is called the PFP Barbell Club, where Tom is the head coach. He said that when he first saw Brandi, all he saw was a powerful athlete with immense potential. He didn’t even know she was blind.

“Yeah, I figured it out after a few days when she spilled her coffee four or five times on the floor,” he laughed.

Still, Tom had no doubt that she could succeed in the sport.
“I didn't think [her vision] was going to affect the way that she would perform at all,” said Tom. “It wasn't hard to work with someone who has a visual disability because that's how we all have to learn the sport anyways. The thing about weightlifting is that you don't see yourself lift. If you put a mirror in front of a weightlifter it would actually make things worse. So in some regards, Brandi has an advantage.”

This means that Brandi and her new bronze medal are showing other people with visual impairments that they, too, can be extremely competitive in weightlifting. And because of that Brandi is beginning to step into her new brand of “Somebody” — even if it scares the crap out of her.

“At the end of the day, I want people to know that as terrifying as this is to me, it's more important that people can see that you can do this,” said Brandi. “I want to go as far as I can in Oly so I can help shine a light on the possibilities because this is not just albinism. It's about changing how we view disabilities, period.”

Now Brandi hopes to compete in the Paralympics one day and represent blind athletes on the grand stage.
​
All to change the way we see.

Come join Brandi and the rest of the PFP Barbell Team: 
Email: [email protected]
​

Originally Posted 10/4/18 
eastcoastgold.org/2018/10/04/philosophy-make-the-a-session/

Friday Phil-Osophy is a post from Facebook from Dan Bell of Rubber City Weightlifting.
The following is meant for lifters who express the desire to be among the best in the country at the sport of weightlifting. It is perfectly okay to NOT aspire to that, but if you do and want to make your actions fit your words, the following list may be of some help.

A basic list of what it takes to make the A Session at USAW Nationals:

1. Have talent. This may not show until you’ve been training for a while. Some people show their potential right away; some have to work at the sport a lot before it really shows.  
2. Never miss scheduled training unless you are in the emergency room or you are truly sick. Never. That means not drinking at your best friend’s reception because you have a heavy day the next day. It means your vacations will consist of trips to exotic national-meet locales like Detroit and San Antonio. It means making school and work and your social life fit your training, not the other way around. It means putting a lot of things off or skipping them altogether because they interfere with your goal.
3. Perfect the basics of recovery, that is SLEEPING and EATING. Get that right and all the other “recovery modalities” will be necessary far less often, if at all.
4. Work the plan your coach gave you. Your belief in the plan matters more than the plan itself. That belief in your coach and the process functions much like belief in yourself.  
5. Always always always put process before product. What you do every day will be what gives you a chance to be great. A chance. No outcome is guaranteed. Love the work and let results follow from that.

Spot on insight from the guys over at Rubber City Weightlifting! Thanks for finding and sharing  Coach Phil!