WACO, Texas — China Spring's boys and girls weightlifting team is getting ready for their final regular season meet and if you look at the past five years, this team has seen tremendous growth.
"We had maybe one girl come out and it's kind of increased each year and we had two, then we had eight and then we had a full team. Now, we have about 35-40 girls competing and probably going to have about 12 to 13 make the regional meet, which is gonna be awesome," Cougar weightlifting head coach Cody Harvey said.
"My freshman year, I didn't see a lot of girls come in. And so I had recently made state my freshman year and then I think after that, I kind of encourage a lot of other girls that I saw a lot of potential in. And kind of just said, hey, try a sport that nobody really ever talks about," junior Mia Gonzales said.
Seeing the girls team go from no one to nearly 50 members is incredible and there are multiple reasons for this turnaround.
"I think the big thing is confidence," Harvey said. "I think it's cool to see girls do something that they've never done. They hit Personal Record and the excitement that they get and the camaraderie they get from their teammates. I think that's awesome. Confidence is something that they can carry with the rest with them the rest of their lives."
"I think also coach Harvey," Gonzales said. "He's encouraged a lot of us. He sees a lot of potential in us. He pushes us a lot more and I think a lot of girls underestimate their strength. So I think if they really try it out, then it's just a lot easier for them."
Growth is also important to the team as it is a way for the program to get more eyes.
"It kind of helps us build as a program. Become more noticed and actually be up there in the leader boards at meets," junior Garrett Maddox said.
"This team is like my family, I love like the community and like I have met so many people going to meets and stuff like that," Gonzales said.
China Spring gets ready for their meet at West, where they will face off against other Central Texas teams before they begin regional meets.