COACH ROZY PERFORMANCE HELPS WORK WITH YANKTON SPECIAL OLYMPIC POWERLIFTING TEAM
ARTCLE TAKEN FROM IYANKTON P&D:
If true strength comes from perseverance, Yankton Special Olympics athletes are building their bodies and their willpower as they prepare to compete for the first time in powerlifting at this year’s Summer Games.
Powerlifting is not new to Special Olympics but the lack of a coach and a facility in which to practice has kept Yankton from fielding a team, Sheri Duke, head of the Yankton Special Olympics Delegation, told the Press & Dakotan.
The delegation was poised to offer powerlifting in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to indoor Special Olympics for a while, although organizers had their eye on bringing it back when the time was right, she said.
“This year, I was able to connect with Mark Roozen (Coach Rozy) to assist us in making this happen,” Duke said, adding that though this year’s games aren’t over, the athletes are already talking about powerlifting next year. “We are very thankful for Coach Rozy and his staff and the Mount Marty University (MMU) facility.”
This spring, Roozen and his assistants have been working with a group of Special Olympics athletes twice a week, to prepare them for the state meet in Spearfish this weekend.
“(Special Olympics) reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, we have some kids that have been interested in doing powerlifting for Special Olympics,’” said Roozen, who organized Yankton’s first powerlifting meet at the MMU fieldhouse in February. “So, myself and my assistant, Miles Rademaker, started teaching them the basics of squat, deadlift, bench, and set them up on a little bit of a workout.”
He said that the small group of 4-5 athletes has diverse abilities, so they will be competing at different levels.
Because this is Roozen’s first time coaching a Special Olympics powerlifting event, he is learning, too, he said.
