by Michelle Watson
Student athletes at Clear Lake High School are getting help with not only their athletic abilities, but are also learning life lessons that will navigate them through life. Makean Bang is leading a program called Lions Performance Training held at the Wellness Center.
“Our mission is to create a hard-working culture that transfers to the field of play and throughout everyday life with the goal of developing well-rounded, robust athletes,” said Bang. “We provide an intelligent and well executed training program that helps athletes succeed on the field/court of play, reduce injury potential and promotes lifelong training after athletics have ended.”
All high school student-athletes participate at least twice a week while their sport is in season. This fall there are about 160 high school students that participate in Lions Performance Training and around 40-50 middle school students. Bart Smith, high school PE teacher, assists and coordinates during the school year, as the school started offering PE credit for students that enroll in an LPT session for their PE class. Smith handles the attendance, grades, and assists Coach Bang with programming and coaching during the sessions.
Clear Lake schools and the Wellness Center have a unique working relationship that allows both groups to benefit. The school was in need of a head LPT coach to handle the main programming and be at each session, according to Clear Lake Activities Director Troy Tysdahl.
“Coach Bang was hired by the city as an Assistant Director at the Wellness Center and fit the needed position the school was looking for, so an agreement was reached where we share his hours and split the financial cost,” said Tysdahl. “I believe LPT is one of the most important things we do in our athletic department. The students who consistently show up and give good effort all year long are the ones who have, and will continue to see great improvements.”
The program provides training in strength, speed, power and movement proficiency.
“Besides the obvious physical improvements, I have seen a huge boost in confidence with many of our kids, not only within the weight room, but on the field,” said Bang. “Our kids are buying into the program and seeing what the weight room can do for them, not only physically, but mentally as well. There is something about setting your alarm, getting up early ready to work, and building the discipline to do that week after week, that is transforming our kids and bleeding into other aspects of their lives.”
This is Bang’s second year at the helm of Lions Performance Training, which began in 2013. Bang, who graduated from CLHS in 2015, earned his Bachelors in Kinesiology and Health at Iowa State University. While attending ISU, he interned with the football strength and conditioning program during their off season. Following Iowa State, he went to the University of Southern Illinois Carbondale where he earned his Masters in Exercise Physiology. At SIU he was also a strength and conditional graduate assistant and was the head strength coach for men’s and women’s golf and track. He also assisted with football and other sports while he was there.
“I believe lifting and training are lifelong commitments and at the end of the day, if I can get our kids to understand and cement those habits, I’ll be happy,” said Bang.
