PORT TOWNSEND — The accomplishments of a committed crop of Port Townsend youth athletes were recently celebrated at an awards ceremony recognizing a summer’s worth of weight training and conditioning sessions.

Under the tutelage of volunteer Brooks Kubik, nearly two dozen Blue Heron Middle School and Port Townsend High School students met five days a week for workouts at the high school weight room.

Kubik, age 63, is a five-time bench press world champion and wrote the best-selling weight training book Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and Development in 1996.

His workouts consisted of numerous exercises to develop young athletes, including grip strength exercises such as holding your bodyweight with suspended ropes, Olympic-style cleans, and grueling partner exercises which involved tossing medicine balls between the athletes.

The intent of this summer program was to try and develop a life-long hunger for physical fitness in any area youth that wanted to give it a try.

“We had over 45 athletes attend workouts through the summer, which was great,” Kubik said.

Towards the end of the summer Kubik added in a few weeks of beach training for the high school athletes. This involved having the athletes to make the best workout use of area beaches.

Kubik’s methods involved challenging these boys and girls to lift logs and carry them for X number of paces in a variety of holds, engage in rope pulls, improve coordination by engaging their legs with kicking yoga balls between them while running in the sand barefoot and perhaps the most enjoyable of all — group tug-of-war contests.

“I like the beach workouts, Brooks is showing us what wonderful resources we have in PT,” Simon Klontz said.

During an overhead static press lift and walk of a log in the water off Pope Marine Park, Manaseh Lanphear Ramirez and Grady White both opted to challenge themselves above their knees, while Klontz submerged himself beyond his armpits.

Four athletes were selected as Summer Weight Training Group Leaders for their attendance, work ethic and ability to bring more athletes into the program: Grace Ayer, Manaseh Lanphear Ramirez, Rylen Kruse and Grady White.

Three adult volunteers supported Kubik this summer: Ryan White, Virginia Grace and Odette Jennings taking over for Port Townsend PE teacher Logan Stegner, who had volunteered to run the program for the last three summers.

“Most high school sports had athletes attending, it looks like soccer and wrestling had the greatest participation rates,” Ryan White said.

Nearly two dozen Port Townsend High School and Blue Heron Middle School students wrapped a summer of five-times-a-week weight training and beach conditioning sessions with five-time national bench press champion Brooks Kubik. From left, Kaleb Kruse, Asher Little, Silas Morford, Luke O’hara, Layton Lopeman, Django Lynge, Bryce Harbin, Grady White, Rylen Kruse, Levi Donahue, Manaseh Lanphear Ramirez. Front row from left to right: Victor Paz, Carlos Diaz, Grace Ayer, Maddie Vanags, Mi Amada Lanphear Ramirez, Ursula Schmidt, Zinnia Blatchley, Natalie Hollow-Bist, Finn Evans and Robin Evans. Not pictured: Simon Klontz and Jonah Temple.

During an overhead static press lift and walk of a log, Port Townsend High School athletes Manaseh Lanphear Ramirez and Grady White both opted to challenge themselves above their knees, while Silas Klontz submerged himself beyond his armpits.

Port Townsend Summer Weight Training Group Leaders from left, Grace Ayer, Manaseh Lanphear Ramirez, Rylen Kruse and Grady White were selected for their attendance, work ethic and ability to bring more athletes into the program.

Nearly two dozen Port Townsend High School and Blue Heron Middle School students wrapped a summer of five-times-a-week weight training and beach conditioning sessions with five-time national bench press champion Brooks Kubik. From left, Kaleb Kruse, Asher Little, Silas Morford, Luke O’hara, Layton Lopeman, Django Lynge, Bryce Harbin, Grady White, Rylen Kruse, Levi Donahue, Manaseh Lanphear Ramirez. Front row from left to right: Victor Paz, Carlos Diaz, Grace Ayer, Maddie Vanags, Mi Amada Lanphear Ramirez, Ursula Schmidt, Zinnia Blatchley, Natalie Hollow-Bist, Finn Evans and Robin Evans. Not pictured: Simon Klontz and Jonah Temple.