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Indianas Lake County Newest CODP Location
// usolympicteam.com // August 4, 2004
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. (August 3, 2004) -- The United States Olympic Committee today announced its second Community Olympic Development Program (CODP) designation of 2004, bringing to eight the number of CODPs in the United States. Located in Lake County, Indiana, and hosted by the Midwest Weightlifting Club, the newest CODP will offer youth in the region an opportunity to pursue the Olympic sport of weightlifting with some of USA Weightlifting’s top coaches. In addition to currently providing conditioning programs for local athletes in many sports, Midwest Weightlifting has plans to formally add one or two additional sports to the CODP within the next two years.
Head coach and CODP manager Frank Eksten is excited about bringing the CODP to his community. "It’s an honor for us to be designated as a Community Olympic Development Program. Our community has been enthusiastic and very supportive. Midwest Weightlifting owes a debt of gratitude to Omni 41, St. Margaret Mercy and St. Anthony’s for providing us excellent training facilities and being supportive of our events and programs." Eksten is a USA Weightlifting international coach and a level-5 manager with 16 years of coaching experience, including serving as head strength coach for the famed Indiana University basketball teams and 16 other varsity sports.
The main training facility for the CODP will be at Omni 41 Athletic Development, part of St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Center, with other facilities at St. Anthony’s Healthcare in Crown Point and at Indiana University in Bloomington.
Midwest Weightlifting has a history of success in helping athletes achieve in sport, including a Junior World Team member, international team lifters, and school age/junior medalists and record holders. In addition to its ongoing programs, Midwest Weightlifting recently hosted the 2004 USA National Weightlifting Championships and will host national events in 2005 and 2006.
"The United States Olympic Committee appreciates the commitment of Lake County and Midwest Weightlifting to training future Olympians," said USOC Managing Director of Sport Performance Steve Roush. "As the 2004 Olympic Games approaches, we are well aware that it takes years of dedicated effort from athletes and ongoing sports programs to train medal contenders. We hope to see future medalists from Lake County and other CODPs in Beijing and beyond. With the relationship between USA Weightlifting, the USOC and the Lake County community, the sky is the limit."
The CODP’s mission is to partner with the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and community sports groups to enhance high quality intermediate sports programs for talented youth to maximize their potential in Olympic sports.
For more information, please contact Tammie Forster at 719-866-4838 or Tammie.Forster@usoc.org.
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