Chances are, if you aren’t in a weights class and are a student athlete, you are spending some of your free time in the weight room during your sports season. With an already busy schedule as a full time student, this can be stressful. Sophomore Graesyn Buttler starts every Thursday by waking up at 6:20 in the morning, grabbing clothes, packing her lunch, then to the North Platte High School weight room.

“The ultimate goal was continuing what athletes gained over the summer,” activities director Jordan Cudney said.

 The coaches this year hope to accomplish goals with their athletes by requiring them to go to the weight room a minimum of two times a week.  However, this is not a new idea. “It was built off of what coaches came up with in previous years,” Cudney said.

This policy was not solely put in place for athletes to build some “gains”; it is also put in place to reduce injuries. “Studies have shown there is a less likely chance of soft tissue injuries and minor injuries with this,” Cudney said.

Many students are concerned that the new rule is putting too much pressure on students. “I think it is a good thing because it is making people put in work… but I also feel like we shouldn’t be forced to [lift],” junior Peyton Neff said. “It is like when my mom tells me to clean my room when I was already going to do it, it just makes me want to do it less,” junior Gracie Cauffman said. 

However, some athletes believe required lifting is not a bad idea.. “If you aren’t going to the weight room at least two times a week, then what is the point of going out for a sport?” senior Gus Kreber said, “you won’t get any better.” 

“It is necessary if we are going to continue to compete. When I was in high school, it was not really a rule it was just understood,” softball coach Jeff Barner said.