On March 18, 2021, the Putnam County Football Team held a Lift-A-Thon in the high school gym. This event was open to the public as well. In attendance were 40 football players, the football coaching staff, several program supporters who helped out, and approximately 75 parents and fans. The players competed in 3 core lifts, squat, bench press, and power clean. 
    “It was awesome to see so many people come out and support the hard work these boys put in during the off-season,” said head coach Clyde Bondy. This event is a way to show the public what goes on behind the scenes the rest of the year when games and practices are not happening. This program is a year-round program with many developmental aspects to it. The Lift-A-Thon highlights the physical and some of the mental parts of the development program. 
These boys show up to school at 6:45 am or stay after school until 4:30 pm building on their off-season workouts starting 2 weeks after the season is over and continue this routine until school gets out for the summer. They do not take summers off. In the summer they will start at 6:45 am until 8:00 am, completing their rigorous summer football training before they go to their summer jobs or tasks.“These players learn to love the grind of hard work and dedication to each other” says Coach Bondy, “the hard work and dedication that we expect from these players is also a life skill that they will take with them throughout their life”.
 
Football is the ultimate sport for teaching delayed gratification. Football players practice all week during the season for one big game a week. They work all year to play just 10 guaranteed varsity games. This in itself is a life skill that is very applicable to post-high school life. In a society where patience and hard work are fading and instant gratification is easy and the path most traveled, your Putnam County football players will have the upper hand as they graduate these halls and take on the next phase of their life.
 
We would like to thank the many pledge sponsors and donors that put their interest and faith behind these boys that allowed this Lift-A-Thon to become a huge success. We would like to thank the many parents and fans that attended to watch these players exhibit the outcome of their dedication. 

We would like to give a special thanks to Chris Kottwitz, Tristan Klinginsmith, Shelton Andrews, and Aaron Muntz all of whom were a big help in putting on this event. 

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