It’s just a shade past 9 o’clock on a recent Wednesday morning, and thermometers across Polk County are already pegged at nearly 90 degrees.  The sweltering temperatures that have gripped much of the Eastern United States for the past two weeks have certainly not spared the usually temperate foothills, and at times it seems like there is no end in sight to the brutal heat wave of 2011.
For middle and high school students fortunate enough to have the summer off, there are seemingly limitless opportunities to beat the oppressive heat. Whether tubing down the Green, kicking back at the lake or taking a drive down to the beach, there are plenty of ways for Polk County teens to chill out and keep cool during one of the longest, and hottest, summers in recent memory.
All of which begs the question – what in the world are eight teenage girls, seemingly in possession of their mental faculties, doing pumping iron in the Lady Wolverines weight room at Polk County High School on a mid-July day when the mercury threatens to approach triple digits?
According to rising junior Makenzie White, it all boils down to a desire to excel.
“If you want to be good in your fall sport, you need to work out in the summer, and train for the sport that you’re going to be playing,” explains White, taking a short break from the leg press station. “It’s just a ‘want-to’ thing – a desire to get better on your own.”
No one has asked these girls to be here – attendance is completely voluntary yet most will show up four days a week  through the summer, working to strengthen their bodies under the tutelage of Polk County High’s Athletic Director Jeff Wilson. As Wilson explained, the Lady Wolverines weight room is open to anyone who wants to come out and work.
“Band students, middle school football, baseball, whatever,” said Wilson. “We just want to help kids – anyone who wants to get better. You watch us work – there’s not a lot of goofing around.”
Indeed, the atmosphere is all business, as Wilson rotates the girls, divided into groups of four, through 25 to 30 different exercises, tracking progress on a large dry erase board. Wilson is quick to praise his fellow coaches for their contributions.
“I give a lot of credit to our female PE teachers,” said Wilson. “They’ve done a great job teaching weight training – these girls know what they are doing, and we’ll just keep on developing.”
As Wilson points out, athletic success during the school year is in direct proportion to the price athletes are willing to pay through the summer.
“Strength, footwork, speed, coordination – all of the intangibles are gained in this room,” explained Wilson.
One thing seems certain – if the level of commitment demonstrated here on this steamy morning is any indication, the rest of the Western Highlands Conference is going to have their hands full competing against Lady Wolverines teams this coming year.