SEBASTIAN ROSE’S JOURNEY TO THE 2024 YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
2018 Youth National Championships, Age 10, 21kg Clean & Jerk, 30kg Bodyweight
World Teams are very hard to make. It involves a process, and there are only 10 spots available. Only 10 spots mean you compete against every eligible athlete, across all weight classes, not just your own.
To qualify, you must first have been entered into the United States Anti-Doping Association (USADA) Random Testing Pool (RTP) for a minimum of 6 months.
Next, you must make the Qualification Total for your weight class, during the qualification window. Totals are determined by 81% of the 3rd place total from the previous year’s Youth World Championships.
Finally, your best total at a USA Weightlifting National Level drug tested competition during the qualification window, must be in the Top 10 across all weight classes, and at least Top 2 in your weigh class, based on the National Ranking System (NRS).
Each weight class has an NRS number that is the average of the Top 5 finishes from the previous 4 years of the Youth World Championships. The 10 athletes that come the closest to their weight class NRS number will be selected to the team. In 2023, there were over 1,000 male athletes, aged 17 years or younger, across the country.
Sebastian successfully made his qualification total of 184kg in the 55kg weight class, 1 of only 4 male athletes (out of 1,000) to do so. 184kg also placed him 2nd in his weight class. The NRS number for the 55kg weight class was 223. Sebastian’s total, which was 82.51% of the NRS, put him in 4th position on the U.S. National Youth Team.
How did he get there? In a word, perseverance. Below is a glimpse into what Sebastian had to do:
· Set a clear, attainable goal - We talked in September about the possibility of making the team at the American Open Finals in December. At that point, his best competition total was 175kg. We felt adding 9kg to it was attainable in 3 months.
· Visualize – One of the first things we talked about was starting the process of visualization. Visualization requires a clear goal, so we talked about the specific numbers he would need to make to get the total.
· Personal Desire – The athlete has to want this for themselves. No matter how much coaches, relatives, or friends want it for the athlete, the athlete has to truly have the desire to achieve the goal.
· Outside Support – Athletes don’t make it to the top on their own. It takes a village to help with program design, technique corrections, accessory training, massage/bodywork, nutrition, training atmosphere, psychological training, etc. Sebastian is fortunate to have a huge support system to help with every aspect of his training. That same support system is available to every Harrisburg Weightlifting Club athlete.
· Buy-In – Full buy-in to the training program and process was needed. Training over the previous couple months had been spotty, but this clear new goal allowed for full buy-in to what needed to be done to achieve it. A complete shift in focus and approach to training was needed.
· Discipline – A clear new goal helps with motivation, but discipline is what keeps you going during the unmotivated times.
· Nutrition – As he was weighing around 58kg at the time, we knew a proper nutrition plan would be critical to allow him to continue gaining strength, while working to get down to the required 55kg bodyweight. He may not have enjoyed eating the same plain foods every day, but he did not complain. He just ate what he was supposed to eat.
· Sleep – Sebastian knows that the training alone is not specifically what makes you stronger. It is during recovery that your body grows stronger. Proper recovery only happens when sleeping, so he knew not to stay up late in order to get all the sleep his body required, so he could train as hard as was necessary to accomplish the goal.
· Sacrifice – For a teenager, giving up gaming time, friend time, relationship time, free time, holiday time, etc., can be difficult. It is a sacrifice to put training, sleeping, and eating above everything else. He never complained about the sacrifices. Having to follow a strict nutrition plan during the holidays, and having to train on Thanksgiving Day is not the most fun, but he handled it like an athlete should. He just did what was necessary.
· Follow the Program – The only way to know if a program works, is to follow it to the letter. The entirety of the program meaning prehab, rehab, training, accessory work, diet, and recovery. He never deviated from what was written, which allowed progress to be tracked accurately.
· Trust the Process – We don’t train our Youth athletes the way a lot of coaches do. Ours is a longer, more comprehensive program for overall athletic development, safety, and longevity in the sport. Sebastian entered his first competition in 2018, at the age of 10, with a 16kg Snatch, 21kg Clean & Jerk, 37kg Total, weighing 30kg. His development to this point has taken 5.5 years, and he will end his Youth career as part of an elite group, with the opportunity to compete alongside the best in the World, at the age of 16. In his final competition of 2023, he ended with a 78kg Snatch, 106kg Clean & Jerk, 184kg Total, weighing 55kg. He has competed in 35 competitions, and 6 National Championships. He has won 2 Youth National Championships, 1 Junior National Championship, and is now a 2024 Team USA member for the IWF World Youth Championships. He trusts the process.
2023 North American Open Finals, Age 16, 106kg Clean & Jerk, 55kg Bodyweight
2024 Youth World Team Training Camp at the Olympic Training Center
FUNDRAISING FOR THE TRIP
USA Weightlifting is not funding this trip for athletes and coaches. All Sebastian’s expenses will come out of pocket, and we could use some help raising money. We will have multiple fundraisers leading up to the May trip to Peru, and the first is a Support Team shirt. You can purchase at the link below, and profits from the shirts will go towards his trip. If you want to just donate outright, all donations are tax-deductible through our Non-Profit IRC 501(c)(3). Info for that is below as well:
Order Shirts Here
Non-Profit Donations
