Comets get message about offseason weightlifting

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — You see a lot of people lifting weights these days.

About seven ounces at a time.

That’s approximately the weight of a cell phone.

But even if members of the Charles City football team are prone to doing cell phone curls, they would likely be reminded by their coach that the iron in the school’s weight room is not going to pump itself.

Comet head coach Darren Bohlen tweets more about the importance of weight lifting and conditioning than … um … Donald Trump.

These include memes of the like “Weight Training is Not for Everyone … Neither is Playing Time.”

For the most part, Bohlen’s players have gotten the message — including his two returning all-district first teammers.

Seniors Dylan Koresh and Ryan Zuspan have been cited by their coach for the hours they put in during the summer as well as during last school year’s offseason.

“Dylan has added about 30 pounds since he first started at varsity,” Bohlen said of Koresh, who was an all-district linebacker after leading the Comets with most total tackles for losses.

Koresh also led last year’s team in rushing yards (376) while averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

Zuspan has been a starting lineman for the Comets — often both ways — since his sophomore season. Last season he and his since-graduated brother, Tylor Zuspan, were both named all-district offensive lineman.

During the tail end of his junior school season, the younger Zuspan reached the “900-Pound Club” based on the sum total of maximum power-lifts.

“Ryan is about 6-foot-1, 215 pounds which is not very big for a lineman,” Bohlen said. “But he has worked hard and made himself very athletic.

“He has good speed and great hands. If he was playing in another offense at another school, he would probably be a tight end.”

Always stressing to his players and prospective players to “be an athlete, not just a participant” — another favorite tweet message — Bohlen said that the 2018 Comets are one of the more athletic teams he has coached.

“We are very athletic and very fast,” Bohlen said. “We have a lot of kids who can run the 40 in five seconds or less.”