Athletes are only responsible for their mentor’s warm-up room pass (coach pass).
No, we would like to clarify that this is not a coaching service and our volunteer mentors are all not required to be certified coaches either. This is simply meet-day handling and mentorship to provide you the support you need on meet day.
Mentors are able to help lifters load their weights, enter in attempts on the score card, provide you emotional support, help keep track of your belongings, etc. Mentors are not allowed to provide any actual coaching advice and are not able to override your coaches’ decision even if the coach is not present.
You can become a volunteer in your state by clicking the link under “Become a Mentor” on the USAPL coaching page under Mentorship program and fill out the google form. Afterwards, you will be guided to a training course on a separate website where you will go over Lift Together protocols and expectations as a volunteer mentor. You will need to complete the course as well as the waiver to be accepted as a volunteer mentor in your state. You must be at least 16 years old with at least one year of competitive powerlifting experience and be a USAPL registered athlete. While you are more likely to volunteer at meets within your state, you are also able to volunteer as a mentor in another state as well. Just reach out to the program director and they will put you in contact with that state’s Lift Together state lead.
You can sign up to be matched with one of our mentors for meet day by clicking the link under “Request a Mentor” and fill out the google form. Afterwards, you will need to complete a waiver and then you will be entered into our database. In our database, you will be matched with an available mentor based off of matched availability and your preference for a mentor. The mentor will reach out to you after you have been matched so you both have a way to reach each other for meet day. This is also a great opportunity to get familiar with your mentor and let them know how they can make you feel best supported on meet day. Please be sure to maintain a professional and appropriate conversation sticking to the topic of meet day as any inappropriate advances or messaging from either party can result in a dismissal from the program and inability to participate in the program in the future.
The goal is to have a team of 10-30 people in each state depending on the state’s size and powerlifting community numbers there. Bigger states with a bigger powerlifting community will require a larger team then smaller states with a smaller powerlifting presence. However, each state will have a state lead that supervises their state’s database and helps to pair athletes with an appropriate mentor. When Lift Together teams begin to form, state leads will be chosen and be the line of communication regarding Lift Together mentorship in that state outside of the program director.
All submissions are automatically entered in a database with the only people who have access being the state leads of each state’s Lift Together team, program director, and the USAPL coaching committee. State leads with assistance from team members will supervise the database of incoming mentors and incoming new athletes. Based on availability and experience, you will be matched to the mentor that is available for your meet but also best fit to support you based on your answers in the google form.
Due to equipped lifting requiring more tailored and specific handling with practice outside of the meet being required, we are only offering mentorship for raw lifters.
