The Almagest

When the average person thinks of weightlifters, the first thought that springs to mind is something along the lines of feats of strength or displays of physical prowess. It is not typically thought of as an opportunity for cultural learning and diversity. However, here at LSUS these two trains of thought have recently collided in an interesting way.

Last month, ten weightlifters and two coaches from seven universities in Japan visited LSUS for a joint training session with the LSU Shreveport weightlifting team.

In its second year running, this joint training camp is the outcome of a ten-year friendship between LSUS's weightlifting Coach, Kyle Pierce, Ph.D., and Coach Junichi Okada of Waseda University in Tokyo. This friendship and their mutual desire to expose their students to new cultures and expanding experiences led them to combine their teams and emphasize not only excellence in their sport, but also offer an example of the "Olympic spirit", as Pierce called it. He described the week as a "picture of diversity."

"[The week] got everyone fired up and challenged- everyone manages to communicate and have lots of fun," said Pierce.

The respect and understanding of other cultures is a vital part of being an active member of our ever-shrinking world, and this trip definitely gave the Japanese students some unique experiences. They participated in a local Mardi Gras parade, visited a local farm and spent a lot of time with their LSUS counterparts.

This was a special opportunity for the students of both countries, and one that will not soon be forgotten. The coaches are in talks to repeat the training camp next year, and perhaps one day the LSU Shreveport Team represent us in Japan.

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