Photo by Jake Olson: Carter Hanson lifts the barbell off his chest during a Wednesday morning workout at the Fairmont High School.

FAIRMONT – It’s been nearly 20 years since Mat Mahoney began the Fairmont High School offseason lifting program. Since then, the Cardinal Activities Director has established a weight room culture that benefits all individuals on and off the playing fields, fostering discipline and accountability.

“For us, it helps with the physical standpoint and with the confidence. It helps people feel more confident when they walk out of the weight room,” Mahoney said. “I’ve always thought that in the spring, the kids who have been disciplined to get up, get into the school in the morning, and work out, it’s helped them in their other sports as well. It’s been a great thing we’ve done for the past 20 years.”

Mahoney credits Scottie Hines with laying the foundation for what current athletes see today. With Mahoney already using the Fairmont weight room in the mornings, Hines checked to see if he could join in getting some extra repetition. One member turned to two, then three and so forth. Pretty soon, many individuals were interested in adding more weight training to improve their athletic careers.

It has since been a vehicle for helping athletes become bigger, faster, and stronger through a variety of compound lifts and performance-focused workouts.

“A guy by the name of Scottie Hines said he wanted to come lift in the mornings,” Mahoney said. “Next thing you know, another guy came, another guy came, and that’s literally how it got started.”

“Way back when, you needed to lift weights, but it wasn’t a big thing. Now it’s really turned into this huge thing, so we were maybe a little bit ahead of the curve early on. But I have to give a lot of credit to our kids. They are the ones who are pushing this.”

A tradition has developed from the program. Upperclassmen are tasked with showing younger athletes the ropes of serious weight training, helping with rides and providing incoming grades with the blueprint for success.

That structure has naturally structured leadership from within. Year after year, athletes take the reins and shape what their offseason workouts look like. It has allowed Mahoney and any other weight room coordinators to watch the product bloom without getting too hands-on.

“It’s typically our seniors who are getting our kids there,” Mahoney said. “They’re driving and picking them up. They’re sending out the group texts. Our kids take care of this stuff, and that’s why some of what we are doing has been successful.”

The program begins in the early winter months as an after-school setup. By the spring and summer, the program shifts to morning-only lifts starting around 6:00 a.m. All sessions have three lifts a week, which can span different days based on the time of year. Mahoney says each season goes month-to-month, then turns around to reevaluate how to attack the next.

Lifts include bench press, incline bench press, back squat, front squat, power clean and hang clean. On top of this, Mahoney adds a series of speed-and-agility-focused drills that translate to any sport. Running exercises are emphasized further in the summer.

“It’s 2026. You’ve got to be lifting and getting stronger because everybody else is getting bigger, faster and stronger,” Mahoney said.

Offseason training has also helped athletes better prepare for the next level. It not only replicates what most collegiate programs incorporate into their athletic teams but also instills habits they can carry forward. It’s a recipe for how to handle oneself beyond Fairmont High School.

“If you are serious about playing at the next level, you have to get used to being up at 6 a.m. All colleges operate early in the mornings,” Mahoney said. “The kids have to be out of bed. They’re running, doing strength and conditioning, or it might be a team meeting.”

And in Fairmont, that expectation is already part of the routine.