Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 7, 1990 TAG: 9007070152
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
For years, Hickam has toiled in relative obscurity as a powerlifter.
Not many people, other than his players, friends and Northside fans, know about Hickam's powerlifting. But he is ranked among the top 10 nationally in the squat in the masters division, for powerlifters 40 and older.
"It's been 10 years since my name's been in the Roanoke newspaper for powerlifting," said Hickam, who will compete today in the Virginia CorEast State Games at Northside starting at 10 a.m.
Powerlifting isn't a sport that gets a lot of attention. Hickam says this is the first major meet in Roanoke in many years. But the fact that his reputation as a powerlifter is limited doesn't bother him.
"There's an addiction for people who really get into lifting. When I go to a meet, I only go to compete against myself. If I get a medal or a ribbon, great. But if I don't, yet I have satisfied myself, that's fine."
Hickam, 49, has been lifting since 1966 and he has used his interest in the sport to make weight training a big part of Northside football. "I was in seventh grade, stood 5-foot-2 and weighed 180 pounds," Hickam said.
After dieting, Hickam dropped to 120 pounds. His mother was concerned about the rapid loss of weight and was directed to send her son to a doctor who had a set of weights.
That was long before weight training was a regular part of athletics. Hickam fine tuned his lifting in high school in 1958 at Coalwood, W.Va., when Merrill Gainer, who later came to Patrick Henry and won a Group AAA football championship, had a weight-training program.
Hickam entered his first powerlifting meet in Hopewell in 1966 and has been competing ever since.
"Most athletes are competitive by nature," he said. "I needed something like that and I entered. I didn't place, but I did well from the standpoint of what I had been doing."
Hickam has kept his competition in perspective. He usually enters four meets a year, unless Northside makes the Virginia High School League football playoffs. If that happens, he skips a meet around Thanksgiving.
As for competition, Hickam has control of that.
"There's not a lot you can do to outwit your opponents," he said. "You can be intelligent in your weight choices and not try to do too much. But competing is its own reward."
Age has improved Hickam's performance.
"I've done better as a master lifter," he said. "I'm not one of these people who are great at anything. I can do many sports. Some people are naturally gifted and do well as youngsters. In my case, I do better with what I have with experience."
Hickam says he's better at the squat because of his body makeup. The squat depends on strength in the lower part of the body, and shoulder surgery two years ago robbed Hickam of upper-body strength.
Powerlifting has become a family affair for the Hickams. Jim's wife, Betty Jane, has taken up lifting in the last two years, though she won't enter the State Games. She will work the officials' table to keep records.
"I've come close to entering and Jim's encouraged me," she said. "But I don't feel as if I'm ready."
Does that mean that she'll never enter a meet?
"Never say never," she said. "That's my philosophy after you reach a certain point. Jim's been trying to get me to lift for a long time, but until two years ago I mainly did aerobics."
The Hickams' daughter, Cheyanne, has lifted on and off all her life according to her mother, but she has no plans to enter powerlifting competition.
Hickam says that despite the lack of exposure, Roanoke has some good powerlifters. One is Glen Crockett, a seven-time world masters champion. He is not entered, but national collegiate champion Mike Thompson of Virginia Tech is. Bettina Altizer, a local national women's champion from Roanoke, will not compete because she is studying for a bar exam.
by CNB