David Goodwin
September 2015 - David Goodwin
Please introduce yourself. Who are you? How old are you? Where were you born? Etc. Give the readers some background about yourself.
I’m David Goodwin 54 years old born in Bowdon, Ga. grew up the small town of Graham, Alabama. I spent 25 years in the Army, 12 years, 8 months and a few days was active duty and the rest was Army Reserves, My rank at retirement was Master Sergeant.
How did you get into powerlifting and how many years have you been competing?
I first started working powerlifting meets in 1985 while stationed at Fort Knox, Ky where I met Johnny Graham and the coach of the Fort Knox powerlifting team, but as far as volunteer work it started while in basic training to get out of some horrible details, which didn’t always work to my advantage lol but that never deterred me. I moved away from it for a while and started back approximately 3 years ago.
When was your first competition?
I think it was the Kentucky state meet in 1985 and ended around midnight and we had to be back on site early the next morning.
What is your next competition?
I’m helping Steve Goggins at his meet in October.
Where are you located in Georgia and where do you train at?
I’m located In Fayetteville. I have a membership at LA fitness but will possibly be changing in the near future.
What are your hobbies (other than powerlifting)?
I have volunteered at golf tournaments like FedEx cup and the BellSouth classic when it was played at sugarloaf golf course. Bike riding, I have ridden in the American diabetes association fund raising event as well as the Scott Rigsby alliance ride which benefits the wounded warrior program here in Ga. but have not trained on my bike in a long time so didn’t participate this year
Who is your role model and why?
My dad.
Is there anything about powerlifting you would like to change or wish was
different?Yes, there is quite a few things I would like to see changed and the main one is, as volunteers, how we treat and talk to each other as well as the lifters and the majority of the time the crappy treatment does not come from the meet director it comes from us the volunteers (referees, score keepers etc.). Without volunteers these competitions would not happen and no one comes there to be yelled at or treated like crap. Instead of screaming at the person teach them how to do it correctly and keep in mind they may not be as proficient as you are with the scoring programs or any other part of the competition as you are and will possibly make mistakes. The pressure is already high enough without being yelled at. I always knew how important volunteers are and especially the treatment of them and as meet director for Military Nationals this year I saw it from a different perspective, I was nervous as all get out but the volunteer staff pulled me through and to them I will be forever grateful. I can’t name everyone but you all know who you are.
What is your occupation? Does it interfere with volunteering or vice versa?
Heavy equipment and truck mechanic. It hasn’t yet but there is always a possibility it will because I am considered essential personnel.
Are you involved in powerlifting in any way besides as a volunteer?
I was the meet director for this years Military Nationals
What advice would you give a new lifter or volunteer just starting out?
Only commit the time you can spare, the meet director and your fellow volunteers are counting on you to be there. New lifters get with a good powerlifting coach.
What are your short term goals now as a lifter or volunteer?
On the volunteer side as a national referee become more proficient in my duties and more involved with the admin side of volunteer work such as scoring table duties and assist the state level referees in any way I can. As a lifter get on a good training program to show Anthony Calhoun you have to sometimes be careful and not assume certain things.
Who is the most impressive lifter you have seen?
Not to take anything away from the able bodied liters because there are so many very impressive able bodied lifters out there, Brad Gillingham, Ray Williams, Dalton Lacoe, I could go on but since I’ve been helping Billy Keel, Chip Hultquist, and Mark Keesee with their special olympics meets’ I’ve seen some good special Olympic lifters. These guys and girls are awesome to watch. To name a few: Chevy Peters, this guy put on an awesome performance during his last squat attempt, right when you thought he wasn’t going the complete the lift , he reached down with everything he had and stood erect the crowd went wild, it was really something to behold. The next guy is a lifter from Mexico, I believe he has downs syndrome, his squat form was near text book perfect he missed his second attempt due to a technicality but on his third attempt he walked up to the bar and literally kissed it and backed away pointing to it as if saying you got away from me last time baby but you’re mine this time and the performance was perfect. Jackie Barrett “The Moose” from Canada put on an outstanding performance when he completed his third squat or I think it was his third squat he said I did it mom as he held her picture toward the sky. His mom passed last year and was his biggest supporter, his love for her was very touching. There is so many more that definitely deserves to be mentioned and I don’t mean to sell them short but I don’t remember them all. This was a very rewarding experience for me as a volunteer and will gladly do it again if given the opportunity. Everyone involved with the Special Olympics world games from where we were housed to the staff at the convention center went above and beyond to be great ambassadors for their city. Watching the special Olympians interact with each other is something we all strive to emulate. They treated each other with the utmost respect and whether they could perform the lifts to standard or not, they still treated each other as if they had lifted a thousand pounds and where champions. That’s how I would like to see us as volunteers interact with each other. We all come from different cultures and have different skillsets it shouldn’t matter if you are an international level referee, technical secretary, state level referee or working the scoring table we are coming together to do something for the sport we love and for some us we may just enjoy helping out where help is needed and deserve to be treated as human beings
Do you have any rivals in powerlifting?
Well I didn’t think I did until I made the statement one day that I might try doing this again and Anthony Calhoun said good that will give me somebody to beat, it kind of made my blood boil for him to assume that he could just kick me around like a toy which ain’t going to happen
If we're sitting here a year from now celebrating what a great year it's been for you, what would be the reason?
That I showed Anthony Calhoun what he couldn’t do what he was thinking.
Anything else you’d like to add?
This is not trying to call anyone out it’s just what I observed I look to myself first as some of these things I can improve on also. If the call goes out for help and it fits my budget and time schedule, I will be at your meet ready to work where needed, If you see me standing around it means I’m waiting for you to show me where you need me or I’ve finished my assignment.
