Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1464375
M A Y 2 0 2 2 3 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Working out three or four times a week at the gym, Singleton found himself de- veloping rapidly. He had started out with an 85-pound clean and could do a few reps on the bench press at 100 pounds. By the time he finished high school, Singleton was posting a 355-pound clean, 500-pound squat, a three-rep, 400-pound single-leg squat, 400 pounds on the bench, and a 230-pound snatch. Understanding that Singleton had the potential to be fast because of his long legs, Miller said he saw a gifted athlete with an opportunity to fill out. He also saw an intense level of commitment. In- timately aware of the traits that bring kids back to the gym — and just as often send them packing — he knew how important that commitment would be. "The freak part is always the mental side of it," Miller said. "That they'll come back, that they'll keep doing the work and showing up." A Special Athlete For Singleton, one of the advantages of working out at Garage Strength was the opportunity to train alongside some of the best athletes in the world. "In the gym, you have all these peo- ple training and you know who they are," Miller said. "You know that they're world-class athletes, so you know that they've been through things as well. And they're cheering him on. That's a big deal. If I train with five world-class athletes, then I'm going to be as good as a world- class athlete." Mattis and the others took notice for a few reasons. The first was happenstance but impossible to ignore. Singleton was working out with a partner for the first time in a planned training session that went an hour over. While Singleton was focused and unrelenting, Mattis remem- bered, the partner threw up and never returned to the gym. Soon after, Singleton showed he was able to squat "way more" than he should have been able for his age, Mattis said. The Singleton has been working out with the Nittany Lions since enrolling in January. He's set to make his first col- legiate appearance in the Blue-White Game on April 23. PHOTO BY RILEY JOSLIN/PENN STATE ATHLETICS