ZeeSpeed, Truly Training for life
        
        I remember when I first attended Z speed. It was the second year of the program and I 
was in 7th grade. I thought I was coming to have fun and I expect to leave not tired at all; boy 
was I wrong. We stretched did some warm ups and then, got on the goal line.  Zach told us we 
had 16 100’s. I looked at him like he was crazy but he was dead serious. So I just thought to 
myself “yea man you got this. I’m going to impress all the high school kids and keep up with 
them and everything” I’ll be honest, I thought it was torture. I hated the running and running 
non-stop, I hated running up and down the stairs of that giant stadium at Lincoln, and most of all, 
I hated running 16 hundreds. But I came to realize there was a purpose behind all this and this 
man wasn’t crazy.  Attending a D-1 college was a dream of mind for as long as I can remember. 
Now I guess I never really thought about what it would take to get there, I thought it was just 
handed to you. I didn’t realize that what I was doing here was exactly what it was going to take 
to make it at the next level.

	As we showed up at 8 o’clock every morning and did our workouts, Zach and his staff 
constantly drilled in our heads keys to success. Most memorable to me was Freddy. Boy I tell 
you he was always on top of me. He never gave me a chance to slack or take a break. He always 
was pushing me and pushing me, almost to the point of just completely wanting to quit. But I 
knew what his purpose was, he wanted me to succeed. I can’t thank him enough for that either. 
He really taught me that giving up is not an option, that if I wanted something I was going to 
have to work hard for it; and not just Freddy but the whole staff:  Vern, Zach, Albert, Freddy, 
etc. And these lessons have carried over to real life. I’ve attended 4 different high schools now, 
three of which were not by choice, but because my father’s in the military. I’ve had to walk into 
each school and football program as the new guy and I’ve had to work and fight to take 
someone’s position and call it my own. I can honestly say that my drive and self-motivation I 
had to achieve that sort of thing probably wouldn’t be as strong without Z speed giving me these 
tools to success.

	Zach is someone who truly cares about the athletes in which he trains. I don’t understand 
how he keeps up with us all but he does. He even showed up to a few of my football games. Now 
I live in Spanaway, almost in graham and Zach, I think, lives in Tacoma. For him to make it to 
my games all the way out here meant a lot to me. You always hear people talking about “yea I’ll 
have to keep up with you throughout the season” or “yea man just give me your schedule and I’ll 
make sure to come see you play”. Now this may sound corny but Zach’s one of those guys he 
was true to his word and was there. And just a glance at the sideline and seeing him there was 
motivation enough to make you want to have the greatest game of your life. Zach meant that 
much to me. His very presence motivated me to want to play the best I could and be the best I 
could be.

	Now as I near the end of my high school career and look upon my future in college, in 
sports, and as a man, I stop and look back at those who helped me get to this point. I will be 
attending The U.S. Army Military academy: West Point on a full ride athletic scholarship; 
Division 1 football might I add. All of Army’s games are nationally televised, a high school 
football players dream! And as I sit back and reflect on the journey I ventured upon to be 
standing in the position that I am, Zach, is without a doubt one of these first people I look back at 
and thank because he changed my life dramatically whether it be getting me in shape, being a 
mentor to me, or something as simple as just being a friend that you could always count on. 
People like him and programs like the one he offers are once in a life time opportunities that I am 
so thank full to be able to have been a part of my life.

	I now know that when you’ve reached you so called limit, all that means is that it’s time 
to start reaching for the next level. You can never stop becoming a Better person, a better 
student, a better athlete.

Issac Winters
Graham Kapowsin High School c/o 2010
The U.S. Army Military academy: West Point