The day head strength and conditioning coach Joseph Schlesinger sent a short email asking all student athletes to meet him in the weight room after school, he thought maybe 50 kids would attend.
More than 100 showed up.
“I was not expecting that,” Schlesinger said of that April 15 meeting. “Kids couldn’t even stand.”
After five years leading the strength and conditioning program, Schlesinger is leaving the district. His departure closes a chapter that students and coaches say reshaped the culture of the school’s weight room and athletic programs.
Schlesinger, whom students commonly call “Slesh,” joined SHHS in February 2021 as a building sub. He said he used to come down to the weight room during his free periods to help out then-head football coach Alex Nicholson, who is also a strength and conditioning teacher. “Every period I had off from subbing, I would come down. Did that for that spring semester. And then that summer, we started summer training,” Schlesinger said.
The Strength and Conditioning class grew rapidly following his first year, when the school’s 2022-23 block schedule offered only four sections. “I want to say we had four classes of about 40 kids,” Schlesinger said. “We have to offer a class every period now because so many kids want to be in the class.”
Through daily lifting sessions, after-school workouts and off-season training, students say the program emphasized discipline, consistency and accountability as much as physical improvement.
Charlotte Glasper (’24), now a Division I field hockey player at Indiana, said Schlesinger helped her overcome her initial anxiety about lifting. “I always felt like lifting was something meant for already strong people who wanted to get even stronger. What helped change that was how accessible Slesh made the weight room feel,” Glasper said. “Taking his class quickly became one of the best parts of my day. It was an outlet for me.”
For senior baseball player Eli Stolfuss, Schlesinger’s impact extended beyond athletic performance. “It’s a weird way to put it, but I’d say he was like a strict father. He instilled discipline but was always there to celebrate my accomplishments. I also wasn’t afraid; I just had a lot of respect for him and the work he did,” Stolfuss said. “I don’t think there’s any one accomplishment that sticks out more than the others. He just always celebrated me, and anyone else who put in effort and got better.”
Coaches and athletes credit Schlesinger with helping create a more connected and competitive athletic culture across the school.
Junior football player and wrestler Theo Nagusky said Schlesinger fostered an atmosphere where students felt both at ease and motivated. “He has been someone I feel comfortable joking with and talking honestly to, while also being someone I respect,” Nagusky said. “He used to call me an ‘improper fraction’ because my upper body was so much bigger than my lower body, but it just motivated me to hit legs.”
Chloe Brown (’23), now a Division I volleyball player at SUNY Buffalo, said Schlesinger taught her that more isn’t always better. “One time my junior year — when I was running from practice to practice and lifting almost every day — in class, he forced me to ride the bike instead of lift,” Brown said. “At the time I despised him for it, but through my years in college athletics, I now know how important rest and recovery is.”
Schlesinger’s reach extended beyond the athletes he coached to include members of the faculty.
Math teacher Adam Thomas said Schlesinger offered advice about an injury. “He took the time after school to demonstrate several new exercises for me to use to help with recovery for my herniated disc,” Thomas said. “Not only did he show me these new exercises, but he critiqued and corrected my form during the exercises as well.”
Schlesinger acknowledged that the weight room can be a daunting place, but said turning students’ anxiety into confidence is what drives him. “This is probably the most intimidating room in the building for most people,” Schlesinger said. “They’re nervous every single time they walk in here, but when they walk out with a smile on their face, it’s like, ‘Oh, I did my job today; I made an impact on them,’ because that’s what it’s all about. We just gotta try and make an impact on everybody.’ ”
Trey McNutt (’25), a safety at Division I University of Oregon, said Schlesinger’s investment in each athlete was unconditional. “He showed care for everyone who stepped in his weight room, and if you bought in while he was there, it’s no way you could walk away with nothing,” he said.
Football and hockey player Andy Benincasa (’25) said the respect Schlesinger showed every athlete set him apart. “No matter what sport or what you were doing, I always saw him treat everyone with the same level of respect,” Benincasa said.
Schlesinger, who will move on to North Royalton High School at the end of the school year, left SHHS athletes with a final challenge.
“Believe in your abilities, ’cause they can take you really far,” he said. “Everybody has unbelievable abilities. It’s just whether or not you believe in it.”
