FOR LOVE OF THE GAME

Sam Morris, Las Vegas Sun

Friday, Jan. 19, 2007 | 6:58 a.m.

The weight room at Valley High School resounds with a whump and clang as more than 200 pounds of metal fall to a rubber mat, usually preceded by a guttural "Aaaarrrgh!" The source of much of the distinct series of sounds is Valley junior Kevin Hicks, a self-described "King of the Power Clean."

Hicks has been trying to lift 235 pounds to beat his personal best of 225. After repeated attempts fail, he paces back and forth, staring at the bar, talking to himself and getting ready to try again. And miss again. "I'm going to hit this before the end," he says as the coach forces him from the barbells and over to the squat rack where he is supposed to be.

"I'm always trying for more and I keep trying until I hit what I want. If I don't, it haunts me the rest of the day," said Hicks, a defensive end on the Vikings football team.

After finishing squats and bench presses, he heads back to the barbells, determined to clean 235. After a couple tries, he does it and drops the weight from his chest with an emphatic "Yeaaaaah!" It's then that the coach points out 90 pounds on one side plus 90 on the other plus 45 for the bar equals 225. "No!" Hicks yells. "Damn algebra."

Chagrined but with a smile, he picks up two five-pound plates and says again to anyone listening, "I will hit this by the end."