Add Philippe Edmonds to the list of local athletes who extol the benefits of Olympic weightlifting and working with coach Alex Fera - even for athletes of different sports.

Edmonds, however, did not need a whole lot of convincing.

A native of Toronto, the young man who has played the entire 90 minutes in each of the past three outings for the Sudbury Cyclones championship division team happened to work extensively, in the past, with a strength and conditioning coach in the GTA who is a big proponent of the cross-over core strength that can be applied to multiple athletic disciplines.

"I've been doing it since then as supplementary work," said Edmonds, who actually moved to Sudbury on the urging of his best friend Spencer Cosway, a Toronto-born hockey talent whose girlfriend is from Sudbury.

With Cosway lifting with Fera, the invitation to have Edmonds join the group was only natural. It was only then that the versatile newcomer - Edmonds can play midfielder, centerback and wingback, all quite comfortably - reached out to Cyclones' assistant coach Evan Phillips.

"Weightlifting helps your ability to shield the ball, not to get pushed off because of the extra strength - and also your explosiveness," said Edmonds, who soccer background includes a semi-pro stint in England (his father is from Liverpool) as well as more recent stops in Sweden and Wales.

"You're just so rapid," Edmonds added. "It's good for speed and agility. Olympic weightlifting is a whole-body exercise that can produce impressive results."

The numbers are certainly impressive.

Weighing in at about 165 pounds or so, Edmonds is pushing to hit a 400 pound back squat, right in the same neighbourhood as his training partner (Cosway) who outweighs him by some 25 pounds or so.

"It helps to be strong and durable; helps with injury prevention."

After checking in at thirty minutes or less of playing time in eight of his first nine outings with the Cyclones, Edmonds has seemingly garnered the confidence of the coaching staff even more of late, a fixture on the pitch in wins over Windsor City FC (2-1) and Waterloo United (3-2) as well as a key road draw with The Borough FC (0-0).

Topping the standings with 25 points (7-1-4), four more than The Borough, Edmonds and the Cyclones are back in action tonight (July 5th), hosting North Mississauga SC (4-5-3) at 7:00 p.m. at the Cambrian College field.