UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lion women's volleyball team will
intensify its preparations for the 2012 season with the official practice beginning next week.
Four newcomers joined the roster since the Lions last played a match. We continue a series of interviews with the
freshmen getting set to kick off their first season in Penn State blue and
white.
Today, we focus on 5-4 defensive specialist Lara Caraway. The Evans City, Pa., product was a four-year
varsity letterwinner and team captain in the Mars Area School District (was
homeschooled). Caraway was named a 2011
First Team All-State honoree, in addition to All-WPIAL first team honors. Meet Lara Caraway.
VIDEO: Meet Megan Courtney
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July 2012 Archives
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lions are six days away from the
first day of official practice.
GoPSUsports.com talked with several underclassmen on the squad who are
counting down the days until the start of the 2012 season.
Sophomores Bill Belton, Allen Robinson and Adrian Amos, along with redshirt
freshmen Donovan Smith, Kyle Carter and Deion Barnes are among the significant
group of young student-athletes committed to the program and greatly appreciative of the support from Penn State fans. Hear what they have to say.
More underclassmen interviews to follow in the coming days.
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lion women's volleyball team will
intensify its preparations for the 2012 season with the first day of official
practice in one week.
Four newcomers joined the roster since the Lions last played a match. This week, we will roll out a series of
interviews with the freshmen getting set to kick off their first season in Penn
State blue and white.
First up is 6-2 outside hitter/setter Megan Courtney. The Dayton, Ohio, native was a first team
Under Armour All-American and PrepVolleyball High School All-American. The Gatorade Player of the Year in Ohio
helped lead Kettering Archbishop Alter High School to the OHSAA Final Four
during her freshmen, junior and senior seasons.
Meet Megan Courtney.
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Penn State Head Coach Decides to Take Time Off from Olympics to Support Mother
By: Greg Kincaid, Penn State Athletic Communications Assistant
There comes times in life where we have to set aside our passions, hobbies and even careers for the most important thing in life: Family. In her sixth season at the helm of the Penn State women's soccer program, head coach Erica Walsh can tell you herself that she knows a lot about family.
An assistant coach for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team since 2008, Walsh decided to step away from joining the team at this year's Olympic Games with good intentions.
"My family is the most important thing in my life. I was very fortunate to be provided an opportunity to go to the Olympics for the second time. Unfortunately my mom has fallen ill and she is battling illness. The good news is that she is a fighter and she has passed that on to me as well. I want to be here to support my mom because family is the most important thing in my life."
Walsh's mother, Jeanne, is currently battling cancer. Walsh describes her mother, who is nurse by trade and somebody that has worked in hospice her entire life, as her rock and inspiration. In fact, she has used her mother as not only a mentor her entire life, but as a symbol and example for what she looks for in recruits.
"My mom is a winner, she's a fighter," says Walsh. "She has the same qualities that I recruit for in student athletes, whether it's a winner in the classroom or on the field, a leader or someone involved in community service. Those are the most important qualities."
Walsh's parents split time between their residences in Chattanooga, Tenn. and State College, Pa. Her father, Cal, is a Penn State alum and the two were married in Happy Valley. Despite her mom's current health, Walsh is convinced that the two of them will be making it up to Penn State for some games this year. Cal and Jeanne are also avid supporters of Penn State women's soccer and active members in the booster club. Walsh says the way she was raised by her parents has helped her translate it into her student athletes today.
"My family is the most important thing to me," says Walsh. "When I have difficult choices to make, I use that to guide me through those difficult choices such as this situation. It really isn't a choice when dealing with a loved one. I was raised in a wonderful home and a plan to carry on those lessons. It's the way I treat my student athletes and the people around me, the way the parents treated me."
Beginning in the spring of 2004, Walsh joined U.S. Soccer and the Under-19 team as an assistant coach for the Under-19 World Cup, where the team eventually finished with a bronze medal. In January of 2008, Walsh was named as the assistant coach by Pia Sundhage for the U.S. National Team. With Walsh's help and guidance the U.S. team completed its historic run with a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Even sweeter was that Walsh's main responsibility was the U.S. defense, which held fellow world power Brazil scoreless in the gold medal match.
During the 2011 summer, Walsh had an extraordinary experience of being one of the top assistants to Sundhage and the U.S. team at the FIFA World Cup in Germany. The U.S. made a sparkling run through knockout play to the final, falling to eventual champions Japan in penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw.
As she has always shown through her great commitment and work ethic with U.S. Soccer, Walsh plans on remaining heavily involved.
"I have been fortunate enough to be involved with the U.S. program since 2004," she says. "I have every intention to continue on with that program. I've had the pleasure of working with some of the best coaches in the world through those opportunities. I believe that has made me the person and coach that I am today."
Walsh has made trips to Tennessee to check in with her mom. A reliable coaching staff has allowed her to do that along with coaching for U.S. Soccer. With the recent promotions of Ann Cook to associate head coach and Tim Wassell to full-time assistant coach, Walsh feels blessed to have one of the best staffs in the country.
"Tim's attention to detail, focus and thorough determination to make this the best program in the country has been a huge help during this time," says Walsh. "He has been a huge addition to this staff and the recruiting perspective."
"Ann could run the best soccer program in the county, and she has," Walsh said of Cook. "I have no concerns about turning things over to her. The team embraces it. At this point, I consider her to be my peer, my guide, my right hand, my mentor, and I'm thankful that every day she is most importantly my friend and my co-worker."
Walsh and her peers all know she has made the best decision. Not only is she using her family situation as life lesson for herself, but she has also transferred the same concept to her team and program.
"My mom has always lived by the concept probably most accurately described by Steven Covey, 'Seek first to understand, then to be understood,'" Walsh added. "She's just the most caring woman I have been around. She is a wonderfully compassionate woman and I take that into coaching and my approach with my student athletes. I'm their advocate and we are all going to make mistakes but we need to be there for one another."
CHICAGO, Ill. - After answering hundreds of questions over the course of
two days at the Big Ten Kickoff, GoPSUsports.com caught up with senior Jordan
Hill, junior John Urschel and senior Michael Mauti on Friday morning for their
thoughts on the trip to Chicago.
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CHICAGO, Ill. - Two days of media interviews wrapped up on Friday
afternoon with the 41st Annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon. ESPN College Football personality Chris
Fowler served as the host of the luncheon.
Fowler performed interviews with all 12 Big Ten coaches during the
event.
Head coach Bill O'Brien and the trio of Nittany Lion players in Chicago participated
in a round table question and answer session in the morning before sitting at
the head tables at the luncheon. We will
roll out a series of remarks from Coach O'Brien in the coming days, but here is
a snippet from Friday's media session.
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Penn State in the London 2012 Olympics
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Former Penn State women's volleyball
standouts Christa Harmotto and Megan Hodge are in London representing USA
Volleyball in its quest for a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Q: Just talk about the
opportunity you have. Not many people are in your position and as a person in
the sport of volleyball, what does this mean to you?
Harmotto: "It truly is a dream come true. When I played in high school, I had
an opportunity to play for the Junior National team for two years. I think
that's when the Olympic dream started. I was in that pipeline, but there was a
lot of work to do before that. In the years at Penn State, I was super
fortunate to be a part of a very successful and great program, where myself,
Megan (Hodge), Nicole (Fawcett), and Alisha (Glass) could all go into the pool
of players to compete for spots on this Olympic roster."
Q: You touched on Megan,
Alisha, and Nicole. You look at the 12-person roster and two are Penn Staters
and then additionally Alisha and Nicole as alternates. What's it like to have
teammates around you in this elite company?
Harmotto: "It's fantastic for me. It's something for me, my senior year when
Nicole and I were asked to come out and try out for the national team. Megan
and Alisha that following summer came out for a couple of weeks. At some point,
it was Blair (Brown) and Arielle (Wilson) were there too. There were six Penn Staters there and former
teammates. That was really cool and I think it's a tribute to the people that
Penn State recruits and, obviously, the training that goes on behind Coach
Rose. They build their athletes to train hard and work hard and it develops us
into good players, where we can begin to compete at that international level."
Harmotto: "I think at this level, it's so much about the mental game, as
well. You spend your life learning these skills and coach is trying to strip us
of some of our bad habits here. You just stay in the trenches and grind and
grind and grind. That's something that Coach Rose definitely taught us and he
expects the best out of us. A lot of times, it's figuring out what you're doing
wrong and how to fix it. Coach Rose helped us to figure out a lot of things on
our own by presenting these different challenges, whether it was in practice or
things along the way. I think he prepared us the best mentally for this and you
grow up in the Penn State program and know you have to work hard in order to
succeed and it's the same thing at this level."
Harmotto: "It's a four year all-year round commitment. My National team
season began in May 2009 and went until October that year and then we all split
off and went to our professional teams. The coaches here expect that you to
work on things you learned the past summer and then we all meet back up again
the following May. It's constantly on
your mind. It's not easy; it's been somewhat of a rollarcoaster for me both
from the mental side and the physical side. I had another knee surgery last
year and things like that. You have four years to get to this ultimate dream
and goal. I can't tell you how rewarding it is to reflect back on the
relationships I built with all of these different players that I took from this
year and Penn State. There's a whole lot
more that goes into that final day when the Olympic roster is decided. I think
it's a tribute to all 25-plus girls that have been in and out of the program
and trained for these Olympic games. Without all 25, then the final 12 would
not be as good as they are. I think it's
important to have depth and I think we showed at the Grand Prix that it didn't
matter what lineup we threw out there.
We were able to get it done because of the work and the hours that every
player has put in."
Harmotto: "As we say in California, it's pretty gnarly. (laughter) Everyday
when you go in that gym, it's essentially like a four-year tryout in the sense
that you're building. They're studying
everything, serving, passing, hitting.
They give you chances to check back in and work on things, but they
prepare you for these matches during practice.
There are only so many matches we get to play a year with the national
team, so I think they do a great job of creating that environment where there's
pressure. You know that they're studying
you. That's something that different people deal with differently. As far as
competing against the ability level of our team, we have the three middles from
the previous Olympic team. You walk in
and first off they are fantastic in showing how to work and stay healthy. You go out to just become whatever player you
become, whether it's chipping in or just watching them. It's a combination of competition and
phenomenal friendship. We have several girls who have competed for
international or national championships.
We enjoy watching all of these players that are part of our era and now
they're some of our best friends. So you
have the relationship aspect, the learning aspect, and the competition. You have to go out and stay with it. You have a bad week here and there and you
have to stay in the trenches and Penn State and Coach Rose prepared me for
that. It helps me for those pressure
moments, when I'm in the trenches and grinding it out while competing against
these players."
Q:
What was that moment like when you were notified that you were on the 12-player
roster going to London?
Harmotto: "They organized individual
meetings in 10-minute intervals on July 3rd in rank by seniority. Mine was at 11:30 and I walked in, the first
thing that we've spoken with all four coaches and we've nominated you for
London, and I think they said some other things afterward. After you hear those
words, I was trying to process everything because it all happened so fast. I
can't believe it's already here. It was
very special and it's something that I'll definitely remember and have that in
me for the rest of my life. There's a whole lot of preparation for the
Olympics, but there's a whole lot more that goes along with it."
Q:
What will your schedule entail during your time in London?
Harmotto: "We played a match against
Liberia this past week and had a full day schedule, which is how it is for the
Olympics. We play a day and then we're
off a day. You can check the USA
Volleyball website for the schedule. I
think we start the 28th because the opening ceremony is the 27th. We play Korea first and then it's every other
day. We'll play each team in our pool
and you can see all of that information on the website. After pool play ends, we'll have crossover
matches and then eventually if we win, which is the goal, we have the
semifinals and finals."
Q:
What do you think of the field and how the team stacks up?
Harmotto: "As a team, we're
definitely up there in the world rankings.
In February we were moved up to the No. 1 spot. Coach Rose always talked about at Penn State,
it's not where we start, it's where we finish.
I'm sure that stands true for this, too.
Everyone goes to the Olympics hoping to win on the international level
and we've been training for this pressure for four years. There's no turning it off. I think it carries over from our practices
and training camp, because you can't take a day off or someone will pass you
by. I think it's that same attitude on
the court. You have Brazil, Russia, and
the Italians and all of those great teams.
We're ready to compete and we'll see what happens."
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CHICAGO, Ill. - Senior
linebacker Michael Mauti had very direct messages to the supporters who have
sent messages to the Nittany Lions this week. Penn State fans across the nation should watch
Mauti, senior defensive tackle Jordan Hill and junior guard John Urschel to
hear what they had to say at Big Ten Kickoff on Thursday in Chicago.
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CHICAGO, Ill. -
Head coach Bill O'Brien spent Thursday in Chicago speaking with college
football media from across the country. Check
out sights and sounds from day one of the Big Ten Kickoff and hear from the
leader of Penn State football.
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Head coach Bill O'Brien traveled to the ESPN campus in Bristol, Conn., on
Wednesday to do a series of interviews with a variety of the network's
platforms.
The list included a live interview on the Mike and Mike show with Mike Greenberg
and Mike Golic, a live interview with Rece Davis on SportsCenter, an ESPN.com
chat and an interview with ESPN The Magazine.
From Bristol, Coach O'Brien traveled to Chicago for Big Ten Media
Days. Take a behind the scenes look at
his visit to ESPN.
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Head coach Bill O'Brien has conducted two team
meetings with the members of the Nittany Lion football squad since Monday
morning, and his message was clear on both occasions.
"It's a place that combines great academics with good, tough football.
None of that has changed," Coach O'Brien said on Tuesday.
O'Brien took the head coaching position at Penn State University because it
provides an opportunity to mentor and teach high character student-athletes in
the game of football while they work towards and receive a world-class degree
in one of the more than 100 different academic programs on the University Park
campus.
He said that both meetings were very positive, and that the team is built with
a collection of high character student-athletes.
"I feel good about this team. They care about this University and this
football team," O'Brien said.
The program will face challenging days in the coming seasons, but O'Brien is
leading the Nittany Lions into the future by moving forward with a positive
attitude.
"The way you travel through life is how you handle adversity," he
said. "You can't dwell on the past. You've got to move forward. That's
what we're doing," O'Brien said.
O'Brien added that in coaching you are always taught to be prepared for
anything that is thrown at you.
The Nittany Lion faithful will play an integral part in the process of helping
O'Brien and the student-athletes move forward into the next chapter of Penn
State football. The undying support of
Penn State fans has never been more important to the program than it is today
and throughout the future.
As Coach O'Brien said on Tuesday, Penn State's players will compete in seven
bowl games each season inside the 108,000-seat home of Nittany Lion
football. The fans, supporters, alumni
and lettermen can certainly do their part in ensuring that the stadium is full
each Saturday throughout the fall.
"Move forward. Renew your tickets. Jump on board with a new era of Penn
State football," O'Brien encouraged Penn State fans.
Coach O'Brien is going to fight every day to ensure that the Penn State
football program and its players are performing at the highest possible level
on the field and in the classroom. From
the moment he stepped on campus, the leader of Penn State football has never backed
away from a challenge.
"You have a team here that is really close to each other, and it has a lot
of fight in it," O'Brien said. "Just
like its head coach. We have
resolve."
O'Brien's actions and response to how the program will move forward after the
hand it was dealt on Monday is no different than his original message when he
accepted the job on Jan. 6.
"I'm here to do the best job that I can for Penn State and for these kids
on the team and this coaching staff," said O'Brien.
Coach O'Brien and the Nittany Lions kick off practice on Aug. 6. The season-opener against Frank Solich and
the Ohio Bobcats is 38 days away in Beaver Stadium.
"We get to start our season on Sept. 1 in front of 108,000 strong and I couldn't
feel better about that," O'Brien said.
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Since I was young, I've always been a huge fan of Penn State Volleyball. My parent
s would always take my sister, brother and I up for both Men's and Women's games. As I started getting older however, I was spoiled with being able to see inside the Women's locker room, meeting room and even sit in some of the best seats in the house right next to the blue and white band. One thing I always was amazed by though was the tremendous support this team had. At the start of each game if you just took a quick peak to your right you would be able to pick out some of the teams biggest fans. Decorated in Penn State apparel from head to toe and sticking their hands out for the girls to high five as they ran by for warm up.
Well today I was fortunate enough to get to meet some of these people at our Special Olympics Volleyball event. I was warmly welcomed into the gym with a big smile and hug from a very enthusiastic Curtis. As soon as the girls walked into the gym, there were shouts of excitement and smiles from the crowd who remembered each girl and their numbers. We started off with quick introductions for the new members, and quickly got into our warm-up. They were extremely cooperative and energetic. In fact some of them decided that our warm-up wasn't tough enough and suggested some line jumps and jumping jacks.
Following, we split into three courts sending four teammates or so on each court. I was given the "beginners court", but they looked as if they had been playing volleyball many times before. As I started to break down an underhand serve, Bryan instead shook his head and showed me that he had his overhand serve mastered.
After that, assistant coach Steve Aird brought all of us in for some ball handling drills. We started with one hand touches, to self setting, and by the end of it, we were peppering back and forth. My partner had tapped Steve on the shoulder in excitement telling him to watch how many balls we could play back and forth.
Clearly showing that they had their skills down, we broke back up into three courts again and started to play a game. It was inspiring to watch their teamwork communicating to us about whose ball was whose. As I looked down at the other courts I saw some pretty impressive rallies even including some dives in there to save the ball from touching the ground. Throughout the whole gym there was nothing but smiles from our participants, their parents, my teammates, coaches and the volunteers.
We celebrated such great play with a little pizza party after, and signing some posters. Everyone was great and so thankful and incredibly inspiring. They all promised to attend some of our games. Which is one of the best things about State College. I know that come game time this fall, I'll be able to look over my shoulder to see my new friends smiling there and cheering us on.
-Kendall Pierce
Freshman #3
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
GoPSUsports.com wraps up its introduction of the Nittany Lion basketball freshmen
for the 2012-13 season.
Today, we sit down with 6-3, 185-pound forward Akosa Maduegbunam. The Boston native will bring a great deal of
athleticism and perimeter shooting to the Nittany Lion roster. Second-year head coach Patrick Chambers originally
recruited Maduegbunam when he was at Boston University. One of the top high school players in Massachusetts,
Maduegbunam averaged 18 points, six rebounds and four assists per game for The Winchendon
School last season.
Maduegbunam is on campus enrolled in classes and working out in preparation for
his first campaign in Happy Valley. Meet
Nittany Lion basketball freshman Akosa Maduegbunam. (And learn the proper
pronunciation of his name.)
Meet the Freshmen - Donovon Jack
Meet the Freshmen - Brandon Taylor
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
The Nittany Lions are less than three weeks away from the opening day of
training camp on Aug. 6. To get ready
for the start of practice, GoPSUsports.com will continue rolling out a series
of player interviews over the next several days.
Today, we focus on junior safety Malcolm Willis. With the departure of four senior starters
from the 2011 secondary, Willis will be looked upon as one of the veterans in a
young corps of defensive backs. The
Maryland native is the most experienced safety on the roster. Playing in every
game last year, Willis recorded 33 tackles (22 solo), as well as one
interception, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. See what the junior has to say leading up to
the start of camp.
Silas Redd Summer Interview
Pete Massaro Summer Interview
Matt McGloin Summer Interview
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Twitter @GoPSUTony
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
GoPSUsports.com continues its introduction of the Nittany Lion basketball freshmen
for the 2012-13 season.
Today, we sit down with 6-8, 235-pound forward Brandon Taylor. The Tabernacle, N.J. product has a Big Ten
body and is ready to contribute for the Nittany Lions. Taylor has the ability to post up and shoot
from the perimeter. He helped Trenton
Catholic Academy (N.J.) to a 2010 New Jersey Non-Public B State Championship.
Taylor is on campus enrolled in classes and working out in preparation for his
first season in Happy Valley. Meet
Nittany Lion basketball freshman Brandon Taylor.
Meet the Freshmen - Donovon Jack
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
The Nittany Lions are less than three weeks away from the opening day of
training camp on Aug. 6. To get ready
for the start of practice, GoPSUsports.com will continue rolling out a series
of player interviews over the next several days.
Today, we focus on quarterback Matt McGloin.
The senior was named starting quarterback entering the 2012 season on
June 1. Learning a
new offensive language, commanding the offense at the line of scrimmage while
reading the defense and practicing at a swift pace were all challenges for
McGloin and the rest of the quarterbacks during their first spring under the
direction of Bill O'Brien.
McGloin improved each day and played the best football of the spring at the end
of the practice season and ultimately earned the starting assignment, which
sent the fiery competitor into the summer with a great deal of confidence. McGloin has studied the offense throughout
the summer and is eager to start fall practice on Aug. 6.
Silas Redd Summer Interview
Pete Massaro Summer Interview
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Twitter @GoPSUTony
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Beginning today, GoPSUsports.com will introduce
the Nittany Lion basketball freshmen for the 2012-13 season with a series of
video interviews.
First up is 6-9, 205-pound forward Donovon Jack. Hailing from Reading, Pa., Jack brings a big
post presence to the Penn State roster.
Jack is an athletic big man with a high basketball IQ. The Berks Catholic all-state forward led his
high school squad to a 28-3 mark, division, county and district championships
last season.
Jack is on campus enrolled in classes and working out in preparation for his
first season in Happy Valley. Meet
Nittany Lion basketball freshman Donovan Jack.
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Several members of the Nittany Lion football team
are working at internships to fulfill degree requirements this summer.
Recently, GoPSUsports.com visited safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong at his summer
internship at the world headquarters for Minitab, a statistical software
company in State College. Developed in
1972, Minitab also has offices in the United Kingdom, France and Australia.
Obeng-Agyapong works in the marketing department of Minitab. Among his many tasks, Obeng-Agyapong organizes
storage files, communicates with a number of different clients on a regular
basis and conducts demos with vendors.
An IST (information, sciences and technology) major, Obeng-Agyapong said
that he has learned a lot from his internship at Minitab this summer. Take a look.
The Lady Lions will begin their European trip in Paris, where they will spend two nights. The team will visit several historic landmarks and museums in Paris, including the Louvre, the Effiel Tower, the Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomphe. The Lady Lions will take on Le Havre in their first tour game on August 15.
Penn State will then travel to Nice for a one-day tour stop before heading to Monaco and Lake Como for two days. On the second day in Lake Como, the team will play their second game of the tour against the Italian All-Star Team on August 18. The Lady Lions continue their tour in Florence, where they will see the Duomo, the Piazza della Signoria and Ponte Vecchio.
The final destination for the Lady Lions is a three-day visit to Rome, where Penn State will see the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, the Vatican, the Roman Colosseum & Forum and the Pantheon & Piazza Navona. The Lady Lions will play their final game of the European Tour against the Italian All-Star team on August 21.
The Lady Lions opened their practice today...check it out.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lions are less than three weeks away from the
opening day of training camp on Aug. 6.
To get ready for the start of practice, GoPSUsports.com will continue
rolling out a series of player interviews over the next several days.
Today, we focus on senior defensive end Pete Massaro. After a strong 2010 campaign, Massaro missed
all of 2011 with a knee injury. He is
back to full strength and looking forward to playing a pivotal role on the
Nittany Lion defense in the fall.
Silas Redd Summer Interview
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lions are three weeks away from the
opening day of training camp on Aug. 6.
To get ready for the start of practice, GoPSUsports.com will be rolling
out a series of player interviews over the next several days.
First up is a conversation with junior tailback Silas Redd. The Connecticut native returns to the
backfield following a superb sophomore season.
Redd tallied 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns in 2011. See what he is looking forward to about the
2012 campaign.
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Photo Gallery: 10th Annual Lift For Life
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Friday evening's 10th Annual Uplifting Athletes
"Lift For Life" was a huge success with the offense battling past the the defense in a
seven-event competition while raising money for the Kidney Cancer Association.
Early indications are that the funds raised in 2012 will top the
$100,000 mark for the second-straight year, bringing the 10-year total to more than $700,000 raised for kidney
cancer treatment and research. Fans
can still make a "Lift For Life" donation by visiting the Penn State
Uplifting Athletes donation page at: http://liftforlife.upliftingathletes.org/lfl2/.
On the field, the Nittany Lions engaged in a fierce battle pitting the
offense (blue) against the defense (white) during a new team-oriented format that was a big hit with the more than 2,500 fans in attendance. The offense and
defense were each broken into three groups - "jets" (QB, RB, WR vs. DB), "bombers"
(TE, FB vs. LB) and "tanks" (OL vs. DL).
Those three groups battled head-to-head in six grueling stations before
capping things off with three games of tug-of-war.
The six stations included two players from each team pushing 6,400-pound
conversion vans, a medicine ball toss through the uprights of a goal post, a
giant truck tire flip team relay, a shuttle run while carrying 100-pound bags,
a sled pull and push and a farmer's carry.
Boosted by big performances from the offensive line and skill players, the
offense took a 90-66 lead on the scoreboard heading into the five-minute
halftime break after the teams finished their third rotation. The defense closed the margin to within 10
points (146-136) following the sixth rotation, thanks to a big finish from the
defensive line on the farmer's carry.
The narrow margin set up a dramatic finish with three tug-of-war contests, each
worth 10 points towards the final team scoring, deciding the outcome.
The offense claimed all three pulls to score a 176-136 victory, and the
unit will take some friendly bragging rights into the start of training camp,
which begins on Aug. 6.
The Nittany Lions met with the fans and signed autographs after the test of
physical and mental strength before participating in a team barbecue.
The players were in unanimous agreement following the 100-minute workout that
the conversion van push was the toughest station in the competition. Senior running back Michael Zordich described
the van push as the ultimate leg workout.
Fitzgerald said afterwards that he felt like Friday's strenuous workout helped
the team take a step forward in its quest to be in the best physical condition
it can be in heading into the Sept. 1 season-opener against Ohio.
Fitzgerald jumped in and participated on a couple different events during the night, including
the tire flip relay.
The 10th Lift For Life was again a tremendous success and fundraiser for kidney
cancer, largely thanks to countless hours of preparation from the Uplifting
Athletes group led by senior tackle Mike Farrell.
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RELEASE: Offense vs. Defense at 10th Annual Lift
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State strength coach Craig Fitzgerald wants
to see the Nittany Lions having fun while they engage in a fierce competition
pitting the offense against the defense at the 10th Annual Lift For Life on the
Penn State Lacrosse Field from 5-7 p.m. on Friday.
The grueling workout is a staple in the summer training for the Nittany Lion
football program. All of the proceeds
for the event are raised for kidney cancer awareness and assistance.
"Penn State has a proud tradition of always doing a great job with Lift For
Life," Fitzgerald said. "It is a great
event, and it is a great cause. I'm
really proud of our players. They have
really taken the forefront on this. They
are pushing the whole thing, and they are trying to raise as much money as they
can. We are all behind them."
This year's new format will pit the offensive line against the defensive line,
the tight ends against the linebackers and the quarterbacks and wide receivers
against the defensive backs. The teams
will participate in seven different events.
Points will be awarded for each event with the winner decided by the
highest cumulative total between the offense and defense.
As the points come in from each event, fans will see updates throughout the
evening. Coach Fitzgerald is encouraging
the fans to rally behind groups and individual players to help push for more
competition while the squads battle to determine a winner.
"The fans can expect to see intensity from our players; the guys getting after
it and competing," Fitzgerald said. "We
are going to do some neat drills where they are flipping tires, tug of war,
obstacle courses, to name a few drills.
We are going to make it really fun and exciting for our players, and it
will be fun and exciting for the fans."
We caught up with Fitzgerald and Uplifting Athletes President Mike Farrell, who
is leading the staff of student-athletes organizing Friday's Lift For Life
event. Take a look.
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GoPSUsports.com's Tony Mancuso on Twitter @GoPSUTony
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Football Bowl Association (FBA) released the
upcoming bowl schedule for the 2012 football season on Tuesday.
In all, 35 bowl games will be played in 28 different communities. The Big Ten Conference will again have ties
to eight different bowl games this season.
Should the conference have eight bowl eligible teams, the Big Ten will
fill spots in a bowl games stretching from the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on
Dec. 26 to the Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO on Jan. 1.
Penn State has played in six different bowl games during the past seven
seasons. The list includes the Orange
Bowl (2006), Outback Bowl (2007, 2011), Alamo Bowl (2007), Rose Bowl (2009),
Capital One Bowl (2010) and TicketCity Bowl (2012).
The Big Ten will be busy on Tues., Jan. 1 with five games, including two games starting
at 12 p.m. and two starting at 1 p.m.
The matchups include three Big Ten-SEC clashes at the Gator, Outback and
Capital One Bowls. Take a look at the
full Big Ten bowl lineup.
2012-13 Big Ten Bowl Schedule
|
Date/Time
(ET) |
Bowl |
Site |
Matchup |
TV |
|
Dec. 26/7:30 p.m. |
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl |
Detroit, Mich. |
Big Ten vs. MAC |
ESPN |
|
Dec. 28/9 p.m. |
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas |
Houston, Texas |
Big Ten vs. Big 12 |
ESPN |
|
Dec. 29/10:15 p.m. |
Valley of the Sun Bowl |
Tempe, Ariz. |
Big Ten vs. Big 12 |
ESPN |
|
Jan. 1/12 p.m. |
TicketCity Bowl |
Dallas, Texas |
Big Ten vs. C-USA |
ESPNU |
|
Jan. 1/12 p.m. |
TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl |
Jacksonville, Fla. |
Big Ten vs. SEC |
ESPN2 |
|
Jan. 1/1 p.m. |
Capital One Bowl |
Orlando, Fla. |
Big Ten vs. SEC |
TBA |
|
Jan. 1/1 p.m. |
Outback Bowl |
Tampa, Fla. |
Big Ten vs. SEC |
TBA |
|
Jan. 1/5 p.m. |
Rose Bowl Game |
Pasadena, Calif. |
Big Ten vs. Pac-12 |
ESPN |
For a complete list of all 35 bowl games in 2012-13, follow the link below:
2012-13 Bowl Schedule
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Twitter @GoPSUTony
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Penn State point guard Tim Frazier has been in elite company on the hardwood
this summer.
The standout senior worked out with some of the game's top point guards at the
Deron Williams Skills Academy from June 21-23.
Beginning today, Frazier will be in Las Vegas after receiving an
invitation to the LeBron James Skills Academy, which hosts 20 of the top players
in college basketball.
GoPSUsports.com caught up with Frazier before traveling to the LeBron James
Skills Academy. Take a look.
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GoPSUsports.com's Tony Mancuso on Twitter @GoPSUTony
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the past nine years, Uplifting Athletes, a
group of Penn State football players, have worked together to lead the fight against
kidney cancer.
To date, the group has raised more than $600,000, including more than $100,000
alone in 2011, for the Kidney Cancer Association. Each summer, Uplifting Athletes hosts Lift
For Life, a grueling test of physical and mental strength, to benefit of kidney
cancer.
Founded by Penn State Football teammates Scott Shirley, Dave
Costlow and Damone Jones in 2003, Uplifting Athletes is currently led by senior
tackle Mike Farrell. Farrell and his
volunteer staff of football student athletes are getting set for the 10th
Annual Penn State Lift for Life.
This year's event will take place on Friday, July 13 from 5-7 p.m. at the Penn
State Lacrosse Field (located next to the Multisport Building). Look for more information on the new format
of the event in the coming days on GoPSUsports.com.
We recently caught up with Farrell as the Uplifting Athletes group reaches its
final days of preparation for the event on July 13. Take a look.
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GoPSUsports.com's Tony Mancuso on Twitter @GoPSUTony
