Penn State Football: Changes Coming to Lift for Life

Penn State is smack dab in the middle of its winter conditioning workouts, waking up twice a week for a 5:30 a.m. run and agility testing.

But behind closed doors is the planning of the signature workout of the football season — Lift for Life, a mid-summer gauntlet of strength and conditioning that also raises funds for Uplifting Athletes, a non-profit charity that benefits research to combat rare diseases.

Senior offensive tackle Mike Farrell, this year’s president for the Penn State chapter of Uplifting Athletes, expects to finalize details for the 2012 Lift for Life event early this week, including a date — July 13, the Friday during Arts Fest weekend, is a safe bet.

A change in venue hasn’t been ruled out, either. Since 2003, Holuba Hall has housed the event, but climate control and parking have become an issue. The Multi-Sport Facility is one venue being considered. Moving the event outside is also being kicked around.

Mark Brennan of the Penn State football website FightOnState.com reported strength coach Craig Fitzgerald wants to hold the event in the evening, which would be another change.

“I expect there to be changes to events, the number of events and duration,” Farrell said Friday, “free weight use, more head-to-head competition. The competition was built on personal or team scores. This year there will be a lot more visible head-to-head competition.”

Specifically, an offense vs. defense scoring format was discussed, Farrell said.

Uplifting Athletes Executive Director Scott Shirley and chapter leadership met with head coach Bill O’Brien last Monday to talk logistics and learn more about plans for the 2012 event.

“It was really detail oriented,” Shirley said. Before the meeting even started, O’Brien pointed toward Shirley.

“Let me start by saying I love what you do,” Shirley recalled O’Brien telling him. “I love what you’re about. You have my full support. Let’s not talk about it. Let’s just go out and do it.”

Shirley wasn’t exactly worried about the chapter’s future once the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal hit in November, leading to the dismissal of former coach Joe Paterno. After all, what coach wouldn’t support an effort like Uplifting Athletes?

But . . .

“I think there’s always fear with uncertainty and there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding all the events that have transpired,” Shirley said. “I’ve had faith in [athletic director Dave] Joyner and the search committee, and what they stated that they were looking for in a candidate I thought was consistent with the type of person that would embrace what we’re doing.”

The whole concept surrounding Uplifting Athletes has to hit home for O’Brien, as well.  His 9-year-old son Jack has a severe developmental disability called lissencephaly, a rare genetic brain malformation.

O’Brien will speak at this year’s event, Shirley said. Paterno was never able to do so because he usually took his summer vacation during that time.

Paterno, who passed away last month because of complications from lung cancer treatments, and multiple members of the previous coaching staff have contributed funds in the past. Shirley and Farrell were not aware of any monetary contribution to the charity this year in Paterno’s name, but seeing one wouldn’t be a surprise.

“Uplifting Athletes is a great product of the ‘Grand Experiment,’ ” said Shirley, who shared similar remarks at the memorial service for Paterno in Harrisburg earlier this month. “Even though Joe didn’t necessarily sit down with us and Joe never worked on the business plan — it was completely ours from the idea, from the inception and execution. But the only reason this ever happened is because of the program Joe built that attracted guys like Dave Costlow and Damone Jones.”

Donations have already started coming in this year for the fight against kidney cancer. The team cranks up its fundraising efforts Blue-White weekend (April 20-22) with a booth set up outside Beaver Stadium and players participating in the dunk-tank while others collect money in cans.

Formed in 2003, the Uplifting Athletes chapter at Penn State has raised nearly $600,000 for the Kidney Cancer Association. In 2011, more than $100,000 was raised. 

Shirley, Costlow and Jones founded the event, set for its 10th year, after Shirley’s father Don was diagnosed with kidney cancer, a disease which ultimately took his life.

Shirley was driving on Interstate 80, about 30 miles outside Kent, Ohio on Friday afternoon.

He just left a meeting at Michigan with its director of football operations about starting a chapter in Ann Arbor. Typically, it takes about 18 months for a chapter to launch. Notre Dame is expected to next join the nine other universities that support the effort.

Then, it was on to Kent State and Akron, building on what he started nine years ago, something which doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.