Thursday, October 7, 2010
Homecoming Game
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
What can Brown do for you?
News - Liberty Flames
Record breaking crowd for Flames home opener
During the last nine months, Williams Stadium, Liberty's on-campus football facility since 1989, underwent a major renovation. The stadium received additional seating, expanding the seating to 19,200, while adding a five-story press box with 18 luxury suites and an 11,000-square foot Flames Club Pavilion room.
To see the rest of the article about the reopening and Flames home-opener check out the link after the jump.
Two Gillispie's Too Much
During the 2001 Rose Bowl, a packed house of more than 94,000 fans watched the Washington Huskies ring in the New Year with a 34-24 victory over Purdue. Standing at the north entrance of the stadium, Liberty alumnus Bill Gillespie, the Huskies’ strength coach, stared up at a firework-filled sky with tears in his eyes and thought to himself, “Why couldn’t this be Liberty?”
“It really bothered me,” he recalled. “It would really have meant something if it was Liberty.”
After finishing his stint with Washington and serving on the Seattle Seahawks’ strength and conditioning staff for two years, Gillespie returned to his alma mater in 2005 to serve as Liberty’s strength and conditioning coordinator. He remembers meeting with the late Dr. Jerry Falwell, who told him his vision for Liberty athletics — the same vision that prompted the former football player to ride on a bus 84 hours from Tacoma, Wash., to walk on the team at LU nearly 30 years ago.
These days, Gillespie works primarily with LU’s football program, guiding players through intense weight room workouts that enhance their on-field performance. Aside from developing champions on the gridiron, the strength coach is a 15-time World Champion and 34-time world record holder in the bench press.
When he first arrived at LU in the late 70s, a friend invited him to lift weights; convincing Gillespie he possessed the potential to become even stronger. After steadily increasing his strength in college, he attended the National Powerlifting Championships where he competed against other lifters in the bench press, squat and deadlift. By meet’s end, he ranked last in the bench press by 35 pounds.
For years, Gillespie viewed the bench press as a useless exercise, excelling more in the squat and deadlift. However, at the age of 35, he saw a dramatic change in his abilities.
“It was sort of like Sarah and Abraham where Sarah laughed at God saying, ‘There’s no way I can have children. I’m too old.’ Here I was, 35, and I’m making fun of the bench press and God in his infinite sense of humor decides, ‘Guess what you’re going to be good at?’”
At the 2005 World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters (WABDL) Southern U.S. Bench Press and Deadlift Championships in Atlanta, Gillespie became the first man over 40 to bench more than 800 pounds with a lift of 800.1.
This powerful achievement is an obvious highlight in his career, but there is another moment that remains close to his heart.
Growing up in Seattle, his son Cameron Gillespie (now a junior at Liberty) watched other World Champion powerlifters enter his dad’s gym and clean enormous amounts of weight. One day he told his dad he wanted to bench 500 pounds before he turned 17.
Taken back initially by his son’s seemingly lofty goal, Gillespie prepared Cameron for the world championships and, at 16 years old, he set a world record in his age group with a lift of 462 pounds.
Cameron’s personal best in the bench is now 485. Together, the Gillespies’ best lifts equal just over 1,285 pounds, making them the world’s strongest father-son bench press tandem.
“Getting the world record for me was probably the biggest achievement in my life, and it meant a lot to me to share that with my dad,” Cameron said. “Not a whole lot of people, especially father and son, get to share an achievement like that.”
As an inside linebacker on Liberty’s football team, Cameron is not able to concentrate on powerlifting at the moment, but he hopes to break his dad’s 800-pound mark before he turns 30.
In the meantime, Bill Gillespie is focused on returning to top form after cutting 65 pounds of bodyweight.
A month prior to the 2008 WABDL World Bench Press Championships in November, he came down with the flu, making it difficult to train for the meet. Around the same time, an explosion occurred at a bonfire, leaving him with second-degree burns on the right side of his body. Refusing to miss a workout, Bill overcame pain and sickness as he prepared for the year’s biggest competition.
“There are times when you are constantly fighting different things that are going to set you back and you’re not always going to feel like lifting,” he said. “You just learn a mentality that you are going to find a way to get it done.”
Wanting to prove age is merely a number, the 49-year-old traveled to Las Vegas for the world championships, clearing 711 pounds en route to his 34th world record and 14th and 15th world titles.
For the Gillespies, weightlifting is a tool that not only strengthens their bodies, but also their father-son relationship. While the elder Gillespie desires to reach his personal best once again, his son strives to follow in his footsteps. As they press on toward the high mark, they rely on a strength that is not measured by pounds or weights — the strength that comes from the Heavenly Father.
“It really bothered me,” he recalled. “It would really have meant something if it was Liberty.”
After finishing his stint with Washington and serving on the Seattle Seahawks’ strength and conditioning staff for two years, Gillespie returned to his alma mater in 2005 to serve as Liberty’s strength and conditioning coordinator. He remembers meeting with the late Dr. Jerry Falwell, who told him his vision for Liberty athletics — the same vision that prompted the former football player to ride on a bus 84 hours from Tacoma, Wash., to walk on the team at LU nearly 30 years ago.
These days, Gillespie works primarily with LU’s football program, guiding players through intense weight room workouts that enhance their on-field performance. Aside from developing champions on the gridiron, the strength coach is a 15-time World Champion and 34-time world record holder in the bench press.
When he first arrived at LU in the late 70s, a friend invited him to lift weights; convincing Gillespie he possessed the potential to become even stronger. After steadily increasing his strength in college, he attended the National Powerlifting Championships where he competed against other lifters in the bench press, squat and deadlift. By meet’s end, he ranked last in the bench press by 35 pounds.
For years, Gillespie viewed the bench press as a useless exercise, excelling more in the squat and deadlift. However, at the age of 35, he saw a dramatic change in his abilities.
“It was sort of like Sarah and Abraham where Sarah laughed at God saying, ‘There’s no way I can have children. I’m too old.’ Here I was, 35, and I’m making fun of the bench press and God in his infinite sense of humor decides, ‘Guess what you’re going to be good at?’”
At the 2005 World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters (WABDL) Southern U.S. Bench Press and Deadlift Championships in Atlanta, Gillespie became the first man over 40 to bench more than 800 pounds with a lift of 800.1.
This powerful achievement is an obvious highlight in his career, but there is another moment that remains close to his heart.
Taken back initially by his son’s seemingly lofty goal, Gillespie prepared Cameron for the world championships and, at 16 years old, he set a world record in his age group with a lift of 462 pounds.
Cameron’s personal best in the bench is now 485. Together, the Gillespies’ best lifts equal just over 1,285 pounds, making them the world’s strongest father-son bench press tandem.
“Getting the world record for me was probably the biggest achievement in my life, and it meant a lot to me to share that with my dad,” Cameron said. “Not a whole lot of people, especially father and son, get to share an achievement like that.”
As an inside linebacker on Liberty’s football team, Cameron is not able to concentrate on powerlifting at the moment, but he hopes to break his dad’s 800-pound mark before he turns 30.
In the meantime, Bill Gillespie is focused on returning to top form after cutting 65 pounds of bodyweight.
A month prior to the 2008 WABDL World Bench Press Championships in November, he came down with the flu, making it difficult to train for the meet. Around the same time, an explosion occurred at a bonfire, leaving him with second-degree burns on the right side of his body. Refusing to miss a workout, Bill overcame pain and sickness as he prepared for the year’s biggest competition.
“There are times when you are constantly fighting different things that are going to set you back and you’re not always going to feel like lifting,” he said. “You just learn a mentality that you are going to find a way to get it done.”
Wanting to prove age is merely a number, the 49-year-old traveled to Las Vegas for the world championships, clearing 711 pounds en route to his 34th world record and 14th and 15th world titles.
For the Gillespies, weightlifting is a tool that not only strengthens their bodies, but also their father-son relationship. While the elder Gillespie desires to reach his personal best once again, his son strives to follow in his footsteps. As they press on toward the high mark, they rely on a strength that is not measured by pounds or weights — the strength that comes from the Heavenly Father.
All this rain is putting a damper on LU football Practice!
Found this article at WSET News,
All this rain has put a damper on football practice at Liberty University. They're dealing with a massive sinkhole that washed away much of their practice field.
The hole is only about three feet wide, but it goes down at least 20 feet and it spreads out as it drops. Cones have been put up to mark the perimeter of the hole beneath the surface.
The school says it appeared after the heavy rainfall on Sunday night. Before the team came out for practice Monday, they spotted the opening before it could swallow anyone up.
"Luckily, nobody was practicing, it happened during the night and so nobody was hurt, that's the main thing but we think it was just some debris in there that rotted over the years," said Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr.
Now the concern is having the right field to practice on. Coach Danny Rocco says the offense and defense normally rotate practicing on the grass field. But with the sinkhole, offense and defense were forced to practice together on the turf field while Coach looks for an alternative.
One note probably wasn't in Coach Danny Rocco's playbook.
"I just noticed something unusual at or near midfield over here," said Rocco. That was last Thursday when Rocco inspected the field.
"I was standing on it and I was pressing on it. I didn't jump on it but I was kinda going like this," said Rocco.
Come Monday, the soft spot on the grass was a crater in the ground! Now, Coach Rocco's had a chance to see what ruined his field.
"15, 20 feet deep, a good 30 feet in diameter. And who really knows how big this thing can grow," said Rocco.
"But it was quite a surprise to go out and see a hole. It looks like a big room down there," said Falwell Jr.
A giant basement not suitable for a practice field.
So, Rocco sent all his players to the turf while he finds a grass-like field, without any holes.
"When we go out on the road to play a road game on grass, I have to make sure I get our team practicing on a grass surface," said Rocco.
"Whatever debris was under that field just rotted over the years. We don't know if it was tree stumps or something else," said Falwell Jr.
When the bizarre happens, and no one is hurt, a joke is sometimes all you can say.
"I was thinking first one of the big lineman was standing there and that's what caused it give way," said Falwell Jr.
"Yeah, I'm not sure what we're going to do. Maybe we'll put a tent over it or something," said Rocco.
If you want to see more video of the LU sinkhole check out the linkhttp://www.wset.com/global/story.asp?s=13240578
If you want to see more video of the LU sinkhole check out the linkhttp://www.wset.com/global/story.asp?s=13240578
Offensive big south payer of the week
Chris Summers was named this weeks Big South Conference offensive player of the week. This kid is a stud. At the game last week I felt like we should throw it to him every play. When the ball was anywhere within his reach it stuck to his hands like glue. The one pass where he got mauled on the pass interference he still almost caught it. I'd love for someone to find me a better WR in the country. Look at the numbers he's put up against the likes of JMU and Ball State. Imagine what he's going to do against the Big South.
I remember when he got here he was so hyped up and was just so disappointing. I knew he'd eventually be at least serviceable but I didn't think he'd be able to live up to what we expected out of him before he even played a down. Boy was I wrong. He doesn't just rely on his physical superiority either. He seems to do everything well, and be physically superior to whoever's defending him.
There's a link for Summers after the jump
There's a link for Summers after the jump
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