Central Michigan University Athletics
Crucible Week Intensifies Offseason Workouts
6/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
MOUNT PLEASANT To an outsider, Dave Lawson’s role as CMU’s director of strength and conditioning might seem like little more than overseeing the weight room, coordinating weight lifting sessions and conditioning CMU’s student-athletes.
In reality, Lawson and his staff are the central figures in helping the Chippewas’ student-athletes prepare themselves for both the mental and physical challenges of the upcoming season. To that end, Lawson is constantly developing new workout programs and new ideas that are not only challenging, but also provide a welcome break from the routine of offseason workouts.
“I tell people that my job is only 10-20 percent lifting weights and running,” Lawson said. “The rest is mental. I need to make sure our athletes get to the point where they can reach their maximum potential on the field, and to do that I’ll use all different types of motivation.”
Lawson’s ingenuity and imagination were on full display early Thursday morning.
As a capstone to what Lawson calls “Crucible Week,” the Chippewa football team pushed a military humvee donated by the Michigan National Guard over a five-mile course in and around CMU’s campus. The drill began at 12:01 a.m. and lasted nearly 90 minutes. Representatives from several different area law enforcement agencies escorted the caravan to help ensure the safety of everyone involved.
“I thought the athletes responded very well to the challenge that was put in front of them,” Lawson said. “They were excited about it and were really into it throughout the night.”
Crucible Week presents a variety of lifting and conditioning challenges for the Chippewas. Each day of the week features a different mental toughness challenge.
“I like the definition of a crucible and the idea that it is a severe test,’” Lawson said. “A crucible melts metal and brings it all together. To me, the idea is very similar to a football team and what we did Thursday morning. Our guys have been competing against each other with their Chip Olympic teams, but last night they pulled together and accomplished this goal as one team.”
The Chip Olympics is one of the key elements in the football program’s winter strength and conditioning regimen. CMU’s players draft teams to compete against one another in on-field and off-field activities throughout the spring semester. During Thursday morning’s drill, the Chip Olympics teams took turns pushing the vehicle until the entire five-mile course was completed; it was a literal and figurative nod toward the eight Chip Olympics squads coming together as one team for the 2009 season.
And while Lawson was the mastermind of the Thursday morning’s special event, he was quick to spread the credit around.
“This would not have worked without the cooperation between the different police agencies and different areas of campus working together,” he said. “This was a very humbling experience for me. I thought we may have been working the kids too hard, and I wasn’t sure if we were going to go through with this. But, I had 12 or 15 kids come up to me and say they wanted to do it. In about three days we put together the entire event, and that could not have happened without the help of a lot of different people.”
Lawson is in his third year coordinating the strength and conditioning programs for CMU's 16 varsity programs. He works closely with the football program throughout the year. Lawson recently was honored with the Master Strength and Conditioning Coach award from Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association. It is the highest honor presented in the field.
