Mark Leskovansky
Here are some articles I wrote for a journalism class I took here at Penn State.
tim_young.docx | |
File Size: | 16 kb |
File Type: | docx |
High School lifting coach:
Mark Leskovansky
Short Personality Profile
Comm 260W
Timothy Eugene Young more than 30 years ago lifted more than three times his body weight in the dead lift, an exercise that explains itself in its name. The dead lift is when you stand over a bar that sits on the ground with weight stacked on either side of it, using every bit of strength in your body to properly pull it up with your legs, back and arms. Named after the motion you would use to pick up a dead body. He set a Penn State record that no one has matched to this day; this was in 1981, over 31 years ago. Weighing only 146 pounds himself at the time, Young lifted 520 pounds in the dead lift, his “favorite” exercise. “Dead lift was my favorite exercise,” Young said with a grin on his face.
Today, Young, the lifting coach at Bald Eagle Area High School in Central Pennsylvania, uses the knowledge and experience to help high school athletes strengthen their muscles. He’s been doing this for 31 years, and counting. This knowledge and experience in lifting led to a coaching career that has gained national attention. He has coached a Bald Eagle High School Wrestling team to a state championship in 1999 that also left them standing as the number 1 team in the country.
He was the lifting coach for a BEA baseball team that won a state title in 2007, not to mention the 2 state titles the softball team won in 2005 and 2009 while lifting under him. In the early 1990’s, he was an assistant lifting coach for the Penn State football team under trainer John Thomas. And to top it all off, he was the trainer of current Penn State wrestler Quentin Wright when he was a student at BEA.
Wright won 2 state titles in 2007 and 2008 while on Young’s program. Quentin was a national champion his sophomore year at Penn State, and recently won his second Big Ten title this past Sunday en route to his third National Championship appearance of his career. Young strives to coach athletes to their greatest potential, and it shows. It’s no secret around the Bald Eagle and Penn State community that Tim Young just knows lifting, inside and out.
Young grew up in the area where he now coaches; he graduated from Bald Eagle High School in 1975. He earned an online associate’s degree in Sports Science in 1992. From the time he graduated from high school, to when he began coaching in 1982 he lifted for a club at Penn State.
“It was my passion after high school” said Young. This was never truer than when he broke the dead lifting record for his weight class. “Coaching may have a determined destiny depending on the athlete, when I am lifting I determine my own destiny” he said. He would work with the club at Penn State during the day and come to the high school weight room at BEA to coach every evening after school let out 3:10.
Young started lifting in his basement at home when he was 15 years old. “I lifted for sports because of my small size” he said. “I didn’t play sports however, lifting became my love.” These workouts in his basement were the start to his own successful lifting career and his current career as a coach. No matter who is lifting in the weight room at BEA, Young always strives to make sure it is done correctly with good form. Whether it be making sure a student has the correct form on his or her squats, or increasing weights to become stronger, he monitors the students closely to make sure they get the most out of their time lifting.
This has been noticed by most of the sports teams at the high school, making even the most unsuspecting students into athletes. Young was a Power Lifting coach at Penn State for 6-8 months in 2010 until his final retirement from University.
Along with coaching at BEA, he has his own Fitness Business in Bellefonte training any athletes looking to improve. The Tyrone High School football team, the win-ingest team in central Pennsylvania for the past two decades, has also adopted his workout. Tyrone won a state championship in 1999, adding an appearance in the state title game in 2012 training under his program.
Their endurance and strength shows throughout the entire game no matter how outmatched they may be in size and talent, leaving them as one of the best conditioned teams in the state. He recently added a couple high schools from across the East Coast to his workout. “Whoever asks for it, I give it to” said Young about his program. Young knows how to bring the best out of young athletes instilling lifelong lessons they can carry with them for the rest of their lives. “Working with kids is my motivation to coach every day,” said Young. “It is an accomplishment, coaching is what I am most passionate about.”
Mark Leskovansky
Short Personality Profile
Comm 260W
Timothy Eugene Young more than 30 years ago lifted more than three times his body weight in the dead lift, an exercise that explains itself in its name. The dead lift is when you stand over a bar that sits on the ground with weight stacked on either side of it, using every bit of strength in your body to properly pull it up with your legs, back and arms. Named after the motion you would use to pick up a dead body. He set a Penn State record that no one has matched to this day; this was in 1981, over 31 years ago. Weighing only 146 pounds himself at the time, Young lifted 520 pounds in the dead lift, his “favorite” exercise. “Dead lift was my favorite exercise,” Young said with a grin on his face.
Today, Young, the lifting coach at Bald Eagle Area High School in Central Pennsylvania, uses the knowledge and experience to help high school athletes strengthen their muscles. He’s been doing this for 31 years, and counting. This knowledge and experience in lifting led to a coaching career that has gained national attention. He has coached a Bald Eagle High School Wrestling team to a state championship in 1999 that also left them standing as the number 1 team in the country.
He was the lifting coach for a BEA baseball team that won a state title in 2007, not to mention the 2 state titles the softball team won in 2005 and 2009 while lifting under him. In the early 1990’s, he was an assistant lifting coach for the Penn State football team under trainer John Thomas. And to top it all off, he was the trainer of current Penn State wrestler Quentin Wright when he was a student at BEA.
Wright won 2 state titles in 2007 and 2008 while on Young’s program. Quentin was a national champion his sophomore year at Penn State, and recently won his second Big Ten title this past Sunday en route to his third National Championship appearance of his career. Young strives to coach athletes to their greatest potential, and it shows. It’s no secret around the Bald Eagle and Penn State community that Tim Young just knows lifting, inside and out.
Young grew up in the area where he now coaches; he graduated from Bald Eagle High School in 1975. He earned an online associate’s degree in Sports Science in 1992. From the time he graduated from high school, to when he began coaching in 1982 he lifted for a club at Penn State.
“It was my passion after high school” said Young. This was never truer than when he broke the dead lifting record for his weight class. “Coaching may have a determined destiny depending on the athlete, when I am lifting I determine my own destiny” he said. He would work with the club at Penn State during the day and come to the high school weight room at BEA to coach every evening after school let out 3:10.
Young started lifting in his basement at home when he was 15 years old. “I lifted for sports because of my small size” he said. “I didn’t play sports however, lifting became my love.” These workouts in his basement were the start to his own successful lifting career and his current career as a coach. No matter who is lifting in the weight room at BEA, Young always strives to make sure it is done correctly with good form. Whether it be making sure a student has the correct form on his or her squats, or increasing weights to become stronger, he monitors the students closely to make sure they get the most out of their time lifting.
This has been noticed by most of the sports teams at the high school, making even the most unsuspecting students into athletes. Young was a Power Lifting coach at Penn State for 6-8 months in 2010 until his final retirement from University.
Along with coaching at BEA, he has his own Fitness Business in Bellefonte training any athletes looking to improve. The Tyrone High School football team, the win-ingest team in central Pennsylvania for the past two decades, has also adopted his workout. Tyrone won a state championship in 1999, adding an appearance in the state title game in 2012 training under his program.
Their endurance and strength shows throughout the entire game no matter how outmatched they may be in size and talent, leaving them as one of the best conditioned teams in the state. He recently added a couple high schools from across the East Coast to his workout. “Whoever asks for it, I give it to” said Young about his program. Young knows how to bring the best out of young athletes instilling lifelong lessons they can carry with them for the rest of their lives. “Working with kids is my motivation to coach every day,” said Young. “It is an accomplishment, coaching is what I am most passionate about.”
nfl_paper.docx | |
File Size: | 19 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Penn State NFL prospects:
Mark Leskovansky
Final feature paper
Communications 260W
April 15, 2013
When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell walks across the stage on the last weekend in April and steps up to the podium to announce the next draft picks, Stephon Morris will be waiting at the edge of his seat to hear his name.
Morris, a speedy 5’7” cornerback from Penn State is among the hopeful college prospects with a chance of being selected. For Morris, a lifetime of hard work toward a dream of playing in the NFL came down to a mere 4.24 seconds on March, 11 inside Holuba Hall at his pro day at Penn State. When he ran the 40-yard dash and caught the eye of NFL scouts visiting campus.
Morris, a senior from Greenbelt, Md., will graduate on May 4th with a degree in Telecommunications. He hopes that when he crosses the stage to get his degree he’ll have even bigger things on his mind, like his first upcoming NFL practice.
In football, the difference between a 40-yard dash that is 4.24 seconds and one that is 4.6 seconds is the difference between going to the NFL, playing a sport you would kill to play for a living and making the big bucks or working a day job for the rest of your life making half that money.
“Waiting is the worst part, not knowing where you’re going,” said Morris referring to these last days leading up to the draft. “It’s an experience that you have to go through,” said Morris about the stress of waiting. Morris said he has been training very hard with Penn State Lifting coach Craig Fitzgerald not only to prepare himself physically for the NFL, but to help cope with this stress of waiting.
The upcoming 2013 NFL draft that will air all weekend on ESPN starting Thursday, April 25th will include a crop of eight Penn State football players available for any NFL teams seeking eager, hard-working and talented players to snatch up with a phone call. This is what it comes down to in the draft, a phone call. A call that can make the difference between a winning season and losing season for NFL franchises.
This year’s talent from Penn State will learn their fate in the coming weeks, making these times to wait some of the most nerve wracking moments of their lives. Among these players are linebackers Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges, defensive lineman James Terry, Sean Stanley and Jordan Hill. Running back Michael Zordich, quarterback Matt Mcgloin, and cornerback Stephon Morris.
Hill is considered the best player available from Penn State according to ESPN. Mauti was named a first team all-Big Ten conference player, an ESPN All-American and was a recipient of the Butkus Fitzgerald Award given to the Big Ten’s top Linebacker this according to ESPN. Hodges was 4th in the Big Ten Conference in tackles his senior season with 109 of them. He was also an all-Big Ten linebacker his senior season, all this according to goPSUsports.com.
Morris’s career was not as impressive as these three players. But to NFL scouts, his speed is what makes him stand out among the rest at his position. Terry, Mcgloin, Zordich, and Stanley all had impressive careers. They do not however have the same amount of hype surrounding them as do Mauti, Hill and Hodges based on ESPN rankings.
Linebacker U is what Penn State is best known for, shipping out All-American NFL caliber linebackers like an assembly line. Every year Penn State seems to have a great linebacker, if not a couple. For defensive backs at Penn State, corners and safeties, it has not been the same story. This has been one of the positions that rarely produce NFL caliber talent.
A speedy corner like Morris may be living his dream of representing Penn State in the NFL very soon. “Penn State has a lot of good players in the NFL,” said Morris. Referring to the graduates of Linebacker U and the other abundance of talent that has been Penn State in the NFL, Penn State fans know, it’s some big shoes to fill. “It will be one the first years the NFL world is going to realize Penn State has not only Linebacker U but they have good defensive backs too,” said Morris about his future in the NFL.
James Terry a senior from New Castle, Del., is another prospect representing Penn State in the draft, coming in at 6’3” and 316 lbs. he has the size to play in the NFL according to NFL standards. Terry is a defensive tackle, one of the most popular positions in the draft especially this year. “I’ll take anything I can get,” said Terry referring to a shot in the NFL. “I’m working hard to get a shot, if I don’t make it, it’s OK I won’t beat myself up about it,” said Terry. He understands what he is up against.
Terry is spending his time leading up to draft training harder than he ever has before, hoping to catch the eye of an NFL team and to cope with the stress of waiting for the draft. Both Morris and Terry plan to go into the workforce if they do not make it into the NFL, but to them this is certainly not ideal.
After all the hard work, their dreams of playing in the NFL are all these prospects really have left. They can only wait, hope, and pray for the best. This time left to wait can be some of the worst stress any human being can experience, their livelihoods on the line. Morris has dreamed of playing in the NFL since he was a kid. “I’ve been a Dallas Cowboys fan my whole life, I’d play for the Cowboys,” said Morris referring to his favorite NFL team. “I would want to play for the Eagles,” said Terry about his dream of possibly playing the NFL. It’s now up to the NFL to decide if they want to grant these wishes.
Mark Leskovansky
Final feature paper
Communications 260W
April 15, 2013
When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell walks across the stage on the last weekend in April and steps up to the podium to announce the next draft picks, Stephon Morris will be waiting at the edge of his seat to hear his name.
Morris, a speedy 5’7” cornerback from Penn State is among the hopeful college prospects with a chance of being selected. For Morris, a lifetime of hard work toward a dream of playing in the NFL came down to a mere 4.24 seconds on March, 11 inside Holuba Hall at his pro day at Penn State. When he ran the 40-yard dash and caught the eye of NFL scouts visiting campus.
Morris, a senior from Greenbelt, Md., will graduate on May 4th with a degree in Telecommunications. He hopes that when he crosses the stage to get his degree he’ll have even bigger things on his mind, like his first upcoming NFL practice.
In football, the difference between a 40-yard dash that is 4.24 seconds and one that is 4.6 seconds is the difference between going to the NFL, playing a sport you would kill to play for a living and making the big bucks or working a day job for the rest of your life making half that money.
“Waiting is the worst part, not knowing where you’re going,” said Morris referring to these last days leading up to the draft. “It’s an experience that you have to go through,” said Morris about the stress of waiting. Morris said he has been training very hard with Penn State Lifting coach Craig Fitzgerald not only to prepare himself physically for the NFL, but to help cope with this stress of waiting.
The upcoming 2013 NFL draft that will air all weekend on ESPN starting Thursday, April 25th will include a crop of eight Penn State football players available for any NFL teams seeking eager, hard-working and talented players to snatch up with a phone call. This is what it comes down to in the draft, a phone call. A call that can make the difference between a winning season and losing season for NFL franchises.
This year’s talent from Penn State will learn their fate in the coming weeks, making these times to wait some of the most nerve wracking moments of their lives. Among these players are linebackers Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges, defensive lineman James Terry, Sean Stanley and Jordan Hill. Running back Michael Zordich, quarterback Matt Mcgloin, and cornerback Stephon Morris.
Hill is considered the best player available from Penn State according to ESPN. Mauti was named a first team all-Big Ten conference player, an ESPN All-American and was a recipient of the Butkus Fitzgerald Award given to the Big Ten’s top Linebacker this according to ESPN. Hodges was 4th in the Big Ten Conference in tackles his senior season with 109 of them. He was also an all-Big Ten linebacker his senior season, all this according to goPSUsports.com.
Morris’s career was not as impressive as these three players. But to NFL scouts, his speed is what makes him stand out among the rest at his position. Terry, Mcgloin, Zordich, and Stanley all had impressive careers. They do not however have the same amount of hype surrounding them as do Mauti, Hill and Hodges based on ESPN rankings.
Linebacker U is what Penn State is best known for, shipping out All-American NFL caliber linebackers like an assembly line. Every year Penn State seems to have a great linebacker, if not a couple. For defensive backs at Penn State, corners and safeties, it has not been the same story. This has been one of the positions that rarely produce NFL caliber talent.
A speedy corner like Morris may be living his dream of representing Penn State in the NFL very soon. “Penn State has a lot of good players in the NFL,” said Morris. Referring to the graduates of Linebacker U and the other abundance of talent that has been Penn State in the NFL, Penn State fans know, it’s some big shoes to fill. “It will be one the first years the NFL world is going to realize Penn State has not only Linebacker U but they have good defensive backs too,” said Morris about his future in the NFL.
James Terry a senior from New Castle, Del., is another prospect representing Penn State in the draft, coming in at 6’3” and 316 lbs. he has the size to play in the NFL according to NFL standards. Terry is a defensive tackle, one of the most popular positions in the draft especially this year. “I’ll take anything I can get,” said Terry referring to a shot in the NFL. “I’m working hard to get a shot, if I don’t make it, it’s OK I won’t beat myself up about it,” said Terry. He understands what he is up against.
Terry is spending his time leading up to draft training harder than he ever has before, hoping to catch the eye of an NFL team and to cope with the stress of waiting for the draft. Both Morris and Terry plan to go into the workforce if they do not make it into the NFL, but to them this is certainly not ideal.
After all the hard work, their dreams of playing in the NFL are all these prospects really have left. They can only wait, hope, and pray for the best. This time left to wait can be some of the worst stress any human being can experience, their livelihoods on the line. Morris has dreamed of playing in the NFL since he was a kid. “I’ve been a Dallas Cowboys fan my whole life, I’d play for the Cowboys,” said Morris referring to his favorite NFL team. “I would want to play for the Eagles,” said Terry about his dream of possibly playing the NFL. It’s now up to the NFL to decide if they want to grant these wishes.