All in a day’s workRick Cugini’s vigorous workouts with West Holmes athletes create learning beyond the playing field

Some may call it tough love.Others might say it is the most rigorous workout program they ever experienced.There are some who may call it over the top in the name of sports.Yet others will say that it is a valuable learning tool.Whatever you call Rick Cugini’s extensive workout program, the one thing you cannot deny is that the experience the West Holmes Knights and Lady Knights are going through on the football field at Knights Stadium this summer is not just all about sports.When applied properly, the program is one that may well help these young adults far beyond the football field, volleyball court, basketball court or soccer field.Yes, it is true that Cugini worked out the Norwayne football team last season and the Bobcats went on to successfully claim the Div. VI OHSAA football crown, a monumental achievement.It is true that Cugini has worked with now NBA-champion LeBron James as well as Ohio State running back Beanie Wells and NBA superstar Chris Paul.His workouts have produced some staggering results, but it is easy to get caught up in the athletic achievements of the program and miss out on some of the finer points that can be gleaned from it.Watch Cugini run a session, and listen to the positive reinforcement he provides to the athletes as they work and push themselves, and it’s easy to see how self-esteem and character grow from within.While it may begin on the athletic field, it doesn’t stop with athletics.That character building was one of the main reasons West Holmes football coach Kevin Maltarich was so excited to have Cugini come in and work with the West Holmes students-athletes.“It’s helped me with my work ethic as far as getting things done, and it has motivated me to push myself in ways I never had before,” said Bryce Burgett, a member of the Knights’ football team.“It’s given me a mental toughness to work hard to achieve things that I never had before,” said Layne Perone “and it goes beyond what I want to achieve in the field. It’s in everything I do in life.”Keaton Leppla said the program has helped him slim down and prepare for the upcoming season in football, providing him with some straight-ahead speed training, something he felt he needed to get better.However, it also has made a huge impression on Leppla in terms of how to approach life in general.“Getting through this just gives you a better attitude toward life,” said Leppla. “You do this, and you are going to go into the workforce, or into college, and into your studies, and you’re going to think you can achieve anything because you’ve been through something as tough as this. It has set a tone for our attitude in life. You do this, and you’re going to go on and believe you can be successful.”He added that it has also helped some of the more quiet students to step up and take a leadership role, and has helped those who were already leaders to realize who to lead even better.“This has definitely brought our team closer together and helped some of the kids who are quieter come out of their shell and develop leadership skills,” said Leppla. “They are learning how to step up and lead by example and say things to other kids. This has been such a good thing in terms of us growing together as a team. It has built an incredible amount of unity within not just our team but our entire student body.”Andrew Rose has been a vital part of both the Knights football program and the track and field team, and despite his many successes, he believes that this program has helped him build character in ways that he probably would not have had he not participated.Rose admitted that he falls into lapses of being a little lazy with his workouts, and he said that Cugini’s program has helped him see the value in working hard to achieve greater things in life.But even further, he said that he, along with everyone else involved, has grown to understand that working hard as an individual means making a commitment to not just yourself but your teammates.“It’s definitely brought us closer together,” said Rose. “I think we realize how important it is to create a family-like atmosphere, and how important it is to help each other achieve and work harder. “It’s not about just you finishing, it is about encouraging others to finish and get through it.”Having watched all of the other athletes struggle and work to get through each day’s activities, Rose said he has a greater appreciation and newfound respect for others.He has learned to see life through other people’s eyes as they work together as a team.“I think this makes you a better person when you put yourself through something like this,” said Rose. “It makes you realize that it isn’t always about you, but it is about all of us working together. We’re all part of a team, and we don’t succeed as individuals but together.”That can be seen as the athletes encourage each other even as they struggle to get through the various workouts throughout the two-hour program. It can be seen as they learn how to push each other hard without having it come across as belligerent or belittling. As one day ends, two teammates help senior Garrett Mackey down the hill after a brutal component of the workout.It is that kind of camaraderie that seems to be developing within the ranks of the Knights.“It’s simply the toughest thing I have ever done,” admitted Mackey. “But the results of what we have accomplished has given us so much more self-esteem and has inspired us to reach for greater things. “Now, my head is so much mentally tougher than everyone else. I feel like I can do anything. It has just given all of us so much more confidence in ourselves and each other.”Grant Hay is no stranger to hard work. A three sport star in football, basketball and track, where he earned All-Ohio honors, Hay has always been one to put his nose to the grindstone.Knowing that, Cugini works him that much harder, as he does with all of the great athletes, pushing them beyond what they feel they are capable of doing.“You can’t be lazy here, and I think that mentality carries over into the world, whether it is in school or when you get a job,” said Hay. “It’s taught me about the value of really working hard to achieve something that you want, and that goes for everything in life.”Like many athletes, the desire to not show up after the first day was alluring for Caleb Crowthers. He would not have been the first kid to quit Cugini’s program, nor would he have been the last.Yet Crowthers felt compelled to stick with it because he realized that quitting would move him in a direction he didn’t want to go.“I had doubts about whether I would come back after that first day,” said Crowthers. “But I have been back every day, and it has been worth it. It’s made me stronger. It’s made me understand how to work harder for the things I want.”And what has been the driving influence for Crowthers?It has been his teammates, who have encouraged him. It has been the idea that he has to do this for them, being a part of a team, a unit of one.“It’s not about me, it’s about us,” said Crowthers. “This is about getting physically and mentally tougher not just for myself but for all of them as well.”Testimonies like these, and many others, run rampant throughout those young adults who have agreed to work this hard to get better.And what they have found in working hard as an individual is that the whole “There’s no I in team” mentality rings true.Even as Cugini drives the athletes, he continues to reinforce the positives. After a rigorous workout, the athletes sit on the bank at the east side of the football field. There, Cugini sings the praise of many of them who have worked so hard. He also continues to drill into their heads the importance of staying away from drugs, alcohol and social media, which he believes is so detrimental to the advancement of today’s teens.For Cugini, it is about creating better, stronger people, not just athletes.“We’ve talked all the way through this program about the kids gaining pride in themselves, their teammates and their school,” said Maltarich. “This is about building self-esteem way beyond what they achieve on the field. There is no substitute for hard work. It takes you far in life, whether you’re playing a sport, taking a test, taking a job, being a parent, whatever you do. The kids that stay with this and make it through are building character and work ethic that will take them a lot farther than they ever thought they could go. It’s only going to help them in life in so many ways.”With nearly one-seventh of the West Holmes High school student population participating in the workout, Maltarich said it can change the entire culture of the school.“We have talked a lot about supporting each other all year around,” said Maltarich. “It’s not just about them, it is about their classmates, and their schoolmates, and friends. It’s about going to basketball games and soccer games and supporting the people who have dedicated themselves to making this school better.”Teamwork, unity, self-esteem, character… all are attributes that grow out of Cugini’s system. Is it easy?No, but what in life is worthwhile if you don’t have to work at it.Cugini has created an atmosphere where young athletes can learn to push themselves to greater things, simply by putting in the effort, and by demanding it of themselves and of others as they work together.While geared toward the athlete, Cugini’s program reaches well beyond the out-of-bounds lines that are sports, and helps create young men and women of character.And it all begins with the willingness to work.“Kids have to learn how to work,” said Maltarich. “Once they figure that out, it becomes a habit, and it is second nature. There is no substitute for work ethic, and these guys are learning that. It’s a mentality. Kids have to learn to believe they can succeed as a team, and in order for that to happen they have to believe in themselves.”