Don Landry
CFL.ca
Personal bests were in fashion as CFL draft hopefuls were put through the strains of one of football’s most grueling training tests – the bench press.
From quarterback Kyle Quinlan’s total of three reps, to defensive lineman Michael Van Praet’s 38, there were a fair number of satisfied young football players ambling around the hallways of Toronto Park Hyatt Hotel, the site of Day One of the league’s 2012 draft evaluation camp.
While the E-Camp record for reps in bench pressing 225 pounds (47, set last year by Wilfrid Laurier lineman Michael Knill) was not approached in serious fashion, some of those who needed to perform well in this test didn’t disappoint.
For the big boys on the line of scrimmage, displayed strength and stamina can go a long way towards impressing the brass of the CFL clubs in attendance, quite possibly helping to bolster their chances at the draft.
For Van Praet, his 38 reps to lead all comers, was plenty satisfying. He didn’t really focus on trying to take a shot at Knill’s record.
“I was hoping for 40, to be honest, but I didn’t think I was ever going to get 47,” he said just moments after finishing his test. “It’s maybe a goal for the future. I don’t really need to be too much higher than I am, it’s pretty good.
“I’ve been training real hard the last couple of months with my strength coach, Jeff Watson. He’s been getting me ready, big time for this. I always test well in bench press but he really pushed me this time.”
Van Praet stuck to the gym over the last couple of months, and focused on the technique he’d need to set his personal best. Before that, however, in the better weather of the summer months, Watson had him in the great outdoors for a little more imaginative training.
“He made us push and pull his truck, flipping huge tires and you do things like huge yoke walks and lifting boulders.”
The pattern for most of the lifters appeared the same – start out like a house on fire and then, suitably, as they face the onset of rapid fatigue, try and blast through the burning of their muscles. Their ability to persevere through that muscular hell can tell a coach a lot about a player’s determination.
For Van Praet, a little extra push allowed him to beat his personal best by three reps.
“It changes every time but this time I guess it was a round the 30 mark,” he said of the moment he started to struggle. “I usually take a breath at 20, then pump out five more, then five more and after that second round of five, I usually start feeling the burn come in.”
University of Saskatchewan offensive lineman Ben Heenan, number one in the latest rankings of draft eligible players by the CFL’s Scouting Bureau, also buoyed his stock with a personal best. His 32 reps, second only to Van Praet’s 38, meant he’d topped his old mark by two.
“That was it, right there. Probably couldn’t have done too much better, just take it in stride and move on,” he said.
“I just wanted to do the best that I could on the day and perform to the best of my abilities.”
While Heenan is well aware of how much his show of strength means, he’s positive that it will be some of his other attributes that will send his stock soaring even further.
“I think I’m fairly athletic for a big man. Any time you get over 300 pounds (he says he’s around 310 and would like his playing weight to be 320), it’s very valuable if you can move well in space. I think that’s something that I’ve demonstrated.”
Not just on a football field. Heenan plays squash on a regular basis, to aid in honing his agility.
Quinlan, the star quarterback who led the McMaster Marauders to the Vanier Cup last Fall, will look to wow the scouts with drills other than the bench press. QB’s don’t really have to impress in this one, but Quinlan says he doesn’t treat it lightly.
“I still take it seriously. It’s never been something that’s been a strength of mine. I haven’t focused on bench press as much as players from some of the other positions, but I’m fairly happy with how it went.”
Why not? When you think about it, Quinlan increased his personal best by a full 50 per cent.
“I’ve only ever put up two. So I was able to squeeze one more out,” he said, with a hearty laugh.
UBC’s Billy Greene and Acadia’s Kyle Graves were the top quarterback pressers, each with 11.
Axemen running back Brett Haenni impressed with his total of 28, tying his personal mark.
“I feel pretty good about that. It’s about what I expected. But I was hoping to get closer to 30,” he said.
He knew exactly how many he’d pressed and was hoping for just one more, and not only because it would have set a new high water mark for him personally.
“I really wanted one more, especially because I saw Jake Thomas (Axemen teammate and defensive lineman), who I’d trained with all off season, he got 29 right before me, so I really wanted to tie or beat him.”
The University of Calgary ‘s Jordan Verdone was top linebacker, with 29 reps while Ottawa’s Bogdan Raic was number one in receivers, with 17. Among defensive backs, Saskatchewan’s Keenan MacDougall reeled off a very impressive 23 reps to lead the way in that category.
