Making it to the League: Joe Mazzulla mic'd up

We mic'd up Joe Mazzulla during Tuesdays workouts to give people the opportunity to see and hear the perspective of an athlete during his workout at Ignition. Check it out: 

Ignition Teaches Performance at the Ndamukong Suh Pro Camp in Detroit

On June 29th Team Ignition was on hand at the Ndamukong Suh Pro Workout in Detroit. The camp was held at Walled Lake Western High School and over 100 kids showed up to experience an NFL Combine type atmosphere. Football players ranging in age from 15-23 years old were measured in the Broad Jump, L Cone Agility, Pro Agility and the 40 Yard Dash.
During the workout, athletes got expert instruction from former NFL Player Frank Murphy. In addition the football players learned the “Ignition 40yd dash stance” and also heard a message on the importance of character from Coach Murphy. Campers received an autographed team photo and also a T-shirt for participating in the event.
Ignition was honored to be a part of this successful event and would like to thank Ndamukong Suh, Pro Camps, US Army and Elite Athletic Events for the great opportunity to serve the kids in the Detroit metro area.

"Making it to the League"

West Virginia University's  Joe Mazzulla, John Flowers and Mountain State's Paul Sturgess have begun training with Ignition APG this month. We'll be following their journey in depth with a series "Making it to the League", as each of them prepares to play professionally. Be sure to check back for updates, as each day will be a little different. You can expect videos, pictures, blog/diary entries, interviews, the guys mic'd up and weekly "confessionals". Take a look at their workout from Day 1, June 27:

Ignition "Athlete of the Week": Cincinnati Bengals' Rey Maualuga

Throughout this offseason, a lot of the Bengals have been looking for places to train because of the lockout. Cincinnati Bengals' linebacker Rey Maualuga decided to work out at Ignition along with teammates, including Domata Peko. Rey says that while he has greatly improved physically, he has also seen his faith grow a lot during his time at Ignition and is thankful for the relationships he's built with everyone here. Take a look at what Rey has to say about what he calls his best offseason yet:

Game vs. Athletes in Action Bulgaria

Ignition had the great opportunity to be involved in an Athletes in Action game, as Ignition and Prasco put together a team to play vs. the AIA Bulgarian team while they were in Cincinnati last week. The team included: WVU's Joe Mazzulla and John Flowers, Mountain State's Paul Sturgess, Xavier's BJ Raymond, Rollins' Nick Wolf, Oklahoma State's Matt Pilgrim, UNC-Wilmington's Johnny Wolf, among others. Team Ignition/Prasco ended up with a 16-point win, but it was a very competitive game and a great night for everyone involved.

Check out some highlights from the game:

Bulgarian Athletes in Action team trains with Ignition

Team Ignition had the privilege to train the Bulgarian Athletes in Action basketball team, who is traveling the country for a few weeks playing games. The AIA team came into Ignition on Monday, June 13 for a 90 minute training session with Coaches Clif Marshall and Ted Borgerding. Ignition's goal with this session was to teach the team how athletes in America train to become faster, stronger and better. 

"This was a great teaching session for everyone involved. Ignition is glad to impact athletes from across the globe both physically and spiritually. [Monday's] session was an awesome experience." said Coach Clif Marshall, Performance Director at Ignition. 

"Heart. Passion. We're as good as we want to be."

Check out this great feature on Cincinnati Bengals' linebacker and Ignition Athlete Rey Maualuga. Rey talks about his high expectations for himself and the Bengals defense this season. He expects himself to be a better all-around athlete and to step up as both a vocal leader and also a leader by example for the 2011 season. Carlos Holmes of Dayton Daily News caught up with Rey after Bengals defense minicamp at Ignition:

Frank Murphy tours for Ignition Football ProCamps

Frank Murphy is touring the country with ProCamps representing Ignition APG at different football camps. The first of these camps was the Wes Welker Camp in the Boston area, where over 100 youth athletes showed up. 

Murphy played college football at Kansas State University where he finished second on the Wildcats with 541 yards and six touchdowns on 96 carries. He was then drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2000. Throughout his career he also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans. Murphy is also the founder of Power143 Charities, an organization dedicated to improving disadvantaged communities.

We will continue to get updates from Murphy about the various ProCamps where he is representing Ignition! Be sure to follow Frank on Twitter: @TheFrankMurphy

Ignition joins ProCamps for Marvin Lewis Camp at Paul Brown Stadium

Team Ignition headed down to Paul Brown Stadium on Tuesday, June 7th to join ProCamps and the U.S. Army for the Marvin Lewis Army Strong camp. The high school athletes did some combine testing, Army Strong challenges and heard some words of advice from Bengals' Head Coach Marvin Lewis and former Bengal John Thornton. The event was also sponsored by Old Spice, and Muscle Milk. Take a look at Team Ignition's work at Marvin Lewis Camp:

NFL athletes mentoring youth athletes

We've been blessed at Ignition to have NFL, college and youth athletes all training with us this summer. With the uncertainty of the length of the NFL Lockout, you never know who you might run into at Ignition this summer. Youth athletes have been wide-eyed and excited to be working out next to some of the NFL's best athletes. Not only are they working out in the same facility, but the NFL players' have been great interacting with the kids. Last week, Domata Peko stopped to talk with a group of "FAST" session athletes giving advice and words of wisdom.

Domata Peko talking with some youth athletes

These youth athletes are getting a great opportunity to not only see how hard these professional athletes work but also learn that they're great people as well. 

Bengals' Rey Maualuga even gave one of our youth athletes some personal advice at the end of a session last week, "make sure you're drinking protein shakes and doing push-ups every night before you go to bed!"

Ignition "Athlete of the Week": NY Jets' John Conner

John Conner is a blueprint example of an Ignition athlete. JC has trained with Ignition since he was in high school at Lakota West. Ignition helped him prepare to walk on at University of Kentucky. He then trained at Ignition Florida to prepare for the NFL Combine, and was eventually an NFL Draft Pick to the New York Jets. John is also being featured in a documentary "Late Rounders", along with some other Ignition Florida athletes about the experience as a late round NFL Draft pick.

Check out our interview with JC about his experience at Ignition APG!

Ignition Lockout Training Days 77-79

Take a look at what the NFL guys were up to during last week's Lockout Training sessions:

Day 77

Day 78

Day 79: Chain Lifting, Boxing, and Position Work

Media covers Bengals' workouts at Ignition APG

The Bengals decided to be different from some of the other NFL teams holding workouts, by inviting the media to attend. Domata Peko, who helped organize the practices, sent an email to members of the media inviting them to attend the Bengals' practice on Tuesday at Ignition APG. Here's a look at some of the media coverage from this week!

Local media shows up at Ignition APG

All of the media during practice

Interviews after practice

Media surrounding Domata Peko after practice

Brad Johansen's story from Local 12 WKRC:
Including footage from both Ignition and UC, and interview with Andy Dalton


Dayton Daily News article and video:
Interviews with Clif Marshall, Domata Peko, Dontay Moch and Rey Maualuga.



Paul Dehner's article for CBSSports.com:
Great article focusing on Adam 'Pacman' Jones and Domata Peko, as well as the 10 Bengals who have been regularly training at Ignition
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/15212899/palmer-aside-workout-turnouts-indicate-bengals-are-a-tight-pack

Joe Reedy's article on the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer Sports section:

Joe Reedy's article on Cincinnati.com:

Includes video with a great ending in team prayer.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110607/SPT02/106080339/Bengals-bond-workouts

Article on NFL.com:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d820354a6/article/more-than-45-bengals-including-dalton-gather-to-work-out

Article on Spartans Sports Page:

Domata Peko's alma mater, Michigan State, proud of his step into a leadership role with the Bengals.

http://www.spartansportspage.com/story/title/domata-peko-steps-into-leadership-role-with-bengals

Updates from Twitter:

Brandon Ghee excited to be at Ignition

Rey, one of the regulars at Ignition, happy with how the defense looks.

Local 12's Brad Johansen tweets a picture while covering practice

Coach Clif Marshall thankful for a great first day. GGG = Give God Glory!