We train to win games

When you hear strength and conditioning, the first words that likely come to mind are weight lifting and body building. For the Lehigh strength and conditioning staff (Eric Markovcy, Ed Ruisz and Owen Breininger '06), that's only a small part. They are focused on the bigger picture.

"We train our student-athletes to win games," said Markovcy. "We will win our fair share of power lifting and body building competitions. We're going to look great on the beach, but most importantly, we're going to win games. All of those other aspects are a byproduct of training to make plays."

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There's a big difference between training for numbers (which most programs focus on) rather than training for on-field performance.

Lehigh's strength and conditioning staff runs an athletic training facility, not a weight room, and the impact for the student-athletes is endless. Between Markovcy, Ruisz and Breininger, the trio has helped the Mountain Hawks succeed with tangible aspects like building strength to intangibles like mental toughness.

They are psychologists as much as strength and conditioning coaches. There's a bigger story behind their operation.

"I'm most proud of the fact that our program is different," said Markovcy. "That's a huge selling point. Sport is changing in a number of different ways. Athletes are much more athletic and sports are much more violent than they've ever been. We're setting trends in different areas."

WHAT IS YOUR REAL CAPACITY?
Try running for fifteen minutes. After a minute, how do you feel? Five minutes? Ten minutes? By the time you reach each level, you think you're closer and closer to your perceived maximum… but what is your real max? A big aspect of sports is pushing beyond (perceived) limits.

"Everybody has a threshold… so they think," said Markovcy. "The body can do some absolutely amazing things and people don't necessarily take full advantage; they don't harness their complete athleticism. Whether it's a hot day, whether it's a lot of weight, whether there are external circumstances like 4 o'clock (exams), people work at what they think is 100 percent of their max, which in their whole index may only be 70 percent."

Markovcy has a specific goal to extract an extra five percent out of the student-athletes.

"Once you go to that next gear, it's locked in," said Markovcy. "If you run a 5K, now you know you can do that so you run a 10K. You build these new thresholds. Everybody's scared of that next level until they hit it and then ask themselves what's the next one."

One of Markovcy's biggest roles is the mental aspect, convincing the athletes they can surpass their perceived threshold.

"Finding your ceiling is very difficult, and is probably one of the most underrated aspects of athletics," he said. "People think they've hit their head on a ceiling and a lot of times, they haven't. That's where our value really comes in because we can extract it through our energy."

Go to a training session and you'll see Eric expressing his nonstop energy. As a student-athlete, you can't help but feed off his excitement and enthusiasm.

"It definitely pumps us all up," said women's lacrosse junior Kelly Scott. "Once we step into the weight room, he's always pushing us to go further. He always makes us do one more rep or go five more pounds than we think we can. It makes us better in the weight room, which really carries over into games."

"Many times, after a long day of classes and practice, going to the weight room is the last thing you want to do," said Becky Guman '13, former women's basketball player and current member of the coaching staff. "Your body is tired and you're run down, but Eric provides so much energy as soon as you get in the weight room and he makes you want to get better."

WE TRAIN TO MAKE PLAYS
What do you do when your time is limited?

The strength and conditioning staff works with teams for approximately two to three hours per week. It's not long in the grand scheme of things, so he has to do what most everyone would - multitask. He prides himself on designing workouts that relate directly to the specific sport, getting a lot accomplished in a short amount of time.

Look at Lehigh's leaderboard and you see a strong and accurate representation of success within their sport.

"In a lot of programs, they train towards the test. They train to become better benchers," said Markovcy. "We train to become better athletes, and a byproduct of that is their numbers improve. Our numbers are a little bit more true to our on-field success because of our philosophy in training."

What's the difference between training to make plays versus training to make lifts? One example is chain squats.

"We have thousands of pounds of chains in here dangling from bars for presses, squats and other activities," said Markovcy.

Three things are being accomplished: strength, injury prevention and explosion. The weight aspect is for strength. Secondly, the chains sway back and forth which aids in injury prevention. Finally, the chains coil on the ground, forcing athletes to explode up through the movement because every inch, the weight becomes more difficult.

"You can't coast. You've got to push through the movement," said Markovcy. "It trains your body to be more explosive.

"Within that one exercise, we've managed to capture our whole philosophy," he continued. "We don't have to do it over eight different exercises. We can create a well-balanced athlete because of our open philosophy of adding these Cirque du Soleil type exercises. They might look obscure, but there's a lot of science and thought that goes behind them."

YOU CAN'T MAKE PLAYS IF YOU'RE NOT ON THE FIELD
"You can't convince me that five pounds on somebody's bench press is going to win games, but you can convince me that if you keep them healthy, they're going to make more plays," said Markovcy. "What would you rather do, spend five more minutes on the bench press, trying to get that bench up five more pounds, or spend five more minutes working with your rotator cuff, knee stabilization and core stabilization to keep these kids on the field?

"I learned this from Ed (Ruisz) and credit that to him," he continued.

Eric, Ed and Owen work closely with Lehigh's Sports Medicine staff in a number of ways, beginning with injury prevention.

"At the end of each season, sports medicine does a breakdown of the injuries sustained by each team," said assistant athletic trainer Emily Dunn. "This helps us identify specific body areas injured, types of injuries and injuries specific to that sport. We work with Eric, who also recognizes areas of weakness, to put together a prevention plan of action."

For all the work in prevention, there will be injuries that inevitably happen.

"When a student-athlete is injured, we work together to identify which strength exercises can be performed, which exercises should be modified and which exercises should be avoided," said head athletic trainer Tim Doane. "This affords the student-athlete an opportunity to continue developing while they are out of participation without delaying their recovery or risking further injury. In many cases, we simply present Eric with an injured student-athlete's limitations and he is able to modify a strength program around those parameters."

"Our entire staff knows how fortunate we are to have Eric working with us because he genuinely cares about our student-athletes and will work tirelessly to create workouts to meet their needs," said Dunn.

"Many times, the success in your seasons is dependent on who's in and out of your training room," said Markovcy. "If we can keep them healthy, then we're accomplishing something.

"Injury prevention is engrained into everything we do," he continued. "We don't have that much time, and the reality is that kids don't have enough energy to be able to fulfill everything we ask of them, so we have to be creative."

IN IT TOGETHER
One of the strength and conditioning staff's biggest strengths is their selflessness. They understand it's a team effort and aren't above receiving advice from others to help in the ultimate goal of being successful on the field.

"We sit in this office and really try to break down and understand what we need to do better," said Markovcy. "We don't recreate the wheel every year, but we find ways to get better. This is another, of many, important aspects I learned from Ed. None of us have egos and we're all willing to learn."

"Eric is always open to change and open to ideas," said head men's lacrosse coach Kevin Cassese. "To have an open mind in his position is really important, to have someone who's willing to evolve with the athletes and their sports."

"Eric always asks for our feedback," said women's lacrosse's Scott. "After a lot of our training sessions, he asks us what we need to work on. He accommodates everyone."

The whole philosophy of "in it together" is easier said than done, but for Lehigh strength and conditioning, that phrase is reinforced on a daily basis.

"Our athletes give us great ideas," said Markovcy. "They're the ones who are going through it. I'll give them a lot of credit for where our programs have gone because they live it and give us feedback."

MENTAL GAMES
The tireless work with student-athletes translates to the field, not only physically, but also mentally. One example is the football team, which showed its resiliency with several late-game comebacks.

The Mountain Hawks started the season by erasing a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit against Central Connecticut State before winning in overtime. Lehigh then erased second-half deficits against Monmouth, Princeton and New Hampshire, winning them all to begin the season 4-0.

Markovcy beams with pride when thinking of those wins.

"Eric instills that feeling of toughness with the kids," said head football coach Andy Coen. "They're a very disciplined group when they're in the weight room and a lot of that comes from the strength and conditioning staff. From a head coach's perspective, you want to have a guy like Eric who's not only going to teach the guys and help them improve, but also motivate them and drive them to be successful."

"There are two reasons why the [football] team is capable of performing in the final stages of a game," said Markovcy. "They've prepared their bodies and they've prepared their minds where they essentially ignore the aspect of being tired. You really can't succeed having one but not the other."

Coen and his staff have developed a culture that demands success.

"Several players were up here over the summer, sweating together and training in elements that are much harder than in the fall," said Markovcy. "You're out there in 95 degree heat and you're doing things you didn't think were possible. So when you come in here on a Sunday after a game, that soreness doesn't feel quite as bad because you've been there before."

Football's never-say-die attitude is one example of mental toughness, but it's evident across all sports.

"For a lot of us, in the back of our minds, we always have Eric's voice yelling at us when we're on the field playing," said Scott. "He makes you tougher in the weight room, so when you come out to the field, you want to be tough as well. You want to be the person that Eric would want you to be. You don't want to let him down."

"At the end of the day, Eric is going to hold you accountable when you don't do it right, and pat you on the back when you do," said Cassese. "Our guys can draw upon their work with Eric when it's the fourth quarter of a big game, knowing we did the right thing 100 percent of the time.

"When things go poorly, Eric is also there to let our guys know and tell them what to do better," Cassese continued. "When things go well, he's there to bring them down. He never lets the highs get too high and never lets the lows get too low. He keeps everyone on an even keel."

"When you look at some of the greatest student-athletes that we've had at Lehigh and some of the greatest athletes of all time, they've had a toughness about them," said Markovcy. "The adrenaline rush between having the guts to make a play is very similar to a caveman getting into a fight with an animal. They feel tougher and they go into a game with more confidence, more toughness and they perform better because of that."

THE ATHLETES PLAY THE GAME
For as much as Eric, Ed and Owen do, they're not on the field with the student-athletes. The staff prepares them as best they can to improve in their sport, but there needs to be a bridge.

"You have key players like Nate Hunt (men's lacrosse class of 2013), that hybrid coach-player who brings it all together," said Markovcy. "I have so much faith in Nate and with some of our other athletes that I feel I could let them run the workout and it would get done as if I were here."

When the student surpasses the teacher, you've accomplished your intended goal.

"You start over every year, which is great, but also scary," said Eric. "Every team is new. It's very important to get our student-athletes to that Nate Hunt point as quickly as possible. When I get that student-athlete to help bridge to on-field performance, that's when we're successful."

"With a bunch of teams, it's easy to say 'they've got it'," said Markovcy. "However, some teams don't and they need me more, but I like both aspects. You want to be needed."

Having athletes embrace Markovcy's philosophy doesn't only help the team, but also the entire operation.

"In women's basketball, Kerry Kinek was a freshman last year, but she's not a freshman anymore. She's not a sophomore anymore. She's matured exponentially over the course of the last year," said Markovcy. "That's because of people like Becky Guman who instilled these training philosophies. When you're dead tired, you still get after it."

"Eric does such a good job of instilling and promoting the attitude of never settling, always being the best and getting the most out of yourself," said Guman. "He did a great job of motivating me and I tried to pass that on to my teammates."

BUY-IN
The best sign that things are working is the buy-in from student-athletes across sports.

"Because we play the game in here, most teams have bought in and embraced what we're doing," said Markovcy. "They can see themselves getting better in their individual sports."

Markovcy has trouble picking out too many "standouts" in the weight room. Instead, entire teams have excelled.

"That's much more important because you play as a team," he said.

Lehigh student-athletes are very bright. From dealing with coaches down to the strength and conditioning staff, they want to understand the bigger picture.

Although most student-athletes go pro in something other than sports, this staff has molded professional players across several sports. One example is wide receiver Ryan Spadola '13, currently a member of the Miami Dolphins.

"Eric, Ed and Owen have played a huge role in getting me to where I am today," said Spadola. "Not only did they script workouts that increased my speed and strength allowing me to excel, but they also educated me on everything. As an athlete, knowing how and why each exercise is done is crucial. Your body is your 'money maker' in sports, so you want to make sure you're doing things right."

"What we do is fun and different," said Markovcy. "It tricks the student-athletes into getting better, which is a big part of our philosophy. I love working here and being at Lehigh because I'm challenged. I can't just do something for the sake of doing it. These kids want to understand why."

PASSION FOR STRENGTH & CONDITIONING
Steve Jobs once said: "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."

The Lehigh strength and conditioning staff is an embodiment of that quote. The desire and passion for what they do is evident to all the student-athletes and coaches with whom they work.

Several morning workouts for women's lacrosse begin at 6 a.m.

"I know a lot of us are a little sluggish waking up at 5 in the morning, but once we step onto the field, Eric is so energized as if it's mid-afternoon," said Scott. "He makes us go harder and go a lot faster than we would at that time of day. It really encourages us just knowing he's up at that time helping us get better."

That passion was evident to Guman, especially following a mountain run (which Eric runs with women's basketball) as part of preseason training.

"Last year, we got split into groups and some girls took their own path and got lost. It wasn't a successful workout," said Guman. "When we got back, Eric was distraught. He was so upset and felt that he failed because we didn't achieve our goals. After, we had a 20 minute debriefing, saying what he could've done better. He said how disappointed he was in himself that he didn't lead us to our fullest potential.

"Eric is so invested in the student-athletes," Guman continued. "He's not our coach, he's not out on the floor with us, but it still means so much to him. He'll go to all ends to get the most out of us and help us succeed."

"I love this place and one of the reasons is there are great people around us," said Markovcy. "Our coaches are phenomenal as far as buying in, understanding and helping us become that much better. In administration, Doug (Strange) is on board with we do and has helped us really develop this place. We've molded this into an athletic training facility and not a weight room."

Lehigh University Athletics

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse at Navy on April 27, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 19

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse at Lafayette College on April 23, 2025 , Win , 17, to, 16

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse versus Colgate University on April 19, 2025 , Loss , 10, to, 11

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse versus Navy on April 16, 2025 , Loss , 5, to, 21

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse at Holy Cross on April 12, 2025 , Win , 12, to, 10

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse versus Boston University on April 5, 2025 , Win , 15, to, 14

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse at Loyola University Maryland on March 29, 2025 , Loss , 4, to, 18

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