Competing for a cause: FSU football players raise funds with Lift for Life
Leave it to Keyshawn Helton to try to make his mark with the largest individual challenge -- the largest literally, if not figuratively -- at Saturday's Lift for Life event.
When his group reached the "tire flip" station inside Florida State's Indoor Practice Facility, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound wide receiver only had one question: What was highest number of flips recorded by any player in the previous groups?
When he heard the total was 21 flips of the giant tire in the timed event, Helton's mind was made up.
"I don't like losing," he said. "They told me 21 was the number to beat, so I had to get it."
Helton got 22.
Unfortunately for the Pensacola native, that number wouldn't last the rest of the day. Sophomore defensive back Jaiden Lars-Woodbey, who is about six inches taller and 60 pounds heavier than Helton, wasn't about to let someone else hold the mark.
He flipped the tire 25 times.
"I'm a competitor," Lars-Woodbey said. "So I went and asked the coach what the record was, and I went for it. Once I have my mind set on something, I’m going to get it."
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That was the mindset for most of the Florida State football players who participated in Saturday's fundraiser. While the primary objective for the event was to raise money for Uplifting Athletes, a national organization that teams with college athletics programs to fight rare diseases, the Seminoles also seized the opportunity to show their skills and strength in a variety of competitions.
There was a bench press station, a golf cart push and the giant tire flip, all of which tested the players' strength and endurance. There also was an obstacle course that allowed players to display their agility; a 100-pound "dumbbell hold," which tested physical and mental strength; and a blindfold battle that forced players to listen to the verbal commands of their teammates.
"No one likes to lose," Helton said. "So just out here competing for a great cause was a lot of fun."
The Seminoles' goal for the event was to raise $20,000.
FSU's football players have been taking part in these Lift for Life events since 2013, but this was the first year that it was organized by sophomore linebacker DeCalon Brooks and Helton, who is his cousin.
Both players said they are always looking for ways to give back to the community, and they certainly had a great example in the family. Former FSU and NFL star Derrick Brooks, who is DeCalon's father and Helton's uncle, was named the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2000 for his charitable efforts and excellence on the field.
"He's really passionate about giving back to people in his community, especially kids and the educational system ... so really, what I learned from him is that there's always something that's bigger than football and bigger than you," DeCalon Brooks said. "This is something I'm really passionate about doing."
While Brooks and Helton spent weeks organizing the event with the help of the Seminoles' strength and conditioning staff, both players expressed thanks to their teammates for participating because it was not a mandatory team event.
Several Seminoles said the large turnout -- and the way the players competed -- was a sign of how well they have come together in recent months.
"It feels great, just being out here with my teammates again, just coming out here and competing and performing at a high level," said Woodbey, who was held out of most spring drills after undergoing offseason surgery. "It just feels amazing to be back out here with my teammates, I'm just very thankful and very blessed to be in this situation. ...
"I feel like every time we're together as a team, we get closer and closer."