When I met Ashmon Lucas in April 2015, he was a lanky and severely underdeveloped high school Senior. At around 6’4 and 200 pounds, he had the physical gifts to be a stud thrower. He was a big, powerful athlete, but he had no understanding of how to coordinate movement. Though he had well above average potential, his throws were pretty average.
Ashmon’s high school coach, recognizing Ashmon’s potential, invited me out to practice. Ashmon had a great foundational understanding of the movements and the positions he needed to work through, but just needed some help connecting the dots to put together some bigger throws.
I could tell Ashmon’s desire and dedication were there. He took coaching well, and he was eager to learn. In just a few training sessions, his PR in the discus jumped from 120 feet to 142 feet in the state championships tournament. Though he didn’t make it to the State Championship Meet in his senior campaign, this taste of success drove him forward.
Ashmon’s desire to study to become an engineer left him with a clear option – Purdue University. However, his average results for the majority of his high school career left him unwatched and unwanted by collegiate programs. This is where Ashmon’s story takes a detour from the typical collegiate thrower. Ashmon graduated soon after I met him, and has spent the last 15 months living at home and studying pre-requisite courses at Purdue Polytechnic Institute in Anderson.
He has also continued training with us. Over the course of those 15 months, he has packed on nearly 80 pounds of body weight, nearly doubled his deadlift – maxing out at over 600 lbs. – and built a 250+ pound power snatch from scratch, and continued to develop his throws.
In April this year, Ashmon’s hard work paid off when he threw as an unattached competitor in his first collegiate outdoor meet. Ashmon threw the 2kg discus 156 feet to improve his All-Time Personal Best by 14 feet over his high school mark with a lighter discus!!!
This fall, Ashmon heads up to Purdue’s main campus, as planned. What Ashmon didn’t anticipate when he graduated high school a little over a year ago was that he would be transferring to the main campus with a Track and Field Scholarship. Purdue’s coaching staff, who knew Ashmon was transferring to Purdue after completing his pre-req’s, recognized the effort and improvements that Ashmon has made over the past year and rewarded him with a guaranteed spot on the team as a scholarship athlete.
We couldn’t be more proud of Ashmon. He is a unique combination of talent, potential, work ethic, and character. Though we will miss him at Force Barbell, we look forward to seeing how far he can take his throwing career at the next level.
Force Barbell: Tell us a little about who you are and what you do.
Ashmon Lucas: I am a Purdue commit who has been training at Force since July of 2015. I stayed here in Fishers to train and save money on my school bill by going to one of Purdue’s statewide campuses in Anderson. I’m pursuing a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering technology.
FB: What do you like to do in your free time when you aren’t throwing, educating yourself, or working out?
AL:To be honest, I don’t do much besides go to church, work, and occasionally eat out with my friends. It sucks having to work your whole summer.
FB: You are getting ready to move to Purdue’s main campus on a track and field scholarship. What are your plans for the future?
AL: I want to innovate transportation. It doesn’t make any moral sense that people are without a means to get from place a to b without having to own a polluting death trap. Then cars are a major factor of global warming, smog, asthma, and a slew of other problems. Major insurance agencies make money off of families who would get in trouble with the law if they didn’t have insurance. It’s absurd the way things are now and don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate cars but I do hate how they are right now.
FB: How long have you been training at Force Barbell? Why did you choose to start training with us?
AL: I’ve been here for a year and I chose Force because I already trusted the owner, was easy to get to, and the atmosphere here is motivating. Though it’s always a sauna in here, you can tell everyone in here wants to improve. If you come to force wanting to “get fit” then this is not the place. You should come here to make yourself better. Force with take you out of your comfort zone and make you strong.
FB: How has training at Force Barbell helped you?
AL: It showed me that I can always do things better. Even till this day, I am still being corrected on my form!
FB: What advice do you have for somebody looking to start training?
AL: Force Barbell will motivate you your whole journey. If you like hyped sweaty people yelling someone’s name if they did a good lift, and a workout that will make you sleep well that night, come join the Force family.