The scene includes beads of
sweat dripping down athletes’ faces as they visualize and psych themselves up
for the next rep. The soundtrack
blasting through the speakers varies anywhere from 2 Chainz Pandora radio to a
90’s hits playlist and is accompanied by the pounding and clinking of weights
being lifted. A motivational tone is
constant as Michael Rankin, Director of Strength and Conditioning, oversees his
weight room with pride.
Referred to solely as “Rankin” by his athletes, Michael
Rankin trains and motivates Drexel’s 18 varsity teams, rounding out to be over
480 student athletes. His typical day
starts with his first team at 6:30 am, followed by another 5 teams streaming in
every half hour. Rankin and his staff
coach the athletes through their training programs that have been custom
designed by Rankin himself. He always
tries to get his own workout in before he heads home for a just an hour’s break. When asked about maintaining his personal
training schedule throughout all of the mayhem, he emphasized the importance of
setting an example for the students with the mindset that it will always be
manageable to train. “I’m not going to
come up with an excuse, the same way I’m not going to let the kids come up with
an excuse.” After returning, Rankin works with more teams until he ends his day
at about 8:00 pm. From sun up to sun
down, the weight room runs like a well-oiled machine.
Rankin’s
determination for success and commitment did not appear over night. His passion for health and wellness began on
his first day of school as a child. “I
hated going to school but I remember loving P.E,” he says. In 5th grade, Rankin was farming
and performing manual labor, putting the money toward a home gym in his
basement until he was old enough to join a larger facility. Just about a decade later, Rankin was a
collegiate football player at Western Maryland College until neck and back
injuries forced him to transfer to West Chester University. As he was closer to
his doctors and trainers, he moved on from football and focused on Olympic and
power lifting programs. After
graduation, Rankin interned at a private training facility under Mike Boyle,
the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Boston University. “Mike Boyle was
the one who really showed me what a varsity weight room should like,” he
states. From there, Rankin’s competitive spirit has driven him to pursue many
different sports and training programs.
“I’ll do anything,” he says.
Rankin has competed in lifting, races and triathlons, but has also tried
out for an Olympic team, American Gladiators, and was interviewed for MTV’s Made.
His most recent adventure was a charity bike race to the shore that took
around six hours. With it being only his
second time on a road bike, Rankin is still feeling the aftermath about a week
later.
As
he works with both collegiate and professional athletes, Rankin describes the
work ethic that is mandatory to find true success in his weight room. “Look,
you can’t train heart. So, you can try
to motivate, try pick people up, try to create an atmosphere but if you don’t
have heart, you don’t have heart. All
the yelling in the world, the best program in the world, doesn’t matter if you
put forth no effort.” He has had experience with athletes from the NFL, NHL and
the Olympic team and continues to practice an open door policy for anyone
interested in taking advantage of his experience and knowledge. “Once an athlete here, always an athlete
here, in my eyes. I love when people
come back and train. That’s probably my
favorite part of this job,” he says. The
relationships that he has with his own coaches allow him to recognize the
impact that he and his staff can have on the lives of his athletes. “It’s pretty overwhelming and it’s something
I take pretty seriously,” he says.
When
asked about his dream job, Rankin was very clear by stating, “This is it.” Although he’s been associated with top
programs, including the Cleveland Browns and the Olympic Training Center, he
recognizes the family atmosphere that surrounds him at Drexel. Rankin also shared his desire to turn the
single weight room into an entire performance center in years to come. “I’d
rather focus on making the grass greener where I am, than continuing to move
spots every few years with the hope that the grass is already greener
there. I’d rather tend to the grass
where I am now and make sure it’s the best that I can make it. That’s more rewarding than going to a big
name and keeping it status quo.”
From a young age, Rankin’s motivation and curiosity has
taken him through experiences that most people only dream about. Sharing his education and expertise along the
way, he continues to inspire athletes of all levels to be the best version of
themselves. Teresha Bradley, a senior
varsity athlete at Drexel University, states, “Rankin has always recognized my
full potential as an athlete. He’s
always known I could do it, even before I did.”
As he pursues his long-term goals for a program that has reached new
heights under his direction, Michael Rankin exemplifies dedication to Drexel
Athletics.
