A new top of the line weight room has been built in the Woodward gym at SCH Academy, in an attempt to improve our athletic programs.
The Woodward gym has been used for many different things in the past, including a basketball court that was not played on very often. When COVID-19 hit, the gym was used to spread out seating during lunch. However, once COVID guidelines were taken away, and the lunch seating went back to normal, the Woodward gym didn’t really have much use to the community.
This plan of turning this space into a new and improved facility had been in the works for some time, but of course a big project like this would obviously need the help of many, many donations from the alumni and current SCH community.
Rick Knox, head coach of the football team said, “Higher ups on the board/development office created a very important committee and were asked to reach out to alumni for donations. I would say there had to have been help from hundreds of people to be able to start this campaign.”
The new weight room can already be seen as a staple to the SCH community. Not only is there more room for athletic teams to lift as a unit, but there are plenty of new faces. The old weight room lived in a much smaller setting on the floor below the Woodward gym. Hidden from the outside world and having people closer together while lifting definitely did not feel like the best place to lift for a lot of people at SCH.
“Having a more spacious setting helps numerous teams be able to lift at the same time, and we see students in the weight room that we never saw in the old weight room which is great to see from a use perspective. Also, when people visit the school and see this, it shows how important our athletics are to the SCH community,” said Mr.Knox.
A weight room like this is a real eye opener for recruiting. If a recruit is choosing between SCH and another school, of course they will take into consideration the beautiful weight room that SCH brings to the table. Based on pure looks, there aren’t college weight rooms that look like the one at SCH. The look of the new gym has completely changed the vibe of team lifts, which ultimately gives athletes the best lift they need to help them get stronger and faster.
Hayes Schreiner, captain of the boys lacrosse team stated, “In the old weight room I didn’t have much desire to lift because it was much smaller and people were constantly hanging over one another. I feel much more motivated walking into the new gym because I know I’ll be able to get in an awesome workout and won’t have to worry about machines/weights being used and having to wait for them to open up.”
Weightlifting can form stronger bonds with people around the school. Maybe someone you’ve never talked to before is always in the gym at the same time as you; maybe you will continue to acknowledge their grind and when that respect comes into a friendship, that bond will only grow stronger. This new addition to the community will strengthen the kinship of SCH.
