The decision to switch the locations of the weight and wrestling rooms was long in the making, one that both Director of Strength and Conditioning Kevin O’Neill and Wrestling Coach Charles Danhof had advocated for. One consideration leading to the switch was the sheer size of the Strength program.
Asked about the primary reason for the sudden change, Danhof said, “The floor beneath the weight room wasn’t that structurally sound.”
Due to the continuous weight put on the ground by heavy machines and large numbers of people, the floor, being of an older age, was slowly giving way as the years passed. Additionally, the room provided much-needed space for the strength program.
“I think [the room switch was] something that, from a square footage point of view, is certainly something we needed for strength conditioning,” O’Neill said.
These concerns became increasingly pressing for the Morrison Athletic Center (MAC), especially regarding the soundness of the floors and the impact of massive amounts of weight on its stability.
For Danhof, the transition offered a better space for the depressing, frigid afternoons of the third quarter.
“It will provide a lot of light, which is nice, especially in those winter months where it gets cold and dark,” Danhof said.
The first step for executing this switch was pitching the idea to the athletic administrators, who then helped put the idea into motion. The Athletic Administration started the project by discussing their plans with Buildings and Grounds and external companies that were brought in to do most of the heavy lifting.
“I was on board, [Danhof] was on board, then we had to run it by the administration, and they were on board too. So once everyone agreed it was good to go, we kind of put the wheels in motion,” O’Neill said.
On the technical side of the swap, O’Neill said, “It definitely took a lot of planning ahead of time. And for the actual move, we had a small window of time because the day camp ended [the week of the 15th of August through the week of the 25th of August] right before the end of summer. Miraculously, the renovation materialized swiftly and discreetly, before the school year even started. It was a fairly quick turnaround considering the amount of work that was done.”
Besides just the new location, Adam Malima (Class II) said, “They added some equipment, probably because there’s a lot more room.”
Generally, the addition of new equipment in the weight room, including turf and additional benches, has received positive feedback from students.
“The turf was a useful addition, and also, there’s more space. It’s a lot less cramped. My friends have had similar reviews,” Malima said.
There was a common agreement among students that the change was beneficial for everyone, especially for boarders like Lily Bromely (Class II), who need the gym to stay fit during the off-season.
“I definitely go [to the strength room] more. I feel a lot more comfortable in the gym this year, just because it’s so much more open,” Bromely said.
It appears that the only complaint from students is that the new strength room is not located as centrally within the Morrison Athletic Center.
“The new gym is more out of the way for students coming from indoor practices like basketball,” said Malima.
Though in the grand scheme of things, this was viewed as a minor issue compared to the bigger ones of the old gym.
The location change has been welcomed by the entire community and has had a positive impact on both the strength and wrestling programs. The strength program has loved the swap, and though the wrestling season hasn’t started, they are beyond excited for the new space they were given.
