Student athletes are often told that “championships are won in the weight room,” but how are athletes supposed to accomplish this when their weight room is a glorified closet? Haldane’s weight room is extremely cramped and outdated. When exercising with more than five people, the gravity of this situation will quickly be recognized. The tight nature of the room makes it nearly impossible for teams to bench press and squat at the same time, severely impacting athletes’ workouts.
Sophomore Lainey Donaghy, one of the softball captains, said, “I think with the growing number of athletes going to the weight room, we definitely need a bigger space. Speaking from my own experience working out with the softball team, you can’t even pick a weight up or rack a plate without hitting something.” Freshman Oliver Chase, a football player, said, “I think that its small nature does affect athletes, but it would be really hard to expand it.”
Not only is the weight room inconvenient for student athletes at Haldane, but it’s also unsafe. Social Studies Teacher and football and softball coach Jeffrey Sniffen said, “It is incredibly dangerous. I have witnessed several injuries due to the equipment being on top of each other. Two kids needed stitches on their heads because they bumped into equipment while trying to put it away.”
With the passing of the recent Capital Project, many athletes, such as Donaghy, were hopeful for a new weight room to be added to the budget. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and the weight room remains a relic from the early 2000s. Sniffen commented, “The last update happened over 20 years ago, when we switched the weight room from the double door closet to the current location. The problem is that in order to update, we have to expand out of the side of the building or switch spaces, which would be difficult.”
With growing interest in the weight room, such as tenth-period lifts being added to the schedule and more team lifting sessions, Winter Basketball Final Roundup it may be time for a renovation. Whether we start small by removing the rusted equipment and gradually move into expansion, or change the room completely, it is clear that something must be done to protect Haldane’s athletes.
