Weight room reopens for all students after school

Photo by Bryan Zhao

The weight room has the equipment needed for conditioning and strength training.

After a closure in 2021 due to the lack of a supervisor to monitor athletes, the school’s weight room reopened — announced in a Nov. 22 Saratoga Friday Newsletter — for all students after school Monday through Thursday. On Red Days, it’s open for all students from 4 to 6:30 p.m., and on Blue Days it’s open from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

While many are under the impression that the weight room initially closed due to the loss of over $7,000 of  equipment, such as bumper plates and dumbbells, the real issue was actually not having someone to supervise the space, athletic director Rick Ellis said. 

That role is now being held by campus supervisor Darrell Adams,  who is also working as the school’s strength and conditioning coach. 

In making the decision to open the weight room to students, the school considered the handful of requests from students wanting to use the weight room after school, but the main goal is to provide an accessible place for athletes to condition before, during and after their seasons. 

“We’re hoping to get our athletic teams conditioning in their off season and during the season as it is imperative to their success,” Ellis said. “That was a main driving factor [in deciding to reopen the room].” 

The football, basketball and wrestling teams all use the weight room. While Adams primarily works with athletic teams, the school wants to give all students a chance to use the weight room, with Adams guiding the students. 

“I truly care about fitness in general; it’s been a huge part of my life,” Adams said. “From the moment I was little, I understood that a lot of people weren’t blessed with certain physical capabilities, as far as weightlifting and just being generally strong. They have an opportunity here to build upon that. I really want to see everyone be the best version of themselves.” 

The school’s weight room operates on a schedule, with different sports allocated specific days and times. Currently, football uses the weight room every weekday for post season conditioning. Despite efforts to avoid conflicts regarding scheduling, some overlap between sports using the weight room might still occur, Adams said.

 What sets his training program apart from others is its tailored approach, Adams said. Workouts are designed to cater to the specific needs of different sports, ensuring relevance and effectiveness. 

Adams tailors the workouts based on the specific sport teams that come in. For example, football players have workouts that include plyometrics — which improves their vertical jump and speed. 

For those outside the school sports realm, Adams conducts an initial assessment to understand their goals and create a personalized plan. For students looking for just fitness exercise in general, Adams also offers biometrics and CrossFit exercises from the CrossFit website. 

“When new athletes come in, we do pre-workout tests to examine their overall flexibility and ask whether they have prior injuries; then we tailor a specific workout for them,” Adams said.

The initiative aims to encourage more students to utilize the weight room, with promotional efforts such as flyers, constant emails to parents and general word of mouth. Ultimately, the success of the program relies on the engagement and positive experiences of the student body themselves.

Although all students are welcome to go to the weight room to work out, athletes — such as sophomore football player Anthony Tran — noted they have only seen sport team members participating. Tran recommends that more students go after school.

Photo by Bryan Zhao

Another angle of the weight room showcases the numerous weights many students can use after school.

“It’s a good opportunity for students to build up their strength during the offseason and in season,” he said. “It’s also a great way to build up skills and increase performance in sports, which will allow you to dominate wherever the game takes you.”