The West Delaware weightroom, along with the strength and conditioning program, have seen major upgrades, leading to safer and more efficient training.
Matt Seabold, the new weightroom supervisor and strength and conditioning coach, has played a vital role in the renovations of the weightroom.
“Before the updates, we had outdated equipment that wasn’t even safe,” Seabold said. Funding for the renovations came from athletic accounts and booster support.
New equipment included racks, plates, flooring, plyometric boxes, laser timers, and cable machines.
“Now it’s laid out better with specific areas for warm-ups, explosive work, and strength lifts,” Seabold said.
English teacher John Kruse uses the upgraded weightroom for his personal workouts.
“Seabold does a great job keeping the facilities clean and organized, and that’s the expectation for everyone who uses it,” Kruse said.
Starting next year, Seabold will teach a new Performance PE class that focuses on strength training.
“We wanted every kid to have a chance to lift and learn proper fundamentals,” Seabold said.
Students enjoy the structure of the new program this year.
“You get your pre-workout done, you get your weights done, bam,” Seabold said.
Seabold also introduced a leadership group called Lifting Leaders. “I selected kids who work hard and lift others up,” Seabold said. “They help suggest improvements and run fundraisers like a youth camp and color run.”
Cross country and wrestling coach Jason Guyer has noticed the benefits already, especially with injury prevention.
“The biggest thing we saw right away were fewer hip, knee, and ankle injuries,” Guyer said. “If you can’t run at practice, you’re not going to see your times improve, so staying healthy made a huge difference.”
Multi-sport student athlete Kirstyn Kolbet (12) has seen the strength and conditioning program results already this year. “I feel the new program really focuses on the athlete’s specific sport,” Kolbet said. “People are now running faster and jumping higher.”
