Photo Courtesy of Sam Maidenberg.
Connecticut College has been making efforts to create the best environment, resources, and opportunities possible for students while still staying safe from the spread of COVID-19. Although the Athletic Center has been open via appointment for all students the entire semester, athletes have been struggling with limited availability to free weights, and an inability to access alternatives off-campus. As spring, winter, and fall sports alike have begun competition, Conn has taken new steps to provide an organized space to help aid with more effective training for student-athletes specifically. Thanks to the efforts of Strength and Conditioning Coach Analisse Rios and Women’s Volleyball Coach Josh Edmed, along with a group effort of many coaches and staff, Conn now has a new Athlete-only training room.
The new gym has taken the place of the previous multi-use yoga studio hidden in the back room of the athletic center. The 1,600 square foot room has a capacity of 24 athletes and includes Olympic lifting stations, kettlebells, dumbbells, medicine balls, resistance bands, TRX bands, plyometric boxes, new trap bars, and more. In order to ensure maximum safety with COVID-19 protocols, as well as monitoring lifts, a coach or athletic staff member is required to be present during all athletic lift sessions. Despite this requirement, student-athletes are feeling appreciative of the new facility.
When asked what was the inspiration behind the new gym, Edmed explained that the goal was to “provide our athletes with the best resources in order to compete at the highest levels possible.” He admitted that “the Lee and Ann Higdon Fitness Center can get very crowded,” and commented that the addition of this new strength center opens up a lot of space and access to the Lee and Ann Higdon Fitness Center for all of our community members,” as well as benefiting our student-athletes.
Emily Lorry ‘22 from the women’s soccer team feels that the new gym has made team lifts more “efficient, but also more effective.” She is appreciative of the availability of equipment during lifts, and commented that “It is important that our varsity athletes have a space dedicated for their use so that our teams can compete at the highest level.” As Lorry stated, “Many of Conn’s teams are vying to be seen as a NESCAC powerhouse and this new space is a crucial step in the right direction.”
Brett Moccia ‘23 on Men’s Hockey feels similarly to Lorry about the new gym.”It’s nice to have a space that dedicates an area to us to improve our skills and allows us to bond as a team and to get better,” Moccia reflected.
By creating this new space for teams to train in, Rios hopes it will provide an opportunity for athletes to more readily “achieve their fitness goals that will then transfer to the field, court, ice, or water.” But the vision for this new gym was not only individual success. Rios and Edmed crafted the plan for the space with the intention of creating a motivational atmosphere for teams. In order to stick with this goal, a large reminder is painted across the wall of the gym reading “Do the Work, Get Results.” After contemplating making temporary improvements to the room, the two coaches decided that revamping the equipment, flooring, and walls was the best way to “take strength and conditioning to the next level,” as Rios explained.
It has been especially cramped in the Athletic Center this spring because of so many teams being in season. In addition to spring teams including lacrosse, track and field, rowing, sailing, tennis, and women’s water polo, many sports that are traditionally in season during the winter and fall are also competing this spring. After their seasons were canceled, soccer, field hockey, volleyball, men’s water polo, basketball, hockey, squash, and swimming are all vying for training time to prepare for their first competitions since the beginning of the pandemic. The new weight room will be essential in providing enough equipment, time, space, and coaching to teams in light of the impacts that COVID-19 has had on Conn athletics this past year. As Edmed stated, “this amazing new space along with our Sports Performance Team provides a strong foundation for growth and development for all athletes by providing sport-specific training plans that are able to be facilitated through the use of state-of-the-art equipment.”
