Trojan weight room is overcrowded, falling down
You could describe the old weight room in the transportation shed out back at Hillsboro High School as a "no-frills facility," and marvel at how many successful Trojan athletes have strengthened their muscles here, rising from such humble surroundings to championships and glory.
Or, you could call the facility an overcrowd dump that's totally unsuitable for Hillsboro-caliber athletes, and you'd be describing the same place.
Simply put, the building where the Trojans build their muscles is 60-plus years old, and it's falling down.
But a new training facility, which could be used by the entire community, will be constructed if voters approve on June 5 the proposed $6.625 million improvement project for USD 410.
On Monday afternoon, about 25 gym students packed the weight room, leaving no room for error. Several deep gouges on the frayed carpet warns what dropped weights could do to fingers and toes.
"We're packed in there, and you know the old building has got to go away, because it's falling down," said athletic director Max Heinrichs. "I think everybody knows that."
Despite the current facility's drawbacks, lifting platforms, benches, and squat racks, reveal that a lot of serious iron-pumping can be done in there.
And iron is pumped in there, constantly.
"That weight room is used every hour of every day, and our faculty is pretty good about using it before school, and after school, so we use it a lot," Heinrichs said.
While a new facility won't guarantee that future Hillsboro teams will win more championships, or that the hard road to the top will get any easier, it would be a larger, safer, and more modern fitness facility, for the entire community.
With a new weight-training facility, there would be ample room for heavy-duty platforms, racks, and benches, and space for new equipment that could be used by anyone.
In the absence of a similar facility in town, Heinrichs would like to see the district partner with the Hillsboro Recreation Department and open the new fitness facility to the public, seven days a week.
"We'd need more space to put aerobic exercises in," Heinrichs said. "We have a couple of exercise bikes, but I'd like to see a line of five or six of them, and five or six treadmills, and maybe some elliptical trainers and that type of thing in there."
In addition to the new physical training facility, the bond referendum also would pay for new dressing rooms adjacent to the Robert C. Brown Gymnasium.
At present, there aren't enough dressing rooms when HHS hosts tournaments and other multi-team events.
"I'd like to see it so when we had basketball games, the only thing we had open was our gym and our commons," Heinrichs said.
"By putting new lockers in the middle, we could cross from gym to gym without going outside. We could have the type of tournaments that our community wants and expects."
In addition to new locker room facilities and training facilities, the bond project also includes facility-facilities.
At present, when teams are playing at Robert C. Brown Gymnasium, fans looking for the nearest restroom facilities are told to go back outside, through the entry doors, and then through another door, and down the hall. In other words, there are no public restrooms in the gymnasium.
"Their eyes get rather wide," said longtime ticket-taker Donna Dalke. "You have to make sure that their hands are stamped so they can come back in without having to pay again.
"We try to make light of it, but it's kind of silly."
What isn't silly is the proven importance of weight training to today's athletes.
Trojans win championships, in part, because they're in top physical condition, Heinrichs said, adding that the time has long since past when a student regardless of natural ability, can be successful — and stay healthy — in high school sports without weight training.
"If you're not lifting, your chances for success are going down," Heinrichs said. "Number one, it's going to be injuries. Number two, there's a confidence factor that weights bring to you. Number three, it just gives you the power you need to perform against the other athletes that are doing it. Those three things are just huge."
On a wall inside the dimly-lighted weight room, beyond the door that won't swing open or closed without an extra tug or two over the cracked, broken concrete, are posted the names of recent all-conference players.
Also posted are motivational signs that give clues to the athletes' successes: Champions are trained, not just born! The road to the top is paved with hard work! Weightlifting does make a difference!
Heinrichs says today's Hillsboro athletes are sold on weight training, because of the success of standout athletes, such as multi-sport, all-state seniors JuliAnne Chisholm and Lucas Hamm.
"Our athletes who are very good at what they do put a lot of time in there," Heinrichs said.
Some Trojans crave hard work so much that they jimmy the locks on the old windows and climb in the weight room to work out anytime of the day or night, weekends and holidays.
That may sound like a good thing, but the athletes sneaking in to lift are doing so without supervision. And with the added risks posed by vandals, thieves, and under-aged kids, Heinrichs says it can be a dangerous, litigious situation.
Perhaps the night owl athletes are trying to find a time when the place isn't so crowded.
"They're in there when it's open, and whenever they can get in, and sometimes it's when they aren't supposed to," Heinrichs said.
Voter Registration
In order to vote in the June 5th election you must reside in USD 410, be registered to vote, and be at least 18 years of age. Patrons may use the form on the following pages to register for this election or you may register in person at the Marion County Clerk's Office in Marion. Deadline for registering is May 21.
