Stronger, Faster, Better : Center Takes Athletic Training and Conditioning to a New Level

Radford Athletics’ strength and conditioning motto is “better yourself to better the team.” Now, Highlander student-athletes have a new and improved space to prepare for success in competition.

Radford University student-athletes are challenged every day to perform at the highest level in the classroom and on the practice field and compete for championships. Strength and conditioning are the cornerstone of successful programs.

Thanks to dedicated Radford University Athletics fans and supporters, more than $220,000 has been raised to help create the new Sports Performance Center in what was formerly the pool area of the Dedmon Center. The difference between the upgraded space and the previous weight room is striking.

“This center helps current and future athletes tremendously. It gives us a big advantage compared to other mid-major schools. We now have areas to work on things we never could before. With injuries always a possibility, I think having a state-of-the-art facility is all the advantage. Not only will our new weight room helps us, but more importantly, the new training room keeps us safe and healthy,” said Danny Hrbek ’17, a recentlygraduated baseball pitcher from Effort, Pennsylvania.

“The first time (student-athletes) came in, they were like a kid coming down the stairs and seeing what Santa left for them,” Assistant Athletic Director for Sport Performance Scott Bennett said. “They loved it. A lot of times their workouts are not easy. To give them something to be excited about and have a little ‘wow’ factor, that’s a great feeling to be able to provide that.”

Starting with the most basic comparison of size, the new facility nearly quadruples the square footage, from 4,200 to about 16,000, and makes it one of the largest performance centers for a school of Radford University’s size. The center provides more room for workout equipment, and athletes are able to have space as they train. Because of the extra square footage, the cardio and Nautilus machines, previously in storage, are now being fully utilized by student-athletes

However, the most significant upgrade is the wide-open turf area in the center that provides an additional training area that can be used as an alternative to the Dedmon Center court, the baseball and softball hitting facility, or in case of bad weather, outside. The soccer and lacrosse teams have used it for drills. Volleyball has taken advantage of the softer surface for jumping work; basketball as a warm-up area before games; and baseball and softball can use it and the weights at the same time without having to change buildings.

Along with making the workouts themselves more efficient, the additional space has made coordinating schedules among the teams easier.

“People don’t think 15 or 20 minutes is a big deal. As tight as our schedules are, it is a big deal. You don’t want to have to start anything at 5:30 in the morning,” Bennett said.

The other very noticeable improvement is the aesthetics of the room itself, with its open floor plan and natural light flowing through the roof and windows.

“It just gives them a whole new outlook on training,” Bennett said. “They’re excited about working in here, and you have the feeling as a student-athlete that the coaching staff, the administration, everybody here is behind us and wants us to have a great experience.”

Additionally, larger television screens displaying all of the different workouts have been added, and the plan is to upgrade the sound system. The two departments are also collaborating on a program emphasizing nutrition, with the hope of eventually putting a nutrition bar inside the new facility.

“It’s all about the young people and giving them a firstclass facility to train in, making sure we’re doing the right things with them, and giving them plenty of room to do what they need to do to get better,” Bennett said. ■

More enhancements to the new Center are expected to be completed throughout the coming year. Donor support is crucial to providing the best facility possible for our hard-working student-athletes. If you are interested in contributing financial support for these facility enhancements, please contact Andrew Hartley at 540-831-6236 or ahartley7@radford.edu.