We, the Cavaliers, take great pride in our athletic strand. We have many teams who practice, day in and day out. Whether it’s 6:30 am or 7:30 pm, you’re bound to see students and staff practicing their respective sports.
Throughout my years at Collingwood, I have been witness to many all-star athletes walk the halls; I have met Collingwood basketball, rugby, and field hockey legends who have set Collingwood records, or even made Collingwood sports history.
As is the case for most, we are not born with the natural skills of Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo was not even born with the skills he has today, in fact, Ronaldo had to work constantly to achieve his goal. As famous basketball player Michael Jordan once said, “If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks… Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
At Collingwood School, we are very fortunate to have such incredible athletic training facilities. The weight room at Collingwood school has everything to offer, ranging from the Cardio equipment – bikes, treadmills, and elliptical, to the free weights, squat racks, and many other machines. We want our athletes to keep well maintained, with safety a main concern. As as side note, if you want to start using our excellent weight room, please fill out the online consent form on Collingwood’s website in the athletics section.
So far, the weight room has been a ‘ghost town.’ This room holds so much potential for many students, and Collingwood should be utilizing it to its full capacity. After a series of interviews with avid athletes who use the facilities, Head Boy, Jovin Narwal summed up the feelings of many people who workout. “I think it’s great that we have a weight room after waiting for so long.” He said. “I am exuberant to see what the final product will look like after all the new equipment arrives.” Also, Hunter Welsh explained that “our weight room is good for beginner lifters.”
Although the weight room is an excellent facility, its current users have made several suggestions on improvement. For example, the necessity of some equipment, and the spacing of the apparatuses.
To start, undoubtedly the Ergometer (erg/rowing machine) is a valuable piece of equipment, but in our weight room there are approximately nine of them, when really we should not have that many during this time. Further, it would be better if we had a more effective way of storing the ergs until rowing season as many of them serve as “dust-collectors”. Moreover, some might say that the ergs take up space that could perhaps be used for other machines.
After asking twenty students about their perspective, over 90% concurred that the best solution would be to store the rowing machines until rowing season. Another minor detail that has been mentioned is the placement of the exercise mats. This issue will probably be resolved very soon but the mats take about five and a half feet by two and a half feet. That’s 13.75 square inches of under utilized space.
Grade 12 students, Jovin Narwal and Hunter Welsh explained, “We have more bikes than machines, and are missing a few key machines; for example, we don’t have a jungle gym with cables, for Latissimus Dorsi (lat) pull downs, and seated row. In addition, there are no dumbbells over 80 pounds, so more advanced lifters are limited. Also, we believe that the gym needs mirrors so that we can concentrate on keeping proper form to avoid injuries while lifting.”
All valid suggestions, but overall, and constructive criticisms aside, we have been rewarded with such an excellent facility for exercising. Like many in the Collingwood community, I am very excited to see this space used to its full potential and hopefully these suggestions can help with improving the Collingwood weight room moving forward. Nonetheless, it’s great to even have such a nice facility to work out in.
Finally, for those reading who do not use the gym, I would highly recommend it. But don’t take my word for it. Hunter Welsh says “I recommend the weight room to get gains and girls.”
And if that doesn’t encourage you, in a study done by Harvard University, working out can help improve chances of living lungs, helps to protect one’s heart from disease, and help prevent many diseases such as certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, and depression or anxiety. These are just some of the benefits of working out. Jovin summarizes it quite simply: “The weight room can help individuals in many ways; it can help one perform better in their choice sport, or even help them to feel more fit and healthy.”
By: Jordan Mauro
Comments