Dallas College North Lake Brandishes New Fitness Center
Dallas College North Lake unveiled a new fitness center through an over month-long renovation project that also included the purchase of new equipment.
The expansion project nearly doubled the square footage of the renovated facility. The fitness center is expanded from 1,600 square feet to 2,800 square feet, according to North Lake construction manager Chris Marrs.
"Obviously, it will be a better facility for student and employee wellness," North Lake Athletic Director Greg Sommers said. "As far as athletics go, it will be a good recruiting tool because it shows we invest in our program at North Lake. Not only do we train our student-athletes to be more explosive, but we train for injury prevention as well. We need our athletes healthy, and to be available in order to help the team."
Dallas College purchased eight new weight training and fitness machines, along with dumbbells and kettlebells. Mart served as the general contractor that handled the project. The renovated facility includes new resilient flooring installed by Z Floor. Upgraded LED lighting was also installed in the fitness center.
"I'm excited that it's going to be a lot bigger, and it's going to have a wider space," Blazers sophomore volleyball player Naiha Rivera said. "Before it was really small and narrow, so I'm excited about the bigger facility. More people are going to be able to go in it, and utilize more of the equipment than before."
Rivera, a native of Irving, is a transfer from Dallas College Cedar Valley, where she spent her freshman year as a defensive specialist.
"Transferring from a school that had a really small weight room, having a bigger one makes it even more appealing to all of us," Rivera said.
Aesthetically more pleasing to the eyes, with the additional space and equipment, are benefits for sure, but North Lake first-year head men's basketball coach Josh Mills, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, says the new facility will also help with injury prevention.
"It was definitely time for an upgrade, and I think everybody's excited about that," Mills said. "A lot of that equipment I used when I was a student here 20 years ago. I'm happy to see safer equipment being installed. Free weights are still really good, but people are moving away from that to go to more weighted stuff on tracks to prevent injuries. When I'm in there, I can focus on the folks doing free weights, and know that the folks behind me that are doing the machines, it's less likely for injury. It's good to see that all across the campus things are getting updated."
That change to modernize Dallas College North Lake is appealing to prospective students.
"It makes me think that they want us here," freshman volleyball player Skyler Brooks said. "It makes me want to come more, and it makes me want to be in there more. Me personally, if I'm invited to go to a school with a good facility, I'd rather go there because it's better looking to the eye, so it makes me feel better about it."
Others agree.
"It just motivates you to get up and go do it in a new facility," sophomore men's basketball player Ori Limbrick said. "You try to find things that will keep you going. Walking into a weight room like this, it'll keep you going. They actually made a commitment to helping us out here. It's not just, 'You get what you get.' They're going to help you along the way. It inspires you to work harder."
An outside hitter from Joshua High School in Joshua, Texas, Brooks says the expansion is a welcomed upgrade for a commodity she was already accustomed to prior to college.
"My high school, our weight room is huge, so going from a huge weight room to a small one is kind of a hard adjustment, especially when there's multiple sports using it," she said. "So I think, it being bigger will be easier for me, personally."
Flooring from the older fitness center will be utilized in the baseball dugouts. Additionally, equipment from the older fitness center will be kept in the older fitness center to be used as an auxiliary or additional workout area, with the possibility of the baseball and soccer teams benefitting.
In addition to the fitness center upgrades, the Blazers' coaching staff offices underwent a facelift, with the installation of LED lighting, a ceiling grid, new carpeting and flooring in the athletic staff hallway, while the offices were repainted.
"We are grateful to Dallas College North Lake for investing in us," Sommers said. "The new facility is something we're excited about, and definitely an upgrade for the Blazers."