News release:
It’s been a busy summer in the Galion City School District, and more specifically, the Galion Athletic Department. The Heise Park weight room received an upgrade this summer thanks to the help of Galion coaches, student-athletes, team parents’ clubs and the entire community. New weight room equipment arrived just in time for the start of preseason conditioning and workouts for Galion’s fall sports teams. The new equipment, which cost $15,117,50, gives coaches the ability to run smoother workout sessions that are safer for a large number of student-athletes.
“The equipment we had been using ranges from 15 years to more than 30 years old,” said Wrestling Coach Brent Tyrrell. “We service anywhere from 20-60 kids at one time in the weight room and we only had 4 stations to use for squat and 4 for bench until the purchase of 11 new stations.”
The new equipment is a combination of many different weightlifting movements, which allowed for more efficient use of the small space available beneath the home bleachers at Unckrich Stadium.
“Our Gridiron Club was the leading donor, giving $4,500 towards the purchase,” said Galion Athletic Director Kyle Baughn. “The Athletic Department contributed $1,500, and the remaining balance was paid for by the football, volleyball, track and cross country, wrestling, baseball, softball and boys basketball parent club organizations. It was truly a team effort.”
USA Strength and Performance manufactured the new weight room equipment. While the company is relatively new, the quality of the equipment is far more superior to that of other manufacturers researched by the Athletic Department.
“The new weight equipment is really nice,” said sophomore football player Wyatt Hollis. “It helps us get done with our workouts a lot quicker.”
“The weight room is now able to handle larger groups safely,” said Tyrrell. “The quality of the new equipment will service our district for many years well beyond my 20+ more years as a teacher and a coach.”
Two small fundraisers were conducted to help raise funds for the new equipment. The first was the Gridiron Club spaghetti dinner and raffle, and the second was the Booster Club Drive.
“It’s great equipment and helps everyone involved in athletics,” said sophomore football player Matthew Oehrli. “It was great that all the booster clubs, parent organizations and Galion community pitched in to purchase the new equipment. It’s very helpful.”
“The community helped get this project completed, but we didn’t want to completely rely on them to get the job done,” said Baughn. “We wanted it to be a complete athletic department team effort, and most of the teams supported the cause.”