Oct 21, 2024Strength Training Facilities of Excellence: St. Thomas More Catholic High School
The Our Lady of Lourdes Athletics Center, located in Lafayette, LA, is the new 7,400-square-foot training facility for St. Thomas More High School — which has won the most Louisiana state championships in the last 20 years.
In addition to the 7,000 square feet of locker rooms, meeting rooms, offices, and training rooms, the weight room not only services the Cougar’s championship-caliber student-athletes but also for elective physical education classes and is open for early morning sessions.
“More than 500 athletes use this space on any given day,” David LeBlanc, Cougar’s strength & conditioning coach and assistant football coach, said.
The weight room, outfitted by Matrix Fitness, boasts 28 power racks, all equipped with two Olympic bars, a full complement of branded bumper plates, landmine attachments, band attachments, various chin-up bars and grip handles, 28 sets of 100-pound power block adjustable dumbbells ranging from five to 100 pounds, multiple med balls and stability balls.
“We need to move bodies through en masse,” LeBlanc said. “So when I’m constructing a workout now there’s no bottleneck in the workout [with all of the new equipment.]”
To address speed and agility training, or to execute supersets, the Cougars installed two 35-foot strips of turf with inlaid agility block ladders and dot drills, installed by Sports Pro Surfacing. Multiple LED TVs are hung from the ceilings to project daily workouts — which student-athletes can access through the PLT4M app, an online platform built for the next generation of physical literacy.
» ALSO SEE: Strength Training Facilities of Excellence — Northern Highlands Reg. High School
“None of this would have been possible without the support of our community — our alumni and administration didn’t pull any punches or cut any corners with this project,” LeBlanc said.
To see all of the Strength Training Facilities of Excellence winners, view the October/November 2024 digital edition of Training & Conditioning.
