A renovation of the Pitt-Johnstown athletics weight room on the Sports Center’s second floor started its renovation, and probably will be finished in November. 

Eric Kinsey, Pitt-Johnstown men’s soccer head coach and assistant Sports Center construction manager, said the weight room was first installed in 1990.

Pat Pecora, Pitt-Johnstown athletic director, said the weight room was part of the wrestling training room, but he opened it to all Pitt-Johnstown athletes after 1990.

“We started this renovation program with $50,000. The budget is coming from the rest of the money from the basketball floor donation by Rich Ragan in 2017,” Pecora said.

 “After renovation, the new weight room will be open for athletes only,” Pecora said.

“Every coach will have a key. The athletes must be training with their coach. That’s not a place for their individual training.

“The players and the coaches are excited to have the new training room,” Pecora said. “It’s going to give athletes a good chance to have standard athletic training rather than with all students.”

Justin Haupt, volleyball head coach, said he used to hold team weight training in the Wellness Center.

“It’s very important for athletes to have more muscles, and my freshmen used to gain 10 pounds of muscle after their freshmen year of training.

“There are so many different teams in the Pitt-Johnstown Athletic Department, so it’s hard for us to balance training time inside the Wellness Center. 

According to Haupt, in this fall season, he used to have team weight training in the afternoon, and there were a lot of students working out, so, sometimes, there wasn’t enough room and equipment for his team’s weight training.

“I know the more muscle they have, there will be multiple things that improve, like balance,” Haupt said.

Sophomore Lauren Gechter, the women’s volleyball middle hitter, said she gained a lot from weight training, and hoped the new weight room could give her a more convenient place to train.

“We used to have team training in the Wellness Center during winter. In order to have enough room for our team, we have morning training with whole body workouts.

“In my high school, my weight training is mostly by individual, and I think that group weight training will make me feel energetic and motivated. I can jump higher, run faster, and be resilient faster.

“In the Wellness Center, sometimes we don’t have enough equipment, and I hope the new athletes’ weight room will have more equipment and help my team to work out better,” Gechter said.