When I was a lowly freshman, LM’s weight room was located across the hall from the Downs Gym, in a crowded, poorly ventilated, moldy room that carried a stench heavier than all of its rusted dumbbells combined. The treadmills and ellipticals had all been relocated to the secret room inside the cafeteria, and the stationary bicycles to the basement of the Tech Building. The equipment was scarcely used by anyone other than Mr. Bomze and the football team. The trainer’s room had four beds, one working ice machine, a cockroach infestation, and not a single tub for ice baths or whirlpools. Finally, due to construction, LM lost close to half a dozen playing fields.
When the faculty and students of LM relocated to our beautiful, pristine, new building, I anticipated a total athletic facility makeover to go along with our greenhouse, state-of-the-art science labs, and granite lunch line countertops. Pushing the apparent flawlessness of the gymnasium aside, which is only used for competition by three (basketball, wrestling, and volleyball) teams, I was unpleasantly surprised to find poorly placed locker rooms and again, a badly designed, athletically unfriendly weight room. The trainer’s room was now clean, with new and intact tables, yet still small and unconventional. An athlete’s best friend, a whirlpool, was even donated to the school by alum Ben Furcht (PA 2008 Gatorade XC Runner of the Year), but lays untouched in a storage closet deep in the belly of the school. With only one trainer, athletes have incredibly limited opportunities to be properly taped for practices and games, or receive therapy for an injury. The training room may be the place to hang out for some athletes, but it certainly is not the best place for an athlete to get the necessary attention for their injuries. Better yet, on the other side of Montgomery Avenue, home of the cross-country and track and field teams, the track is littered with dangerous bubbles, dips, and cracks. I believe that a competitive athlete who truly cares about their training, and therefore successes, should pay more attention to the facilities in which they train.
Comparing LM to another local, similarly-sized high school such as Strath Haven, the number of student athletes who commit to play for Division 1 schools is shockingly low. With all the praise LM receives as a top-tier public high school, athletic competitiveness is outshined by academic prowess. The competitive spirit of athletics that has shaped the experiences of so many high school students seemingly does not exist within the general population of LM.
With our flashy uniforms, sparkling gymnasium, and reputation as one of the top high schools in Pennsylvania, one would expect a lot more from LM.
