The Strength and Conditioning program has seen a lot of change this year with Colby Johnson taking over as head Strength and Conditioning coach. When Johnson first started in the program he wanted to improve it.  

“There was some good but I think there was room for a lot of improvement, and that could be anything from technique to form. But I think a big piece was the culture and the identity of the weight room. So those are the things that I saw when I first came in that I was like, I think there’s room to improve,” Johnson said.

Culture and identity has been a priority for Johnson. He wants the best for his students and wants the weight room culture to be something students want to be part of.

“I think the priority was to make an environment that people want to be in compared to ‘I have to be in’,” Johnson said. “So my goal was to get the culture to where we wanted to get kids that want to be in the weight room and they want to improve themselves for whatever, so part of that was create an environment that was a fun, environment that’s challenging, but also that student athletes or students that want to be part of it.”

Along with the environment, there have been a few physical changes to the weight room to make it more enticing for students. Things like clean shiny racks and new lifting accessories elevate the space.

With these changes, Johnson is turning the Strength and Conditioning program into a brand with a social media presence and merchandise. 

“I feel like the weight room is its own identity in itself. It needed a brand to represent that. So it started with something simple like a logo,” Johnson said. “Then from the logo I put up what I would call propaganda within the building so people see that and they understand what it is.”

With all these changes, Johnson has seen a positive impact on the students. 

“The buy-in from the students specifically, and the understanding of how important the weight room is and how much it can really affect what they’re doing or where they’re going or where they want to be,” Johnson said. “But the biggest highlight has been seeing that and seeing kids accomplish things that maybe they thought that they couldn’t, or they didn’t think they could because they don’t want to try.”

Kerrigan- It’s been nice having coach Johnson here and all the changes he has made to make the weight room better