Shortly after Sean Gray was hired as Southeast Whitfield football head coach this spring, Gary Keeble, president of the school’s Quarterback Club, asked Gray to put together his wish list.
After touring the facilities and seeing the weight room, Gray knew what he wanted most.
“There were eight (weight) racks in there, but they were several years old, and they really needed upgrading,” Gray said. “Just having been in there for several years, the metal was wearing down, the benches were unstable, and it was almost to the point where something could break and someone could get hurt.”
Keeble said the weight room was set up in 2002, so it was time for a facilities upgrade.
“Just from a safety factor, the metal was fatigued and stressed, and this is a lot better,” Keeble said. “The equipment has advanced so much from the last few years, and it was something that we needed to do. It was something that we needed to upgrade and the school didn’t have the funds to do it, and the Quarterback Club committed to doing it.
“It is just part of the program that you have to have. With the weight room, everyone in the school can benefit from that. (The Quarterback Club) is the only group that could really afford to do that, but it benefits all of the athletic programs at the school.”
The existing weight room was renovated with several coats of paint and new workout equipment. Eight customized power racks, 24 weight bars, eight benches, a set of dumbbells from 5 to 100 pounds and rubber weight mats for power-clean stations were brought in by the booster club in mid-July.
“It is very important,” Gray said. “In today’s sports world you have to be strong to compete and your weight room has to be practical. You have to have enough space for a lot of kids at the same time. It is crucial to have what you need in the equipment room.
“The booster club has been great. They have been extremely supportive. That was the first thing that I went to them for, and they have been great.”
The Raiders have 80 players out for the football team and recently completed camp at the school with the start of full-pad practices this past week. They’ll scrimmage at home Aug. 17 against Murray County, then kick off the season Aug. 31 at North Murray.
Southeast is looking for its first appearance in the state playoffs since 1986, and Gray is optimistic.
“I think we are in pretty good shape,” Gray said. “(Former Raiders coach David Crane) and his staff updated the locker room last year and it is in great shape. We have taken the next step in the weight room, and I feel comfortable with where we are right now.”
Down the road, Gray said he would like to see the Quarterback Club invest in all-weather practice facilities.
“I would like to have some type of artificial surface we could practice on in any weather,” Gray said. “We were down in Sonoraville for a seven-on-seven tournament, and we would like to have something like that. If we can add those kinds of things every year, it will give us an advantage and put you on that same level with other teams in the area.”
Sports
Related Photos
-
Southeast Whitfield’s Rhett Harper works out on the bench and gets a spot from Easton Ridley as Jayro Perez looks on during a workout at preseason camp this past week at the school. The Raiders will open the regular season on Aug. 31 at North Murray.
Discussion
August 5, 2012
New weight room makes Southeast stronger
- Sports
-
-
All-American success
Former Northwest Whitfield High School softball player Jessica Brown set program records for home runs in a season (11) and slugging percentage (.779) this year at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. (Photo courtesy of Rhodes College)
Jessica Brown doesn’t pay much attention to statistics.
Continued ...
Maybe she should, because the Northwest Whitfield High School graduate’s junior softball season at Rhodes College, a NCAA Division III school in Memphis, Tenn., was filled with good numbers. - Going Xtreme: Rampage will help form new indoor league
- Reinhardt wins in first round behind Monroe's pitching performance
- Cats celebrate championship soccer season
- Former Dalton softball player part of NAIA tournament
- Jamie Jones: Wrestle-Jam tickets on sale
- May 23, 2013
- Dalton State notebook: Lady Cats' Ellis ready to fly with Roadrunners
- For Thomas, books come before hoops
- Redmond is new head coach for North Murray baseball
- May 22, 2013
- Decision is a winner
- Coahulla Creek's Blake Phillips will play for Curtis Pride
- Famber to cheer on at GNTC
- King battles but falls at GSGA tournament
- May 21, 2013
- Bruins rise as Marist dominates in Class 4A boys tournament
- Dalton, Megan Collins third at Class 4A girls state tournament
-
Raw: Train Derails After Overpass Collapse
Raw: Rescues From San Antonio Flooding
Raw: French Soldier Stabbed in Throat Near Paris
Mayor: Person Killed in San Antonio Flooding
Raw: Apple 1 Computer Sells for More Than $650k
Hagel Urges Cadets to End Scourge of Sex Assault
Raw: Gay Rights Activists March in Ukraine
Bus Fire Kills 16 Children, Teacher in Pakistan
Raw: Pakistan Election Results Protested
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
