What was once a crammed space with no room to move around is now an open, expanded athletic training room. Athletes can stretch, roll out muscles, and recover.

“It’s definitely a big change,” Athletic trainer Alex Esposito said. “It tripled in size, with nice glass accordion doors to open up, and it has a huge ice machine.”

When local taxpayers approved $15.3 million in renovations in November 2022, the school got upgraded classrooms, new turf and track, refinished gym floors, and more. For Esposito, the best part was a new athletic training room, with more space to accommodate student athletes.

“You had three kids in there last year and it felt really crowded,” Esposito said. “Now you can have a ton of kids in there, and there’s so much space so they can come in, hang out, and do some of their own things.”

The new space features tables for foam rolling and other massage therapy, as well as a private whirlpool room, giving athletes more freedom to manage their own recovery routines.

“More kids will just go in there and be able to be self-sufficient,” Esposito said.

After school, the room has a steady stream of athletes for more than half an hour, including those who need taping and other treatments.

“It’s usually 20 plus people,” Esposito said. “And on busy days, it’s more.”

This year, Esposito has seen an increased number of injuries due to the new turf. While the surface is made to be intentionally slippery to prevent serious injuries, like ACL tears, it’s caused concern among many football players, including varsity center Jaysson Pittman.

“For my position I’m not running a crazy amount, but every time we do drills and conditioning, I always feel like my ACL’s at risk,” Pittman said.

However, from an injury point of view, Esposito sees benefit of the new design.

“It’s to keep kids from planting in and twisting, and just having bigger injuries,” Esposito said. “ I think there’s some slippage injuries, but those big things where you’re getting surgery are being avoided.”

To reduce the risk of injury, the football team has stopped practicing on the turf and moved to the grass beside the turf.

“We chose to be on the safe side and not have people rolling ankles or tearing stuff,” Pittman said.

With more athletes coming in for treatment due to the turf, it quickly fills Esposito’s time.

“The goal is to eventually have student athletic trainers that are also doing taping and stuff in there to help me out,” Esposito said.