BATON ROUGE — When you are continually making strides in your sport, increasing the level of difficulty on the team and competing at the highest collegiate level, you tend to outgrow your facility. LSU head coach, D-D Breaux has been dreaming of a new facility for her team for quite some time now and finally, the dream has become reality.
After years of planning and preparation, the construction of a new training center for LSU Gymnastics is underway.
“It’s been a long time coming,” says head coach D-D Breaux. “Our team is consistently one of the top 10 programs in the nation and we’re ecstatic about having a facility that will help us train toward a National Championship.”
The Field House, where LSU currently practices, will undergo massive reconstruction producing a facility that will more than double the size of the existing training venue. The new gym will consist of 18,143 square feet of training space and a little over 2000 square feet will make up the squad room, locker room, equipment room and a sound room where the team will have their music created and recorded onto CD.
One side of the facility will be glassed in and overlook LSU’s multi-million dollar outdoor Track Stadium, one of the nation’s largest football stadiums, Tiger Stadium, and our home competition venue, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. This glassed-in atrium will contain two vaulting areas and an in-ground tumble track.
The tumble trak and one vaulting area will feed into resi pits, while the other vaulting station will go into
loose foam. The main training area will house the palmer stratum floor system with a tumbling strip, 3 sets of bars, a single rail, a uniquely designed circular channel bar pit, and a competition beam area. At the far end of the gym will be a beam training area, which will include both low and high beams. Behind it, a conditioning and aerobic room for the team’s use.
This new, state of the art facility will be furnished with wall-to-wall carpet, the latest in AAI regulation equipment and some uniquely designed features that will facilitate our conditioning and training.
Larissa Libby, assistant coach, says, “As a former Olympic and World team member I have had the opportunity to train in many facilities around the world and I am confident that this will certainly parallel any of the top facilities that I have been in”
With this entire package come many bonuses including;
1)Private Squad Room– beautifully designed and furnished, this area is used for team meetings and video playback of trainings.
- equipped with Computer, printer and on-line hook up for the team to use.
- 36 inch TV and VCR for athletes to review training and competitions
2) Team Locker Room – mirrors, bathroom, showers and sauna. Each team member has their own locker with cabinet above for storage.
3) Conditioning/Aerobic Room– A separate room at the back of the gym equipped with new exercise machines and conditioning equipment.
4) Equipment Room- where all team uniforms are kept. Equipped with washer and dryer for fast, easy care and maintenance of uniforms.
LSU is very excited about having one of the nation’s finest facilities to train in. “It’s practical and it’s safe for our team which is always an important issue,” says assistant coach Bob Moore. “Along with all of the benefits that come with having a new facility, it will allow us to have better structure and time management during practices.”
Construction on the New Fieldhouse began June 15th 2000 and is set to be complete in September of 2000.