The era of the high school weight room serving the football team exclusively is coming to an end. Today’s high schools support dozens of varsity and sub-varsity programs, every one of them requiring intentional, year-round athletic development. As participation has diversified, the philosophy behind the space has evolved from an old-school lifting dungeon into a modern sports performance center designed to develop every dimension of the performance triangle.
Layout
That shift is reflected in the room’s layout and design. Fixed, single-use selectorized machines and rows of commercial treadmills have been replaced by functional versatility: open turf, modular rack systems, plyometric boxes, and multi-use training zones.
While general fitness centers serve a valuable role for faculty and community members, a high school sports performance facility must protect its distinct training environment. There is a fundamental difference between working out and training. Working out burns calories; training is structured, progressive, and tied directly to performance outcomes on the field and court. Diluting the space into a public-style health club compromises both functional capacity and team culture. To run a championship-level athletic program, the facility must reflect that standard from the floor up.
In 2025, we installed an auxiliary sports performance facility at Fairfield Union High School with five lifting stations and eight cable machines. It supplements the fieldhouse facility we installed in 2017.
As more teams use the main sports performance facility, space and scheduling can become a challenge. When building a larger facility is off the table, an auxiliary weight room can give PE classes and athletic teams more room to train. We’ve seen schools do this by converting an unused classroom into a second training space. This is especially helpful when the main weight room is in a fieldhouse by the football stadium, a quarter mile or more from where court sports teams practice and play. Adding a sports performance facility closer to the gymnasium gives those teams easier access and saves training time, especially when athletes would otherwise have to cross campus in the cold and snow.
In Ohio, where Stray Dog Strength was founded and is headquartered, the OHSAA recognizes 29 varsity sports across three seasons, with 10 each in fall and winter and nine in spring. The sports performance facility can get especially crowded late in the fall, when fall teams are still competing, winter teams are gearing up for their season, and spring teams are starting offseason training. That overlap can leave teams from all three seasons competing for the same space and training time.
In a small auxiliary weight room, every square foot counts. We prioritize equipment that serves multiple purposes and keeps more training options within each station. Mounting PowerBlocks at the racks gives athletes access to dumbbells without dedicating floor space to a full dumbbell run. We also integrate cable machines into the racks so athletes can do lat pulldowns and other cable work at the same station they use for barbell training.
Flooring
Flooring is one way to simplify the process of converting a classroom into a sports performance facility and keep renovation costs down. ECORE Ultra Tiles are interlocking rubber tiles that are one inch thick and can be laid directly over suitable carpet, tile, or concrete. They require no separate underlayment or adhesive, which can save the time and expense of removing the old flooring and resurfacing the floor. A crew can lay the tiles in a small auxiliary facility in a few hours without a specialized flooring installer.
Auxillary Mezzanine
Shown below is Bryan High School in Ohio, where a new athletic wing includes an auxiliary gym for practices and training, along with a dedicated two-story sports performance facility. The main floor has 10 rack stations, cable machines, lower body strength machines, and open training space. The turf mezzanine above it houses cardio equipment, sleds, medicine balls, lighter dumbbells, and a unit for suspension training and equipment storage. Smaller teams can train upstairs on days with less barbell work, or one group can warm up on the turf while another lifts below. The mezzanine gives coaches two distinct training areas within one facility and can cost less than building two separate rooms.
Conclusion
A well-planned auxiliary sports performance facility gives more athletes a place to train consistently throughout the year. Start with which teams will use it, how many athletes need to train at once, and when the main facility is at capacity. Those answers should guide the location, layout, and equipment choices. With versatile stations and flooring suited to the existing space, even a former classroom can give coaches more flexibility and keep teams on schedule when all three seasons overlap.
