Jack C Hays High School

Jack C. Hays High School needed a training facility capable of supporting the scale of its growing athletic program.

The previous space was too small and did not provide enough training stations for a football program with more than 225 athletes. Only about 24 athletes could use barbells at one time, forcing coaches to divide large groups into more sessions and limiting training efficiency.

Storage was another challenge. Equipment lacked a centralized home, contributing to clutter around training stations and making the room harder to organize.

With new athletic leadership in place and bond funding available, Hays had an opportunity to build a facility that could support significantly more athletes, improve organization, and better reflect the identity of the program.

Hays wanted the new facility to accomplish three primary goals:

• Increase the number of athletes who could train at one time
  
• Modernize the training environment
  
• Improve equipment organization and storage
  

The facility also needed enough flexibility to allow multiple teams to train simultaneously and give the football staff the ability to move its entire roster through the room in only two large groups.

Stray Dog designed the 10,500-square-foot facility around capacity, athlete flow, and centralized storage.

The layout uses rows of Alpha Double Half Racks to create two primary training zones separated by a massive custom ATR storage system running through the center of the room.

Platforms line the outside edges of the facility, followed by rows of double half racks. The central ATR system divides the space before the same training layout begins again on the opposite side.

This essentially creates two highly functional training environments within one room. Multiple teams can train at the same time without interfering with one another, or the football program can divide its roster between the two sides of the facility.

The central ATR system was designed to do more than store equipment. Dumbbells and accessories are kept away from individual rack stations, reducing clutter throughout the room, while integrated attachment points allow the storage structure itself to function as part of the training space.

The final equipment plan included:

• 40 rack stations
  
• 40 benches
  
• 60 platforms
  
• Custom central ATR storage system with a walkway
  
• Custom upper band attachments
  
• Lower band attachments
  
• Landmine attachments
  
• VertiMax Raptors
  

Custom branding was incorporated throughout the facility using school colors, logos, decals, branded panels, barbells, bumper plates, and dumbbells.

A 3D visualization was also used during the design process so the Hays team could review the layout and understand how the finished space would function before the project moved forward.

Once the facility design and equipment plan were finalized, the complete equipment package was produced and delivered for installation.

The project brought together the Alpha rack systems, platforms, benches, custom ATR storage, specialized attachments, and branded equipment specified during the design process.

The completed facility can now support more than 150 athletes at one time.

One of the clearest improvements is barbell capacity. The previous space could accommodate approximately 24 simultaneous barbell users. The new facility provides 60 barbell positions across racks and platforms.

Compared with the previous training environment, Hays gained:

• Significantly more athlete capacity
  
• More usable training stations
  
• Better athlete flow
  
• Improved equipment storage
  
• Less clutter around rack stations
  
• Cleaner coaching and supervision lines
  
• Greater flexibility for multiple teams
  
• A stronger visual identity for the athletic program
  

The result is a performance strength facility built to match the size and ambition of the Hays athletic program, giving coaches the capacity to train larger groups while keeping the room organized and efficient.