Shorter Gym Set for Face Lift

The `grand old lady,` however, has proven that she can adapt and over the next several months will undergo another change for an ever-growing athletic program as the College moves to expand its department offices.

`When they built Winthrop-King, they certainly didn`t anticipate 21 sports,` Shorter Athletic Director Bill Peterson said about the upcoming renovation that will use one of the two classrooms on the facility`s third and top floor for six badly needed offices. `Somehow this facility has handled it and handled it well. This is an amazing facility in that it`s handled the growth and at the same time still looks good.`

I really feel it`s one of the nicest facilities in our conference and will continue to be for some time.

When Winthrop-King was built, it comfortably housed four offices and a conference room, which at the time provided Shorter with a shining example of the College`s commitment to a sound mind, sound body concept.

By the start of the new millennium, however, an emphasis was placed on providing more athletic opportunities for Shorter`s students and in 2005, when football was added to the list of sports, WKC`s weight room was transformed into football office space and locker rooms were converted to handle the Hawks` largest team.

In addition to those changes, the weight room was moved to second level in a space that was originally designed as a storage room and earlier this year one of the building`s racquetball courts was turned into an additional weight room for the student-athletes.

With the number of sports increasing, a need for coaches offices developed and in 2007, Shorter used a classroom that was adjacent to the original offices to give the coaches and staff the needed work space with six new offices, workspace, a kitchenette and storage room.

With the arrival of men`s lacrosse, women`s lacrosse and wrestling - each of those sports will begin competition when the 2010-11 school year begins - the space need surfaced once more, leading to the decision to expand again.

The upcoming change will leave Winthrop-King with one classroom, but with the College`s business school moving off-campus to a new home at nearby Etowah Crossing, Shorter will have additional rooms to use for academic meeting space.

Coach Vic Mitchell has gone through what we need and determined what classes will be held there, said Peterson. That the one classroom meets our academic needs.

That`s good news for Shorter`s athletic staff, especially wrestling coach Josh Henson and lacrosse coach Nathan Young, who since joining the staff, have been sharing the conference room as an office.

It will be nice to use that conference room again when we have visits by recruits or for a meeting with more than three people, said Peterson.

Henson, Young and women`s lacrosse coach Brittni Dulaney, who is finishing her senior season playing at Presbyterian College, are targeted to take up three of the six new offices. Peterson said a decision to see who will fill the remaining spaces has yet to be determined.

While the department`s main office on the top level is the work area for the majority of the school`s coaches, other teams` coaches are spread out throughout the building.

Four spaces off the main gym floor have been turned into offices, one coach`s office is tucked away in the building`s dance studio and on the bottom floor, in addition to the football staff`s office, tennis coach Orville Adams` work space is crammed into a space next to the training room.

Through it all, Peterson points out, every coach has maintained a positive attitude and done so while fielding successful teams.

I can remember head football coach Phil Jones starting out in a small office in Sheffield-Thompson before he even had a team, Peterson said. Everyone has had to cope with it and all of them have done it happily and with a smile.

That`s especially true for the Hawks` newest coaches, Henson and Young.

They`ve had no complaints at all, Peterson said. They`re excited to be here and know what they are building here.

Shorter will do the renovation in-house, Peterson said, with Dick Taylor, Assistant Vice President for Facilities, and his staff handling the plans and construction. Stephanie Owens, Shorter`s Vice President of Finance and the institution`s Chief Financial Officer, will handle the funding.

She`s been unbelievably helpful in trying to make sure our athletes have what it takes to compete at the level we`ve been directed to compete, Peterson said of Owens. That`s certainly not easy in what`s been a difficult economic environment.

It is truly amazing that this building has been able to confront the changes and still be a great facility.

By Jim O`Hara