NB NK Rotary visits NB Athletic Facility

 The NB NK Rotary Club was “on the road” this week, leaving the familiar and comfortable confines of Speedway Lanes behind to visit the new Cardinal Booster Center or “CBC” at the New Bremen high School.  New Bremen Schools Athletic Director Gary Jones gave a tour of the facility and answered questions about its usage.  The facility has been in use for almost one full year and was paid for in large part with funds from the Cardinal Booster Club.  Private and business donations covered the remainder of the cost to build the facility.  

“Today’s athletes need to be strong and quick,” Jones said.   “A lot of thought goes into training our athletes to make them the best they can be.”  Jones noted that about 2/3 of the New Bremen students are using the facility three to four times per week for various training, workout and sports practice activities.  The facility includes a full weight room, a rehab/cardio/training room, a large multi-purpose room and a large equipment storage area.  The multi-purpose room houses the baseball and softball batting cage, pitching machines, the “JUGS” machine for throwing footballs, a two lane 175 foot running track and a good bit of open artificial turf for various indoor practice activities.

 Assistant Baseball Coach Jeff Piper demonstrated the pitching machine in the batting cage and explained that they can get the entire baseball or softball team in the facility for practice, using several different “stations” for hitting and pitching all at the same time, increasing the amount of work they can do during the season and during the off season.  “We’ve had a few baseball players in the cage since August working on their hitting,” said Piper.  “The storage space comes in handy during double headers.  It worked out very well this past weekend when the rain and wind came through.”  

Jones explained that they use the track for hurdles practice and also to get good 40 meter sprint times.  “We can bring the football team in here during inclement weather to set formations and walk through plays,” said Jones.  “Having this space out here for the batting cage, frees up space in the high school gymnasium giving us the opportunity to host volleyball and basketball tournaments.”  Both Piper and Jones expressed their gratitude to the Cardinal Booster Club and the other donors for this facility.  “Most of the schools we compete with have nice facilities and equipment, having the CBC really helps us prepare our athletes to be the best they can be,” said Jones.

Hosting Rotarian: Diane Gast