Ask any highly-touted recruit at a top-level college about what impresses them on a college visit, and a lot of them will say “the locker rooms.”
Athletic Business has written extensively about the transformation of locker rooms from "man caves" to modern facilities, and what the locker room first impression communicates about the athletic program. In one of their recent pieces, they showcase why "schools are aiming to make the locker room a home away from home for players and not just a pitstop between games and practices."
The Oaks Christian athletic program also understands that today's locker rooms are much more than a place for teams to change into practice and game uniforms. They are a place where a group can come together and form bonds and friendships. Places where meetings can be held, not only about the practice ahead, but also about goals for the year.
Oaks Christian School has produced many college and professional athletes, students who have spent countless hours in OCS locker rooms, preparing for the next game and even athletic careers beyond high school.
Over the summer of 2022, one room in each the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms, as well as a room near the pool known as “team rooms” were renovated: new lockers, new carpets, and new TVs highlight the rooms, which see action from nearly every team on campus. The aquatics room near the pool does not have lockers, opting for benches that circle the walls instead, allowing for multiple teams to use the room over the course of a day if necessary.
“The reaction from the athletes has been nothing but positive,” Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Mark Amaral said. “They can fellowship with one another and have a space that feels like their own. I have seen the team grow closer together, and that the new team rooms are a big part of that.”
The rooms were used first by the basketball teams this past winter season to watch film, hold meetings with the teams, and as places where athletes of all teams could go to fellowship with one another.
“The team room as been a blessing for our program,” Head Girls’ Basketball Coach Keani Albanez said. “It has been a great space for motivational pep talks, devotionals, team bonding and pregame tactics. Utilizing this locker room has truly upgraded our program to an elite level.”
From the student perspective, the updated locker room has provided some tangible and intangible and intangible benefits. Lola Donez, a junior girls’ basketball player shared her reaction to the remodel.
“The locker rooms have definitely connected us more as a team,” Donez said. “We eat lunch in there, we hang out in there, and it feels like it’s our space. It feels like a comfortable space for everybody. It doesn’t matter if you are on varsity or one of the lower levels, you’re going to be welcome there. It also doesn’t matter what team you’re one. It’s for everyone to use. You don’t have to worry about finding somewhere to do homework quietly or find somewhere to change before practices and games.”
The locker rooms are much more than a place for teams to change into practice and game uniforms. They are a place where a group can come together and form bonds and friendships. Places where meetings can be held, not only about the practice ahead, but also about goals for the year. They can be places where players-only meetings can happen about being a part of a culture change on campus. These locker rooms are places where teams come together to conquer the adversities of each season they face, and the locker rooms that OCS put into place are doing just that.