There’s a lot of lifting up going on inside the Cedar Crest High School weight room

Over the years, as society and scholastic sports have evolved, the role of weight rooms has grown. That redefinition has changed the nature and make-up of weight rooms.

And so have weight rooms changed high school athletics.

The Cedar Crest High School weight room is a vibrant, happening place, stoked by youthful energy, aspirations, and camaraderie. The place is also a teaching space where student-athletes – and general population students – learn cooperation, life lessons, and how to work both hard and smart.

Travis Dresch is a strength and conditioning coach, a health and physical education teacher, a father, and a former student-athlete who more than monitors CCHS’ weight training room.

“Ever since I’ve been here, for at least the last 13 years, there’s been some form of lifting class,” said Dresch. “But not to the degree it is now. It used to be football focused, but now it’s open to all athletes. The weight room now is highly utilized during all eight periods of the day.”

At one time, weight training was an extra-curricular activity performed by athletically inclined individuals before or after school hours.

Today, weight training and conditioning is done more in pairs or supportive groups, or as an entire team-building activity. While it hasn’t lost its place as an extra-curricular activity, now weight training is performed during the school day as part of the physical education curriculum, where student-athletes and students can earn class credits toward graduation.

“When you used to think of weight rooms, you used to think of football players,” said Dresch. “But now all the sports are represented. What’s cool is that they (students) all get to experience each other, and they end up supporting each other. It’s kind of a cool culture-building atmosphere. Sometimes I use the phrase, ‘One room, one team.’

“Some of these kids know each other from sports or classes. Some don’t know each other. I just like seeing the kids talking and seeing smiles on their faces. Some of the kids are becoming coaches. It’s cool to see kids apply what they’re learning and demonstrating it to someone else. That shows learning is happening. That shows there’s good things happening.”

The Cedar Crest High School weight room places more of an emphasis on free weights than training machines. The space features 13 stations or racks where any body movement can be duplicated.

“We do a lot of education in the weight room,” said Dresch. “A lot of kids come in and don’t have expectations. Maybe they haven’t trained before. I educate them and make it easy to get started. There’s definitely a science to it and kids are sponges.

“If you have a positive environment, it’s easy to buy into. I always challenge them. Overall, I’m pleased with the majority of kids. If you put the effort in, you see the results.”

The weight room is open whenever the high school is open, and until 4 p.m. after the school day ends Monday through Thursday during the school year.

During school hours, about 300 students visit the weight room on average each day. During the school year, the CCHS weight room receives over 65,000 visits.

“It’s pretty crazy. It’s busy,” said Dresch. “It’s grown a lot and it’s definitely still growing. The interest is there, mostly because kids are seeing results, coaches are seeing results. It takes community buy-in, and the administration has been supportive. They’re all lined up.

“We’re training for performance. We’re not training to lift heavier. If you have success in the weight room, you’re going to have success on the playing field. I try to make it a fun environment to be in. I try to have energy. Communication is massive. I’m constantly asking questions, ‘How does your body feel? How did the game go?’ Some of it is what they can do that day. I share data with coaches. They ask me questions and I ask them questions.”

While Dresch helps create a weight room vibe that’s conducive to lifting and training, ultimately the students’ motivation comes from within. It’s the same competitive nature that drives athletes on game days, one supported by teammates and peers.

“With any sport, you’re only as good as the efforts you put into it,” he said.

“We create a competitive environment. Some athletes compete against each other, and some compete against themselves. Each week, we try to better ourselves. If we’re not tracking (results), we’re guessing. We want to show progress. With a lot of these kids, they’re not there because they love training. They’re there because they know they’re going to get better.”

While Cedar Crest’s may or may not be the prototypical weight training program, similar things are happening in high school weight rooms across Lebanon County each day.

Weight training no longer gives student-athletes an advantage on the fields of competition. Now, with the increased popularity of weight training, if you’re not putting the work in, you’re falling behind.

“The effort, determination and all the hard work you put in has to have a purpose,” said Dresch. “I want the weight room to be a part of it. I want the weight room to be a central part of the entire athletic department, so that kids can be confident and have success.”