Tabor’s patience for new facility worth the weights

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Christmas came late for the Tabor College Athletic Department. But when the new equipment finally arrived Friday for the college’s new strength-training facility, all involved agreed the wait was worth it.


Coaches and student helpers could hardly contain their enthusiasm as they unloaded and then set up the equipment purchased from ProMaxima Manufacturing, Inc., in Houston, Texas.


The company, coincidently, is owned by Bob Leppke, a Marion County native.


Head football coach Tim McCarty said the new equipment, plus the building that houses it, gives Tabor a weight-training facility that trails only Kansas State and Kansas University among state schools.


Don Brubacher, athletic director, said the facility is certainly the best among small colleges in Kansas-and a day-and-night difference from what Tabor athletes have been using until now.


“The facility the athletes have been working in was extremely inadequate,” Brubacher said. “Strength training is just such a huge part of training for athletic participation on the college level.


“Going from an inadequate facility to what is probably the best small-college strength-training facility in the state of Kansas is a great step for us,” he added. “It didn’t just make an improvement, we truly do have a state-of-art facility and state-of-the-art equipment for our athletes at Tabor.”


The impact of the facility on the college’s athletic program will be significant on and off the field and court, he added.


“It will have a positive effect on recruitment and retention, and it does communicate to all student-athletes that we are serious about providing them with the resources they need to compete successfully,” Brubacher said.


The equipment will include six power racks-four are new and two will be moved from the existing facility-three power-lifting platforms for Olympic lifts, two lat machines for high pulling, a machine for whole-body explosive extensions, four dip stations, two ham-glute-and-ab machines, two leg machines, a cable crossover unit, and a full set of dumbbells.


Brubacher was more than pleased about the quality of the equipment for the price Tabor paid.


“We did an awful lot of shopping and it appears that we did end up purchasing the equipment that gives us the best combination of value and quality,” he said. “As far as I can tell, we had no compromise on quality and durability. I feel very good about that.”


The entire project, including the 2,944 square-foot addition to the Campus Recreation Center, cost $175,000. About 500 square feet of the addition is office space for the football program.


“This project almost quadruples the space from the previous facility, which was about 650 square feet,” Brubacher said.


As the case with many Tabor building projects, contributions of time and energy from volunteers gave the school far more than $175,000 would normally buy.


“We need to always remember that we had a group of farmers in the area who contributed the use of their vehicles and their own time for site preparation,” Brubacher said.


“We had an alum, Al Vogts, who brought his concrete crew here for a full day to pour the floor-at no cost to Tabor.


“We’ve had Don and Marion Grauman and Kermit Ratzlaff working there quite often. Clayton Hamm drove in from Enid to paint the inside of the facility for us. “


Brubacher also praised the contributions of the Tabor maintenance staff.


“Wes Seibel has made himself a lot busier the rest of the year because he worked on this project for most of two or three months instead of working on his normal projects for the college,” he said.


Brubacher also cited the contributions of maintenance staff members Mike Fischer and Gordon Reiswig, plus the leadership of Paul Penner, a retired contractor and former Tabor board president now living in Wichita.


“There’s just been an awful lot of volunteer help that had helped us to build the project and still have the money available to purchase all of the new equipment to fill it out,” Brubacher said.


“They have allowed us to have a first-rate, top-quality facility instead of something less than that.”


To highlight the completion of this project, Tabor is holding a dedication at 9:30 a.m., Feb. 2. The public is invited.

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