Greg Marsden did something Thursday, on the last afternoon of 1998, that he's never done in his 22-plus years of coaching the University of Utah's gymnastics team: He looked out the window of the gym and announced to the team that it was snowing outside.
To those who've never been to the old, dark, cinderblock, windowless HPER-West gym where all those famous Utes who won 10 national championships trained, now referred to as a "cave" and a "dungeon," seeing the light might not seem like much.But to the Utes, it's a difference of night and day -- so much so that the gymnasts, assistant coach Megan Marsden and trainer Sharon Oshita held a "sleepover" in the building Sunday night. They toasted it with non-alcoholic champagne, then flopped their sleeping bags onto the mats that will henceforth cushion their falls with eight more inches of foam than the old ones.
"It was fun. We played on the equipment and sat and talked," said senior Angie Leonard.
Monday the Utes moved into their new $1.9-million, state-of-the-art, brightly lit training facility. The move was five months late because of construction delays, and the building's still short a few things such as carpeting and mirrors, and it's two months shy of having the add-on aerobics studio finished. It stands to the west like an attached garage.
There's a balcony for exercise and weight-training equipment; it sits atop the new training room with taping and massage tables, whirlpools and rehab modalities. The training room and balcony have grand views of the main practice floor so everyone can observe team activities. A locker room with showers and toilets is included -- no longer will athletes have to run down a hallway in workout clothes or dress in the curtained "cage" of the old gym.
In just two days of workouts, Marsden already noted improvements in the way his athletes train with more room and added safety. They now have an in-ground trampoline, and each apparatus has 6-foot-deep foam-filled and 3-foot-deep porta pits to cushion landings or falls. Even the floor-exercise mat has foam and porta pits available to tumble into. "After two days, I don't know how we stayed as competitive as we did in the old gym. This will pay tremendous dividends," Marsden said.
Eventually the pits should lead to more difficult skills. Gymnasts will get more repetitions because spotters aren't needed as much, and they can safely practice skills unspotted, as they would in a meet. Wear and tear on bodies could be minimized by softer landings.
The changes Marsden's already seen have little to do with seeing snow outside the glass-walled northern exposure of the new stand-alone building just north of HPER-East and west of the softball field. But just knowing what the weather's like is a welcome novelty for all. They used to go into the cave at 1 p.m. and might emerge four or five hours later to find the environment outside had changed drastically. "You didn't know if there was a blizzard outside or it was 80 degrees," Marsden said.
It was weird to be so out of touch.
Now the Utes are in touch with the outside world and can also touch the campus because practices are on display for all to see. A concrete patio and 18-inch-high concrete wall, perfect sitting height, were built in front of the glass wall just so passersby on a main cross-campus route will stop and watch the Utes train. In fact, the public's invited to come inside to watch at any time the team's practicing, too, said Marsden.
Gymnasts "turn on" for audiences, he said, anticipating enthusiastic practices with crowds watching.
The campus community should notice gymnastics more now, and certainly youngsters who come to Utah on recruiting visits will be impressed by a super-safe, attractive facility that meets all their athletic needs in one location.
Utah is late getting into a new training facility. BYU, Utah State and Southern Utah all moved into new practice digs years ago, and most top NCAA powers have new ones.
Marsden's sure this is the best there is at meeting athletic needs.
Some are bigger but don't contain training, weight or aerobics rooms or as many foam/porta pits. This one was built cost-effectively for function. Example: Marsden's office is still in the Huntsman Center; he preferred to use the space for training or locker facilities.
"Would I build the No. 2 facility?" asks Marsden with a satisfied grin. Utah is the most successful gym program in collegiate women's history, but it began needing a new facility to attract top recruits about five years ago. "I'm not saying it's going to solve all our problems of staying competitive," he said, "but it will give us an opportunity to stay in the ballgame."
Utah hosts the 1999 NCAA Championships April 22-24.