In June, Pine Crest alumnus and Houston Rockets point guard Brandon Knight ’10 gifted Pine Crest School with a new modernized training facility in Lane Hall, with state-of-the-art cable systems, new weights, artificial turf and platforms. As of September, renovations were completed and the Brandon Knight Sports Performance Center is open for use by students, faculty and staff, with many claiming it was well worth the ‘weight.’

When asked to weigh in on the upgrades, sophomore Colin Servoss said, “The new technology, such as the new treadmill, really can help to improve my performance in the coming up sports seasons.”

Not only for basketball players like Knight, the improvements to the weight room benefit all athletes of all conditions. The Brandon Knight Sports Performance Center is packed with a large variety of training equipment with the intention to build stronger bodies, prevent sports injuries and emphasize recovery for Pine Crest athletes.

Cross-country runner and sophomore Ari Segal said, “The new weight room is really accessible for all types of athletes. I run cross-country and the weight room has all the equipment I need to train for my sport, too, like weights, resistance bands and much more.”

The layout of the weight room was also tweaked in order to give more room for athletes to do free-weight exercises, making it safer, especially with so many students lifting heavy weights nearby.

“The environment is brighter and has a open-space layout in order for more free-weight exercises to be held, rather than machine-oriented workouts which are less effective to the body altogether,” said Jason Babayev ’21, a weight-lifting aficionado.

However, for those looking to start in the weight room with no experience, there’s no need to worry. Ivan Delgado, Associate Athletic Trainer, said, “We can start beginners with minor step drills, jumps and exercises, and work up from there.”

When inquired about Brandon Knight’s impact on the weight room, sophomore basketball player Leo Ghiloni shared his thoughts: “The new weight room has many new resources such as the vertimaxes, which allow me to expand my game and be more explosive. Brandon Knight is also one of my biggest role models so it’s pretty cool that he was the one who donated to help this gym be created.”

With these welcomed changes to the weight room, Pine Crest athletes, experienced and inexperienced alike, will only improve from the technological advances to become stronger and faster than before.

Sources: Dreamshake, Pine Crest