Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Freshman John Griffin muscles through a power clean on the new weight equipment at Saratoga High School.
Body Shop at Saratoga High
But the athletes are working hard on their bodies, not fenders
By Dick Sparrer
It's a body shop.
And it has been for nearly 40 years at Saratoga High School.
But instead of hearing the clanking and clattering of hammers on fenders that used to be so familiar in the old auto body shop at the high school, students will now hear the clanking and clattering of weights as they pass by the new body shop.
It's the same room, it's just that instead of improving dented auto bodies, athletes will be toning their bodies in the new Raymond Goñi Fitness Center on the Saratoga campus.
Through the consolidated efforts of the school's administration, staff and athletic booster club, Saratoga was able to transform its old weight room into what football coach Kurt Heinrich calls "one of the finest weight training facilities in the area."
"Our weight room was in a state that wasn't acceptable for our kids," said the coach. "The coaches in all sports thought that it was important to get a facility where the kids could get bigger, faster and stronger together."
So Saratoga went to work.
Athletic directors Mike Navrides and David Schritzinger, principal Kevin Skelly and physical education teacher Steve Smith supported the effort, and the booster club provided the financial support to make the new facility a reality.
"The Saratoga Booster Club works incredibly hard to raise money for our after-school sports program," said Heinrich. "They work tirelessly for all of our athletes."
"They were incredibly supportive. They want our athletes to have the finest equipment that money can buy."
And that's just what the Falcons have now.
Saratoga added two benches, a new incline bench, a new Universal lifting machine, new flooring, new free weights and a new Olympic platform with the Falcon logo on the side.
"Now it's important that we all utilize this great facility we have," added the coach. "We have to impress upon our kids that this is critical to their success."
He knows this his football players will be in the weight room.
"We have to do it for mere safety," he admitted. "Our enrollment is not comparable [to the other schools in our league]. So we want to make sure that our kids are physically as prepared as they can be."
Right now, Heinrich feels that the Falcons are on pace to be just that.
"We are going to be the strongest football team pound-for-pound that they've had here in a long time," he vowed. "And if they are bigger, strong, faster and play with more confidence, they will be safer."
Back when Heinrich was a star wide receiver and helping the Falcons win Central Coast Section championships, weight training was not a priority in high school football.
"The old adage was that weight lifting tightens you up," he said.
So the Falcons didn't do a lot of lifting back in the 1970s. Now, however, with a smaller enrollment and smaller athletes, weight lifting has to be a priority for Saratoga.
Athletes will work to improve their strength in the bench press, power clean, squat and overhead press. And they'll do that in a room named for the late Ray Goñi, a dedicated football coach and athletic director at Saratoga.
"I've proposed that to the board," said Heinrich of the weight room dedication. Such a name would be a fitting tribute for a man who worked tirelessly for so many years for Saratoga athletes.
The renovation of the Saratoga weight training facility was a major step in improving the conditions for athletes at the high school.
"For us to invest in [weight training], and for our kids to buy into it, they will be better at the end of their journey," said Heinrich. "The kids here are our prize possession, and we have to invest in them."
The completion of the facility is the culmination of a lot of hard work by many supporters of Saratoga athletics.
"I've got to give our athletic directors a lot of credit," said Heinrich. "They worked very hard on this.
"Our principal supported it, and our boosters are so willing to invest in our kids."
Saratoga, California Since 1955
