To compete at the collegiate level and emerge victorious, student-athletes need more than agility, speed, power and talent; they also need to keep their bodies healthy and stay safe, especially when rehabbing from injuries.
With more than 400 student-athletes participating in varsity sports, a modern training facility is a crucial element for the success of Kent State University’s many athletic programs. The new $3.1 million Kent State Athletic Training and Education Center, located in the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center Annex, boasts 10,000 square feet and two floors with state-of-the-art training and medical facilities.
Part of Kent State Athletics’ strategic vision to enhance winning and academic success, unveiled in March 2016, the new training facility focuses on the treatment and recovery of student-athletes. Three pools on the second floor of the facility include one with cold water, one with warm water and one with an underwater treadmill.
New equipment includes an antigravity treadmill that suspends an athlete above the machine, taking a variable percentage of their body weight off their lower extremities. This reduces impact on the running surface and enables athletes to work on gait or continue cardio exercises and rehabilitate injuries with less pain.
“Student athletes can now receive appropriate care for injuries as well as receive recovery methods to keep them at their peak performance,” says Trent Stratton, associate athletic director for sports medicine, sports performance and student-athlete well being. “With our new facility we have set the bar extremely high among our peers.”
The center’s benefits reach beyond student-athletes to other areas of the university, as well. Its cutting-edge technology provides opportunities to collaborate on research with Kent State faculty and students, a major component of the university’s priority to develop a distinctive Kent State. The facility also houses a classroom environment for students in the athletic training program.
From additional taping stations and new rehab equipment to a private conference room and exam rooms, the new Athletic Training and Education Center is a huge upgrade from the original (1950) one-room space.
“This facility is an excellent recruiting tool, which will help attract the best and brightest,” says Joel Nielsen, Kent State’s director of athletics. “It will improve performances across the board.”
—Bethany Sava, BS ’12
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