OLD HOME: NEW LOOK

By Chardonnae Parker / Delta Staff Writer

The new Walker C. Fletcher building is showing benefits for more student-athletes and coaches than anticipated. The new building not only gave a few teams a new home, but also allowed other teams make new changes to their old homes. 

For many student-athletes here at Missouri Valley College, locker rooms are more than just a place to change, shower or just store gear. Some athletes might even call it their safe haven.

“It’s a place to come, a comfort zone on our game day, to come in here get the game plan, talk to one another, have camaraderie with one another,” said Tamika Drake, Head Women’s Volleyball Coach. “The girls have made this their family home.”

In 1997, the Burns Athletic Complex was built. Since then, athletic teams all over campus have been sharing locker rooms in that building. By the 2017-2018 school year, there were a total of 13 sports sharing a total of four different locker rooms.

This summer, construction of the Walker C. Fletcher Athletic Complex, which also houses six different locker rooms, was completed. Now having each team to have their locker room in their area.

“To me, this just means a new fresh start for us and starting a new tradition and we are all about family. This summer we will start phase two of our locker room renovations putting in wood lockers on the wide for the women’s basketball team,” said Head Women’s Basketball Coach Andre Scott.

As the coaches and players prepare and begin their seasons, they are showing how a little change can go a long way.  

Renovations included a wall divider between sections in the locker rooms to close off the team area and adding a door with a code that only players and coaches have access to. Some team who never used their locker rooms now have the opportunity. 

The locker rooms for many people means a fresh new start for many programs. Programs such as women’s and men’s soccer, women and men’s lacrosse, and men’s volleyball often did not even use locker rooms, except to change on game days. With the division and separation that is hoped to change.

“The best part of these renovations is to have a place we can call our own,” said senior Sierra Adams “We do not have to share. That in itself means a lot.”