Since this summer, Coronado has undergone a new project: the rebuilding of the gym floor. What may have looked in good physical condition was actually potentially dangerous to our PE students, athletes, and visitors. Mr. Thomas, social studies teacher and the head coach of men’s varsity basketball here at Coronado, said on the previous state of the gym, “Some of the issues with the gym floor were, you know, there’s nails sticking out, there’s screws sticking out, there were boards that were breaking in half and splitting. There were dead spots, where if you dribbled a basketball, it would just die, it would just stop on the floor or it wouldn’t come back up. So, it was a lot of that, the floor was also just sitting on concrete so a lot of wear and tear on knees. It was just very difficult to play on.” Mr. Thomas says that it was necessary to scan the gym for projecting nails and hammer them down in order to prevent injuries and damaged equipment before each practice.
Receiving a new gym floor is an opportunity most students don’t get. To make the most out of this occasion, it’s going to take all of us doing our best to take care of and keep the gym in it’s best condition. “We gotta take care of it. I mean, we have something really, really nice and it’s gonna take staff, students, visitors alike, making sure we treat it with care and respect. We’re gonna have one of the nicest gym floors in the state of Colorado, so we don’t want to abuse that privilege,” Thomas says. Underneath the planks of wood, the floor is to be padded with rubber, which will lessen the impact it has on players’ knees. This project was originally expected to be finished at the beginning of September, but is now looking to be done mid-September. Until then, PE classes will continue to take place in the AUX gym.