The Cedar Hill (Texas) High School athletic department is the first recipient of the Texas High School Coaches Association's “Iron Sharpens Iron” Program, which presented Longhorn athletics with a revamped, state-of-the-art weight room.
The new weight room will impact all Longhorn Athletic Teams, boys and girls, Cedar Hill director of athletics Melanie Benjamin told Focus Daily News in DeSoto.
THSCA executive director Joe Martin traveled from his office in San Marcos for the announcement. The donation was made possible by Dallas-area philanthropist Fin Ewing, who was a childhood friend of Martin’s since the early 1970s.
“We want to spend dollars where it impacts every kid in the athletic program,” Martin said.
According to Focus Daily News, the THSCA chose Cedar Hill based on “character development” and the need for a revamped weight room. Twenty new platforms replaced 16 existing ones, all while adding space to the room.
Ewing, who lettered in golf for Texas Christian University, said he’s glad to see the wide impact that the program will have on Cedar Hill athletics.
“This is going to impact a lot more people than just football — that makes it a home run for me,” said Ewing, who plans to continue donating to one school per year.
Cedar Hill head football coach Carlos Lynn said the weight room will “help kids get faster and stronger.”
“I didn’t have an inkling that this was in the works until a few months ago,” Lynn said. “We are extremely excited to be able to benefit from the ‘Iron Sharpens Iron’ Project. Our players deserve the best we can offer, and this project has elevated our ability to serve and develop more kids to a new level.”
Cedar Hill head girls' basketball coach Nicole Collins was very pleased with the renovated weight room, telling Focus Daily News, “We have a responsibility as coaches to prepare our scholar athletes for competition, not just on our level but the next level, as well. This will have a big effect on strength and conditioning.”
