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Chicago Daily Herald
Students at Jacobs High School in Algonquin opened the school's new fitness center and group fitness/dance studio this week. The 6,462-square-foot center includes 24 strength training multistations that can accommodate 72 students at a time.
It was designed to help students reach fitness goals and offer opportunities to rehabilitate student athletes, officials said Friday.
The school's roughly 2,100 students and 275 employees will be able to use the facility.
A physical education teacher who also is a certified personal trainer will serve as an after-school strength and conditioning coach to help students stay fit.
Students who were working out at local gyms now are using the center, said Joe Benoit, athletic director.
"This is the first year that we truly have a consistent strength and conditioning coach," he said. "What we are most excited about is it allows us to have a more holistic approach to meeting the needs of our students across the board."
The new 3,505-square-foot group fitness/dance studio includes mondo dance grade flooring and is surrounded by full-length mirrors. The room has an 80-foot dance/balance bar, equipment storage, LED lighting, and an integrated audiovisual system with an 80-inch television for instruction.
It cost roughly $400,000 to build and equip the fitness center in an underutilized auxiliary gym space and to repurpose a balcony in the main gym for the dance studio. Improvements were funded through a combination of district and school funds - from sponsorships and gate receipts from athletic events - and donations from the booster club and senior class of 2017, assistant principal Mark Rasar said.
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