WACO, Texas — On top of losing live sports for three months, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced a stoppage to many athletic facility renovations, nationwide.
But, a school in Waco didn't let a statewide school closure keep it from giving its athletic facilities a facelift.
"Right before all of this COVID-19 stuff, we had a plan of action in place to upgrade our facilities," Tyler Holcomb, head football coach and athletic director at Bishop Reicher Catholic High School in Waco, said. "We were trying to get that all done and then it all hit."
Reicher was able to continue to move forward with the projects while all of its students were learning from home.
First up was the weight room in the fieldhouse.
"It's first class," Holcomb said. "Which is the goal, is to provide a first-class experience for our student-athletes."
The weight room is finished and features the new logo for the school and athletic department and showcases the Cougars' prestigious history as students walk in, as they can see the nine state championships Reicher, a Texas Association of Private & Parochial Schools member, has won.
Then, like almost every other high school weight room, the walls feature things designed to motivate the kids.
It's not alone, either.
"We're about to give our whole athletic complex a facelift," Holcomb said.
Starting Monday, the school will update the court design in its gymnasium.
The new look on the hardwood will be much more modern and reflect the design of the court used at FedEx Forum in Memphis for University of Memphis basketball games.
GALLERY: Reicher Catholic High School gym floor re-design
"If anybody has seen Memphis' floor, it's going to be very similar to that, only Carolina blue," Holcomb said. "And, it's going to be something that's unique to high school sports, especially in Central Texas."
Holcomb added the importance in making sure all of this work, which so many high schools and colleges have been forced to put on the back burner until this pandemic ends, is the kids.
"We want them to be proud of where they're from," he said.
As Holcomb, his fellow coaches and the Cougars themselves turn their sights toward state championship No. 10.
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