No Whining!

Tony Altobelli

The rock group Guns N’ Roses said it best when they said, “All you

need is just a little patience...”

For Orange Coast College Athletic Director Jane Hilgendorf, patience

is a virtue when it comes to the major refurbishing being done to the

athletic side of the campus.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed for December,” Hilgendorf said with a

look of hopeful optimism. “By then it all will be over with and this

place will look incredible.”

Until then, however, it’s the trailers for the coaches, any available

gyms for the women’s volleyball team and dealing with a non-normal

situation in Pirateville.

But enough about the negative. That’s not what I’m about.

One thing that is completed is the state-of-the-art weight room, where

athletes can press, squat and incline their way to a stronger, more

chiseled person.

Jane gave me a guided tour through the weight room and sounded like a

proud momma.

“All the equipment is Paramount or Cybex equipment that can help every

part of the body get stronger,” she said. “It’s been a few years in the

making and the entire cost was $135,000 from a block grant fund.”

Keep in mind, that years ago, OCC’s weight room consisted of a slab of

concrete, a chain-link fence and some free weights. Times have certainly

changed.

“We’ve got air conditioning blasting through this place and we’re

getting some new lights and a new sound system,” Hilgendorf said. “Every

machine is specifically geared toward a group of muscles. When the

football players came in here for the first time over the summer, they

just loved it.”

A committee comprised of OCC athletic bigwigs Fred Hokanson, Dave

Gleason, Leon Skeie and Bill Workman came up with what type of equipment

was needed to make this one of the tops in the community college level.

From there, Jane walked me to an additional weight room for strength

and conditioning for not only athletes, but for students taking classes

on that particular subject.

“What we did here is we kept the best stuff from our first weight room

and we added some additional equipment,” Hilgendorf said. “It’s all safe,

user-friendly stuff. In fact, we kind of overloaded this room with stuff.

We need to make it more accessible for our adapted classes for the

handicapped.”

From there, Jane showed me what is being worked on, which included the

gymnasium and a new sports medicine and trainers room.

“That old trainers room was just too small,” Hilgendorf said. “People

were tripping all over each other. This new room will give them the space

they need.”

I also got a quick peek at the new tennis courts. “It’s all been

redone, including the wind screens,” Hilgendorf said. “When people go by

our courts, they are going to be very impressed with how we’ve improved

them.”

So is there even more on the horizon for the athletic department at

OCC? Well, I can’t say at the moment, but believe me, you’ll be the first

to know.