CHARLESTON – Charleston Southern University Athletics has announced plans to complete a major renovation of its Athletic Performance Center this summer with Williams Strength set to be on the project. This is the latest development in Charleston Southern's effort to raise the overall well-being of the student-athlete and provide all CSU athletics programs with an additional recruiting boost.
 
Jeff Barber, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, said "We are all excited to be able to partner with Williams Strength in making a major overhaul to our current weight room. We have a responsibility, as a department, to provide our student-athletes with all the tools they need to be successful in their sport and this renovation is a huge step in that direction. We are thoroughly impressed with Williams Strength and their desire to make our weight room experience the best it can be."
 
The athletic performance center will now feature the Williams Strength Signature full double-sided combo hybrid rack, considered to be the best rack on the market. These racks will be fully equipped with jammer arms, band pegs, and other modalities that will allow efficient training to enhance our student-athlete performance. The racks will also feature laser-imprinted Buccaneers logos across the arch bridges.
 
Another major upgrade to the facility includes a renovation of the current floor. The entire flooring will be a navy-blue beast plus roll with the needed thickness to be able to withstand heavy weight being dropped and the amount of volume coming through the performance center daily. A turf area through the middle of the room will be added as well. This addition will allow low-impact plyometrics for speed and power development as well as a general warm-up area.
 
"We at Total Strength and Speed/Williams Strength and Tsunami Bar are super grateful and excited to have the opportunity to design this facility," said David Abernathy, Education Manager with Tsunami Bar. "We listened to the vision of Coach Schwager and the administration and landed on this ultimate custom facility to build out the best Speed Force Max Training facility for the student-athletes, strength and conditioning staff, and the administration at Charleston Southern University!  This upgrade will allow everyone to train more efficiently and effectively by allowing Coach Schwager and his staff to guide them through the appropriate timing of energy systems, maximizing motor unit recruitment and preparing them to withstand the demands of practice and competition!  We look forward to installing with ultra custom equipment; consequently, exemplifying the pride and tradition of Charleston Southern!"

"We are extremely excited to have Williams Strength provide a state-of-the-art facility that all of our student-athletes will benefit from," said Erik Schwager, Director of Strength of Conditioning. "They have provided numerous universities with superb weight rooms and have gained a great reputation for their installations. We are blessed to have them on board, and we are looking forward to the finished product. This upgrade will give us tremendous momentum going into our summer training here at Charleston Southern."
 
This renovation comes at an important time as the existing Athletic Performance Center equipment has taken on many years of use and will provide all student-athletes with the means to train more efficiently, effectively and safely with the new equipment.