Softball Program to Reap Benefits of Memorial Stadium Expansion Project

Life just keeps getting better for the <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska softball team. 

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They already play in one of the top facilities in college softball at Bowlin Stadium, have made 11 straight NCAA tournaments, and hosted their third straight regional in 2005. 

 

The package will still continue to get better, though, as the softball program and Nebraska’s other 22 sports will usher in the era of the Tom and Nancy Osborne Complex, the IndoorChampionshipCenter, and Championship Wing. 

 

Making the Right Move

When Athletic Director Steve Pederson began the $50 million Memorial Stadium Expansion Project, he did not just want to simply provide facilities.  He wanted to create championship facilities for championship teams. 

Pederson and Associate Athletic Director Boyd Epley want each of Nebraska’s facilities to create championship opportunities.  When student-athletes come to Nebraska, it’s apparent they have the support and means necessary to win championships during their college career.

“Our facilities are designed to allow us to practice smarter, longer, and better,” Epley said.  The facility needs to help us improve, educate, and recruit with the purpose of winning in mind.  If we didn’t do that, we would miss the mark.”   

The best gets better

Nebraska softball already calls Bowlin Stadium home.  Built in 2002, Bowlin Stadium is  one of the finest in college softball, and the NCAA agrees, having granted Nebraska the right to host three straight regional tournaments. 

 

The Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex and the IndoorChampionshipCenter will stand less than a mile east of Bowlin Stadium and will house the components that will separate Nebraska softball from the rest of the country. 

 

The Championship Wing is connected to the brand new ChampionshipIndoorCenter, which includes a full length football/soccer field.  The wing will include Nebraska’s brand new hitting cages, which are a softball’s throw from the Athletic Complex. 

 

Husker student-athletes were in mind when the hitting cages were designed.  The cages are mechanized, so they can easily be raised and lowered. 

 

Not only can the cages be moved with ease, but the walls were also designed to assist Husker hitters.  Eight feet of the walls in the hitting area are painted green, specifically to help Nebraska sluggers pick the ball up easier when practicing hitting. 

 

When the team isn’t practicing their skills at the plate, they can utilize the new 81,200 square foot fieldhouse to practice pitching, fielding, throwing, and game situations. 

 

Fielding practice will be easier and more effective, as the ChampionshipIndoorCenter has the ability to change lighting levels. 

 

The IndoorCenter will have both 50 foot candle lighting and 100 foot candle lighting, so the facility can be versatile to all the sports that will use it. 

 

Epley said the new brighter lighting option will help Nebraska because brighter conditions are more conducive to being able to track fly balls well. 

 

The Huskers will always be able to squeeze in individual workouts, even if the IndoorCenter is being used by other sports, Husker Head Coach Rhonda Revelle said. 

 

While other Husker coaches, Revelle said, are great about sharing space, sharing may be a thing of the past.  The new IndoorCenter can accommodate 5 teams at the same time in separate areas while Nebraska still has the Indoor Cook Pavilion available. 

 

Revelle thinks that the new facilities will not only help Nebraska softball, but other Husker programs because it will allow them all the flexibility to train year round. 

 

“Being an outdoor sport in a cold-weather climate, it’s essential that we have indoor facilities that can not only accommodate us, but accommodate others at the same time and keep us moving forward in a quest for championships,” Revelle said. 

 

Often times, outdoor sports in colder climates get neglected because of a lack of facilities or lack of support from the administration. 

 

Husker outdoor sports like softball do not have those problems, as Nebraska is making sure the softball team has both the facilities and the support they need to win championships. 

 

Revelle said that recruits are amazed at the amount of support a northern climate school like Nebraska gives its outdoor sports.  She added that it’s really important for potential student-athletes to see how committed the university is to all its teams, including softball. 

 

“Once they see the level of commitment here they know that the sky is the limit,” Revelle said. 

 

The Quest for a Championship

For proof of the level of commitment that Nebraska is taking with their student-athletes, one needs to look no further than the Charles and RomonaMyersPerformanceCenter. 

 

The University of Nebraska is committed to creating championship opportunities for their student-athletes, and the MyersCenter is an example of that.  As part of the Osborne Athletic Complex, the MyersCenter includes 63,500 square feet devoted to the excellence of student-athletes. 

 

As Pederson said when the facilities plans were unveiled, “Athletes are made when no one is watching.”  The MyersCenter will allow Nebraska athletes to prepare like champions so they can become champions. 

 

The MyersCenter will house three important aspects of performance including the strength complex, athletic medicine facility, and nutrition centers.

 

“Strengths” of the Osborne Complex

Nebraska developed the original strength and conditioning program called Husker Power, and the new strength complex located in the Charles and RomonaMyersPerformanceCenter for Student-Athletes will give the program a sparkling new home. 

 

Husker Power has played a big role in Nebraska’s historic success in all sports, and the new strength complex will enhance the performance of student-athletes as they strive to win championships. 

 

With the new strength complex, Nebraska will get a new facility for its already state-of-the-art equipment.  The new strength complex will include equipment such as transformers, which is a special squat rack developed by Epley that is currently in use in the present strength complex. 

 

Transformers are mechanical squat racks that controls the height of the bar rack, as well as the height of the safety spot that will catch the load should an athlete not be able to complete the lift.  Nebraska is the only place in the world you’ll find these incredible transformers.      

 

Strength is only one component of Husker Power, though.  Conditioning and quickness are also important factors.  Because of that, another aspect of the new fieldhouse that the softball team will utilize is the new sand volleyball court being installed in the Championship Wing. 

 

According to soccer strength coach Laura Pilakowski, softball will benefit from using the sand court in many ways. 

 

“It not only helps with vertical power, it’s also going to help with that first step.  Everybody needs to be able to jump high,” Pilakowski said. 

 

Health and Nutrition

Another luxurious new feature of the Osborne Complex is the state-of-the-art athletic medicine facility. 

 

According to Head Athletic Trainer Jerry Weber, the services that athletic training provides are as important as any other an athlete would receive at Nebraska. 

 

“If you get injured on the college level, you only have a finite amount of time to play,” Weber said.  “You only have five years to play four and you can’t afford to sit out for a couple years to rehabilitate, so the quality of health care you receive is very important.”

 

The athletic medicine area will more than triple in size.  The crown jewel of the new athletic training facility is the beautiful new water rehabilitation area. 

 

“The water rehab area is going to be second-to-none in the country,” Weber said. 

 

The reason for such an extensive water rehabilitation area is because it is a more effective method of rehab, which will put Husker athletes back in competition quicker. 

 

“The sooner you get student-athletes  back doing functional activities that are closely related to what they’re going to be doing as an athlete, the better you are,” Weber said. 

 

Along with separate hot and cold therapy pools, the athletic medicine area will feature a 60 by 12 feet lap pool that has three 4-foot-wide lanes.  Each lane will be at a different depth to accommodate a gymnast who is 5-feet tall while simultaneously rehabilitating a 7-foot tall basketball player. 

 

Another separate pool will be equipped with an integrated treadmill and resistance jets to provide the athletic medicine staff with a full array of water rehabilitation options. 

 

Water rehab is not the only bonus to the new athletic training facility.  To help with issues like muscle pulls, there will be an office for a massage therapist in the athletic medicine area. 

 

Weber said that the new facility will arranged like a medical clinic.  There will be separate rehabilitation and taping areas, a pharmacy, doctors’ offices, and X-ray and emergency room suites.

 

“It’s just going to make it more efficient.  It’s going to be the top facility in the country,” Weber said. 

 

Another vital aspect of an athlete’s performance is their nutrition.  Nebraska is one of only a handful of universities in the country to have a full-time nutritionist on staff. 

 

James Harris is Nebraska’s coordinator of sports nutrition, and the new facility will provide him with new amenities that he can pass on to student-athletes as well. 

 

Three hydration stations and two supplement distribution locations will be installed throughout the MyersPerformanceCenter so that regardless of the athletes’ workout location, they will have immediate access to the provisions they need.

 

“When you work out, you tear your body down,” Harris said.  “You push yourself harder and harder to tear your body down and then nutrition helps you recover.”

 

As well as being able to nourish athletes more efficiently, Harris’ central location in the MyersPerformanceCenter will allow him to serve the athletes’ individual nutritional needs more effectively. 

 

“With the new facility I will be able to estimate calories.  What that means is I cango to a practice, monitor their activity, and determine how many calories they’re burning, so I can better advise them as to what kind of calories they should be taking in.”

 

A winning combination 

With the new facilities being built at Nebraska, the final ingredients are being mixed in to create a recipe of success for Husker softball that will help in its quest to be the best. 

 

With the new Osborne Complex and Indoor Championship Center, Nebraska will have all the tools necessary to add another championship sign to the highly adorned outfield wall at Bowlin Stadium. 

 

The team will need to train hard, but the facilities will allow the softball team to maximize their performance by addressing all of the team’s performance needs.  In addition to training, the Huskers will uphold a higher level of wellness with the new athletic medicine area, as well as a healthy diet with the nutrition department. 

 

The new state-of-the-art facilities are just another example of why “There is no Place Like Nebraska.”