Williamsburg Recreation Center expands programs

WILLIAMSBURG — For many years the Williamsburg Community Recreation Center has been key in offering and promoting ways for people of all ages to be active.

The Rec Center has worked to build strong relationships within the community.

The hiring of Mitchell Stahl has helped.

Stahl was hired three years ago and is under contract as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for all Williamsburg High School athletics.

In this role, Stahl designs all weightlifting plans for athletes in all sports.

Working for both the Rec Center and the high school has been important to both.

“It reestablished the partnership between the two,” Stahl said.

The partnership allows Stahl to work for both and for Williamsburg athletics to use Rec Center facilities when needed.

Stahl has also helped take the heavy load off Rec Center director Nichole Winegarden, who has a wide variety of tasks to complete every day.

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Rise of Pickleball

The rise of pickleball has been huge for the Rec Center.

“We have mid-morning pickleball available every day,” Stahl said.

Pickleball has boomed nationally and has become a great way for people of all ages, especially older adults, to be active and to have fun while doing it.

“The group is very passionate,” Stahl said of the people who show up consistently to play in the mornings.

The excitement around pickleball has led to some exciting news for all pickleball players.

An outside group has agreed to raise funds for four outdoor pickleball courts outside the Rec Center.

It will be on the north side of the parking lot and is currently marked off with cones.

The courts will be owned by the city (not the Rec Center) and will be free for anyone to use.

The plan is still in its beginning phases and much has to be worked through before the project can begin.

Even though the Rec Center will not own it, Stahl and staff support the project.

“It’s going to be a great way to get people active in the community.”

Renovations

“It’s an ongoing process,” Stahl says, but the Rec Center is looking at renovating inside the building too.

It plans to update the weight room equipment and expanding the weight room into the racketball room. That space is hardly used anymore.

Stahl said the equipment is the original from when the Rec Center first opened. It’s time open up the weight room upgrade.

A dedicated fitness room extension is in the plans.

“This can help with the growth of classes, especially in the evening when we are busy,” Stahl said.

“We’re not doing this to raise prices. We just want to provide more opportunities.”

The Rec Center currently offers a variety of classes, from strength and conditioning to cardio, pilates and yoga.

Programs

Many programs and classes are available through the Rec Center, but two newer programs have been key in getting the youth and older adults active.

The Legacy Iron program is for fifth and sixth grade students.

With the school year upcoming, the program drives students to the Rec Center after school and lasts for around 45 minutes.

The goal of the program is to create fun for the students through games while being active.

The Legacy Livestrong program is aimed at older adults and occurs in the mid-morning.

“We go two days a week, and our numbers have grown to around 18-19 in the class,” Stahl said.

Other programs include the Romping Raiders program which works with four- and five-year-olds.

The four-week program has the goal of “exposing the kids to all sports,” Stahl said.

A similar program is the All-Around Athlete program run by Kiley Blythe which provides kids the opportunity to try multiple sports and to be active.

Coming this fall is the Rec Center’s flag football league and introduction to flag football for kindergartners.

Stahl noted how Winegarden is very involved in Junior High sports in Williamsburg. That helps to build the relationships between the community and the Rec Center.

With a national drop in youth sports participation, programs such as these in small towns are important to promote being active and to provide youth a space to be active, have fun and engage with others.

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Pricing

With all the growth the Rec Center has seen and the many ways it wants to continue to grow, one thing remains the same.

“We want to keep things affordable and get the community in the doors,” Stahl said.

The Rec Center provides a variety of different membership options and strives to keep any extra classes and programs priced as low as possible.

Discounts are also provided for military members and teachers (through partnership with school).

The Rec Center has become a busy place every day starting bright and early. Some classes start at 5:15 a.m.

But it’s all for one purpose. To keep the community active and healthy.