The Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center can rival any facility in New England and has positively impacted our recruiting efforts. Elite athletes see the investment that Colby has made to enrich the student-athlete experience and know that this is a place where they'll have the support needed to take their game to the next level. With our state-of-the-art weight room and athletic training room, our athletes have all the essentials needed to compete at the highest level. This facility not only positions us to be more competitive in the future but to also enhance player performance NOW.
Chenel Harris-Smith, Head Women's Basketball Coach
Boulos Family Fitness Center
The Boulos Family Fitness Center is a three-level fitness center intended for use by the entire Colby campus community.
- Level 1: Large free weights and platforms, 12’ x 75’ turf floor area (training, rehab and stretching area)
- Level 2: Mix of free weights, cables and selectorized equipment
- Level 3: Cardio equipment, open areas for stretching and ab work
Strength & Conditioning
The larger space and additional squat racks in the first-floor weight room of the Boulos Family Fitness Center doubles in usable capacity to 50-60, which is highly conducive to more efficient training times for Colby teams. This will allow the experience to be more predictable and consistent for the athletes.
- Firstbeat heart rate monitors and Hawkin Dynamic force plates provide data that drives strength and conditioning and sports medicine programming decisions
- TeamBuildr software application pushes sport-specific strength and conditioning programming to student-athletes and allows for efficient tracking
- Tendo Units are used to accurately measure athlete bar velocity, which then dictates what part of their force velocity curve they are training
- Hammer Strength squat racks and plates
- Power Block dumbells
- Torque Fitness TANK resistance sleds
Given that the off-seasons in the NESCAC are long, our vision for the Strength and Conditioning program is that the weight room becomes a place where Colby students enjoy coming to, where they feel cared about and can get better together with teammates and athletes from other teams. The weight room is a shared space, so the vision is to provide a motivating, enjoyable atmosphere where athletes from every team can get excited for weight room season together as Colby Mules.
Greg Cox, Dawn Strout Strength and Conditioning Coordinator
Athletic Training Room
The Athletic Training Room in the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center has doubled in physical space, allowing Colby Athletic Training staff to treat more patients at one time.
The upgraded equipment in the new space has also maximized patient care and services for the Mules, including two large plunge tubs and the Boost non-weighted treadmill for improved lower-leg injury physical therapy. The Athletic Training Center's three private exam rooms allow for more providers to operate in-house, as the team and fellow physicians, massage therapist, physical therapist, dietician and sport psychologist are more accessible, offering additional hours via in-person and virtual sessions within the space.
Athletic Training Staff
- Tim Weston, Head Athletic Trainer
- Emily Vartabedian, Assistant Head Athletic Trainer
- Chris O'Toole, Athletic Trainer
- Mishaal Amjad, Athletic Trainer
- Ashley Bovat, Athletic Trainer
- Kristine Popelka, Athletic Trainer
- Meredith Atwood, Athletic Trainer
- Dr. Liz Rothe, Team Physician
- Josh Barlow, Physical Therapist
- Anne Mathieu, Massage Therapist
The athletic training space in the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center has allowed us to offer more services as we work as a collaborative Peak Performance team to provide an all-encompassing experience to our student athletes. The Peak Performance team meets regularly to discuss team and individual patient needs so that we can, along with each head coach, devise the best, collective recovery plan for the student-athlete.
Tim Weston, Head Athletic Trainer
The Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center provides a one-stop shop for our student-athletes to thrive. We have a tremendous strength and conditioning staff and the facility takes us to the next level. The plethora of amenities enable student-athletes to workout, meet, study and unwind without leaving the building. The access to train with the most advanced equipment, athletic training room, sports performance, recovery tools with unlimited access makes a significant difference in the student athlete overall experience. When you factor all those in, what is also so crucial is the time we have with our athletes and their time is spent wisely. Not only does the building help us achieve faster, stronger athletes, it provides a space for athletes to thrive before, during and after they train.
Kelly Terwilliger, Head Field Hockey Coach
Peak Performance
Peak Performance refers to a multidisciplinary, athlete-centered approach to student athlete development, integrating sports medicine, strength and conditioning, psychology, nutrition and data analytics. Colby's Peak Performance team combines all specialties into one holistic model so that a team approach for individualized development is executed.
Colby Peak Performance Team
Peak Performance
Lloyd Beckett, Performance Specialist
Sport Psychology
Amy Baltzell, Mental Performance Specialist
Loren Bush, Clinical Sport Psychologist
Sports Medicine
Tim Weston & Team of Athletic Training Staff
Strength and Conditioning
Greg Cox, Dawn Strout Strength and Conditioning Coordinator
Cat Moss, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coordinator
Nutrition
Alexis Jones, Registered Team Dietitian
Data Science Team
Cole Guerin '21, Cierra San Roman '21, Sage Bailin '20 (G), Ali Nislick '21, Collins '22, William Johnson '22, Ben Mellor '22, John Connors '22
Data Science
In various ways, data on Colby student athlete performance and wellbeing is collected from targeted teams as part of the Peak Performance pilot phase. As such, responses from wellness surveys, in which athletes provide feedback on their personal sleep habits, hydration and overall wellness, are collected in an effort to identify any potential correlation to data gathered on physical output. Colby student athletes on pilot teams regularly undergo force plate testing, in which their capacity to generate and control force is collected using dual force plates. This data will allow coaches to consult with the Peak Performance team in gauging players' physical capacity as they prepare upcoming programming for their teams. Additionally, FirstBeat wearable heart rate monitors serve as another tool in maximizing individual output and minimizing injury.
