University High School Opens Doors to New Gym

University High School's new gymnasium opened this fall and school coaches are already noticing an upswing in student athletes' morale on campus.

“When you give the kids something new and nice, it shows them that people care about them,” said Ryan Ritcheske, the school's athletic director. “I’ve already noticed a change in their attitude. It’s been very positive as far as athletics go.”

The construction of the new gym, which cost just under $9.4 million, is a result of seismic surveys conducted at UHS that revealed the old west gym sat on top of a fault line -- not the success of the athletic program, namely the basketball team.

“They built it due to seismic mitigation, it had nothing to do with us winning games," said UHS varsity basketball coach Steve Ackerman. "It was a safety issue.”

The new gymnasium is now located on the south end of the campus. The west gym is set to be demolished in December.

If indeed an earthquake had struck Los Angeles, Ackerman explained that the west gym could have potentially fallen into the ground.

Regardless of how the new facility came about, both Ackerman and Ritcheske commented that they have received unanimously positive feedback from UHS athletes, all excited to utilize the new facility.

“I think morale in the athletic department is very good,” Ackerman said. “The fact that we’re fortunate enough to have a brand new facility brought a real sense of pride to our athletic program.”

Ackerman's players echoed his thoughts, saying it's the goal of this year's basketball team to associate the new gym with success.

"Nobody else has a brand new gym like ours and we're the first to play in it," said junior Daquan Owens. "When we first play in it, it's going to be the first season. So we get to determine whether it's a winning gym or a losing gym. Most likely, it'll be a winning gym."

Breamon Richards, also a junior, played varsity basketball in the old gym just last season and admitted that there may be a slight adjustment period for this year's team.

"I can't wait to start playing in it," Richards said. "Right now, I don't quite feel at home because it's brand new, but once we start really practicing, I'll feel back at home. Nobody has will have ever seen our gym or played in it before but us. They're going to have to adjust to it and we'll already be adjusted to it."

Ackerman, who graduated from UHS in 1989 and began coaching at his alma mater in 1994, said the new gym is essentially a dream come true.

“I’m really, really excited about this,” Ackerman said. “I’m like a little school kid myself. As a graduate of University High School, I played in the old west gym and I’ve coached in it. So to finally see it finished, after all the discussion and the planning and photographs and delays, I’m almost at a loss for words.”

The playing court, scoreboards, and bleachers are all modernized, as is the school trophy case and concession stand. Attached to the gym is an upgraded weight room facility, complete with sliding, garage-like glass windows.

Ackerman is optimistic that the new facility may have the power to attract some undecided athletes to a team that finished 25-10 last season.

“I can tell you that the recent success we’ve had at the Division II level, there was a little bit of a buzz surrounding our program,” Ackerman said. “And now that we have the newest gym in the city, it’s only going to help in attracting kids that might be undecided about where they might want to go to high school.”

The gym facility, which was completed funded by the school district, is only the first of several projects that will be taking place at UHS over the next few years. University will also be receiving upgrades to their football field, including new turf and field lights, as well as a new tartan track.

“The kids, as a school, have taken more of an ownership in it,” Ritcheske said of the gym and upcoming projects. “They’ve taken pride in the facilities and they’re treating it with respect. And the kids actually feel appreciated.”