The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Poly alum Jayon Brown and PlayFair Sports Management.
It’s a decent bet that no room in sports has produced more with less than the Long Beach Poly weight room. Mostly unchanged since it was first put together more than 70 years ago, it’s seen dozens of NFL, NBA, and MLB players pass through it–more than any other high school in the nation. Meanwhile, the equipment has aged, the paint has peeled, and the ancient wood floor has dented and buckled. Many attempts at a major renovation have been made, all of which have fallen short for one reason or another.
Finally, after decades of waiting and hoping, ground has broken on a massive upgrade that will provide a Division 1 NCAA-level facility for the more than 1,700 athletes at Poly across all sports. The new weight room, expected to open by Summer, was made possible thanks to a large donation by Chargers running back Austin Ekeler and the Ekeler Foundation, as well as support from Poly NFL alums Jurrell Casey and JuJu Smith-Schuster, as well as the Chargers.
“Nobody here has ever used it as an excuse or a reason that we couldn’t do something,” said Poly football coach Stephen Barbee. “I think when the Ekeler Foundation people came in and saw what we’ve been working with they were a little surprised given the athletes who’ve come out of here. Being able to have up-to-date equipment that isn’t ripped or breaking or a hodgepodge is going to be great for the kids, not just on our team but for the entire school.”
The room is getting a new concrete floor poured to allow modern equipment, as well as new paint, 11 double-squat racks, medicine balls, and a ton of other state-of-the-art equipment. Over 70 teams and close to 2,000 athletes have been using the old facility, which was severely limited in terms of how many athletes could use it at the same time. The football team, for example, needed to cycle four or five groups through when factoring in the lower levels and varsity players. Now the entire varsity team will be able to lift in one session, instead of being split in half.
“You can get more than 80 football players in there at the same time lifting, so you’re going to be able to have multiple sports in there at the same time,” said Barbee. “It creates a lot more opportunities, ties in the functionality of the room, there’s all kinds of great bells and whistles with the new equipment. It’s a massive upgrade.”
Bill Ekeler is a relative of Austin, the Chargers player, and has been instrumental in helping his foundation to begin the work of renovating high school weight rooms. Poly is their second project after renovating a Santa Barbra high school weight room as well.
“The gym was Austin’s place of peace growing up through some pretty rough times,” said Bill. “The weight room was a place for him to learn life skills, confidence, and how to become a team player. His foundation does lots of great things but these weight rooms are close to his heart.”
Ekeler contacted Perform Better, a company who helped outfit their Santa Barbara renovation, and asked if they knew of any other high schools that needed some love. The company mentioned that Poly had a long-standing desire to get its weight room redone, and connected them.
Ekeler toured the Poly facility and said he saw the need immediately. They began working with different providers including Perform Better and Sonos, who is wiring the gym with audio/visual equipment, as well as talking with Poly alums.
“The Chargers contributed, and Jurrell Casey’s Casey Fund, JuJu Smith-Schuster and his foundation, everyone wanted to get this across the finish line,” said Ekeler. “They were in instantly. We met with Poly’s administration and the principal Bill Salas was great, the school board approved the donation quickly and we were able to get going. Coach Barbee was like a kid in a candy store looking through the catalog. We’ll get everything set up soon and they’ll be rocking a Division 1 college weight room at Poly, it’s going to be cool.”
Ekeler said there will be a ribbon-cutting for the facility after it’s completed, and that Austin is already looking for more high schools to help, in addition to other projects like providing aid to women’s shelters and preschools in Southern California.
“We’re excited, I know Poly’s excited, it’s a win win,” he said.
