Football Team Adjusts to Life in Sims Center

In October 2019, Bluefield College secured the Herb Sims Wellness Center on Stadium Drive for its football training and administrative facilities.

At that time, the football team moved its weight room as well as coaches’ offices out of the old facility on North Street into the new Sims Center. Now, a little more than three months later the big question some might be asking is how well has the football team adjusted to the move? We sat down with two players and head coach Dewey Lusk to find the answer to that question.

Coach Lusk said the new location and facility is definitely better than the old one, simply because of the easy access and short walking distance it is for the players, especially those who don’t have a car to drive. He also mentioned how it is great for the students who want to work out at the Sims Center.

“It is closer to campus, and that is an advantage because it is easier to keep up with players and things going on around the school,” Lusk said.

With the previous facility some two miles away from Bluefield College, the coaches whose offices were housed at the North Street location felt disconnected from the students on the main campus. Now less than a mile away and just a 10 minute walk, the new football facilities keep the coaches right next to the players and make it is easier for the players to get to classes and the coaches to visit with recruits on the main campus.

The Sims Center also provides more space for football training. The players said the old weight room felt “closed in.” Dustin Barker said in the new facility the weight room feels more open and spacious.

“We are putting in hard work,” Barker said, “and trusting Coach (Dino) Kaklis with what he has for us in the weight room.”

Even though there are plenty of positives, there are some improvements to be made. Coach Lusk said that he would like to use some of the space in the Sims Center to eventually make a football locker room. With all of the space left in the center, there is a good chance of making that happen over time. One major improvement that stood out to Barker was that he would like to see the flooring improved in the Sims Center, including some that is not slick and that’s easy to clean.

Overall, members of the football team say the move was good for Bluefield College, and it is putting the team in the right direction for success.