How to Design a Football Locker Room

Advice,Business,Sports
A school’s success on the football field is usually a particular point of pride for a school, so it only stands to reason that a school would want its football team to have the best resources possible—including luxurious locker rooms. THE REALITY Unfortunately, schools are limited by budget and space. In fact, while some schools may be able to dedicate a locker room solely to the football team, most schools must rotate lockers between sports as seasons change. But because football is usually the largest team a school fields, with the most equipment storage needs, you’re safe designing a team locker room with football in mind. And you CAN get a great football locker room, even with budget and space constraints. WHAT’S CRITICAL There are several key considerations when designing a football team locker room. Team size. This of course varies, but at the high-school level, 40 players for varsity and 35 for junior varsity is a normal size. Storage space. To give players enough space to store helmets and pads, you need a locker at least 15” deep, 15” wide, and 72” tall (a single-tier design). The shelf needs to be at least 18” from the locker top so players can store their helmets there. You could possibly get by with 15”x15”x18” (double-tier), especially for junior varsity, but that’s a very tight fit. Durability. Lockers in a football team locker room should have doors of at least 14-gauge steel and bottoms of at least 20-gauge steel. Security. Locker turnover between seasons makes built-in locks unsecured because they come with only a few possible combinations. The safest option is padlocked lockers, preferably with single-point locks rather than moving lifters. WHAT’S NICE TO HAVE If your budget permits it, you can decide to install 18”x18”x72” full-length lockers. If your team locker room is secure, you can chose an open design with an upper lock box for valuables, just like the pros have. You can promote team pride in players simply by using a color scheme with your lockers that matches the school colors. You can help create this scheme by your color choice on accessories such as slope hoods and end panels. BOTTOM LINE Even with a limited budget and space, if you make smart design and purchasing decisions, you can have a football team locker room that meets players’ needs and makes them happy. Related Articles - FITNESS, LOCKERS, WORKPLACE WELLNESS,