The Chaifetz Arena made headlines last year as the new symbol of the Saint Louis University sports program. But the arena isn’t the only thing the Athletic Department has revamped.

In March 2008, Scott Charland was hired as the new Director of Strength and Conditioning for the Athletic Department. As director, Charland is responsible for designing, conducting and monitoring strength-training programs for 14 of SLU’s 16 sports teams, excluding the basketball program.

“All the teams have individual programs depending on the needs of the sport,” Charland said. “The duration of the event, the field, the body parts used. all these things come into play.”

Swimmers, for example, develop more upper body strength because of the nature of their sport. Soccer players are more focused on cardiovascular fitness because of the large amount of running involved in a game.

The strength program’s number one job is to increase athleticism in its athletes.

“The body needs to be able to handle the demands of their sports and their season,” Charland said.

The equation is simple: Better athletes equals more wins. There are also practical, economic reasons to implement a strong strength program. The University gets recognition for each win and saves money from injury-related costs.

The new arena comes equipped with a strength training facility. Charland expounds the benefits of this state-of-the-art equipment.

“We’re able to accommodate more athletes at a single time, teams at the same time. All of our equipment is new, better, a higher standard than it was at West Pine. All of that just helps us develop our athletes,” Charland said.

Sara Fraley, a sophomore on the track team, sings the praises for the strength director. Even at the early morning training sessions, which sometimes occur as early as 6 a.m.

“[Charland] is always enthusiastic no matter how early it is. I think he’s a great coach and he’s helped our team become more serious about strength training,” Fraley said.