Kansas State University Athletics
Allen Donation Completes Strength Center
Oct 26, 2005 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. John L. Allen, chief operating officer of the Cincinnati Reds, has provided a gift to equip and furnish the new baseball strength training area at Tointon Family Stadium, Kansas State Director of Athletics Tim Weiser announced today.
The contribution helps complete the final phase of the stadium, which was rebuilt on the site of the former Frank Myers Field and dedicated in 2002. Construction is scheduled to begin immediately on the 1,500 square-foot John L. Allen Strength Center and a new coaches locker room, both located underneath the first-base grandstand, with completion expected in January prior to the start of spring baseball practice.
"We are extremely grateful to John Allen for his support of this project and interest in helping our baseball program continue to grow," Weiser said. "This facility will greatly enhance our team’s opportunity to succeed and compete in the Big 12 Conference."
Allen, a native of Norton, Kan., and decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, is a 1974 graduate of Kansas State with a degree in accounting from the College of Business Administration. He said he is impressed with Tointon Stadium and the baseball program under the direction of Coach Brad Hill.
"I am very proud of my association with Kansas State University and am happy to be a part of the strength center project," said Allen, who serves on the Finance Advisory Board for the College of Business Administration. "The improvements that have been made to the stadium are impressive and it certainly demonstrates the commitment being made to the baseball program. I know this is an important project for Coach Hill and I am pleased to be able to help."
Allen, who just completed his 11th season with the Reds, got his start in professional baseball in 1990 as an intern with the minor league Columbus Clippers and subsequently became the team’s director of business operations. He joined the Cincinnati Reds in 1995 as controller and a year later was promoted to managing executive. In 1999, he was named chief operating officer responsible for all operations of the Reds.
A major accomplishment for the Reds under Allen’s leadership was the construction of the 42,059-seat Great American Ball Park, which opened in 2003. Allen was involved in all aspects of the development of the stadium, which is located on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati.
Hill, now in his third year as coach of the Wildcats, said the strength center will greatly aid his players’ development while providing flexibility and convenience for his team, which currently trains in the strength center at the Vanier Football Complex.
"We are very grateful to John and his wife, Anna, for their generous donation," Hill said. "This project will allow our players and newly hired strength coach, Scott Bird, more flexibility and accessibility with our training routines. The ability Coach Bird will have to train our players on an individualized basis to specifically meet their needs will help accelerate their development to compete at this level."
Among the equipment features of the strength center will be four Power Lift half racks for core exercises, including squat and bench lifts; a Vertimax Platform and Plyo Press for concentration on lower-body strength, explosion and quickness; a Life Fitness cable motion pulley machine which provides motion training for pitchers and hitters in a versatile set of exercises; a full set of Ivanko dumbbells, and Life Fitness cardiovascular exercise machines. The center will have a rubber sport flooring system and an office for the strength coach.
"The center will be very beneficial for our in-season schedule, as players will be able to utilize the facility throughout the day to maintain a regular workout routine and allow our players better time management for the academic issues they deal with in the spring," Hill said.
"We also feel this is a big advantage in the recruiting process as very few baseball programs across the country have their own strength coach and training facility. Important questions recruits ask when making campus visits focus on with throwing harder, being quicker and faster, developing more power and bat speed, staying healthy and becoming more flexible. Thanks to John Allen, these questions and issues can be addressed first-hand at Tointon Stadium in a strength center that features state-of-the-art training equipment designed for baseball players."
k-statesports.com