Locker design by experts, for experts
Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Is it a cheesy holiday made to sell cards and candy? Sure, but here at Shield we’re not above a little cheese. Collaboration is the heart of what we do, so this month we're showing some Shield love to our partners who keep coming back year after year.
As a manufacturer we know there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” solution for lockers. Every team will have different needs in order to best serve their players. We’ve been in this game for a while, but we aren’t the ones using the lockers. In order to get the real scoop on what is upcoming in locker design we had to go straight to the source. Shield sat down with three athletic directors from three different universities to truly understand what is on the rise in the world of facility design. These guys spaces are top notch… so they know what they’re talking about.
Montana State University
SHIELD PROJECTS: 3
First up is the Montana State Bobcats. Finishing their first project with Shield in the fall of 2021, they revamped their football locker space and have since redone their volleyball and basketball locker rooms as well. Focusing on simplicity, the lockers look clean and modern, with some personalized touches to keep things unique.
For Leon Costello, the Director of Athletics at Montana State, it’s all about keeping equipment durable and simple in order to hold up to the usage of college athletes.
“Sometimes I think people try to get too cute with lockers,” said Costello. “A lot of times it comes back to the simpler, the better. If you’re adding way too many things, those are too many things that could be broken.”
Durability reigns supreme when creating lockers for most collegiate professionals. With students who will use a space almost any way they can find, making sure the pieces can withstand the blows of 18-23 year old athletes is a top consideration.
However, just because simplicity is a priority, that doesn’t mean the Bobcats are settling for less in aesthetics. When creating all of their Shield lockers, a prime concern was making sure student athletes who come on tours see a functional and good looking locker room, while also keeping in mind the comfort of the athletes that currently occupy those spaces.
“Years ago, locker rooms were just a changing place where you’d come in, throw your bag, change your clothes and leave,” said Costello. “What you’re seeing now is they are a space where student athletes want to hang out, it’s more of a community. It’s about being able to walk in and feel comfortable whether you are going to pull out your books, play video games or you're just going to sit and relax. You want to be in a spot that you and your teammates want to be together.”
montana state university football reveal video
For student athletes, knowing that the adults around them have their best interests in mind can go a long way for their mentality. For Costello, it’s important to go directly to the source and get the opinions of the individuals using the lockers.
Nobody knows what athletes need better than athletes themselves, so their opinions are taken into heavy consideration. While there may be things that need to be added to lockers for functionality purposes, fun extras are always considered because when your players feel supported it’s sure to pay off.
“When you’re looking at recruiting and retaining student athletes or wanting them to play better, it comes down to how you support them,” said Costello. “Items such as gear, uniforms, food and coaching are ways to do that, but facilities play a huge role as well and locker rooms are right at the top of that facility list.”
Shield has created 111 football lockers, 19 volleyball lockers and 34 basketball lockers split up amongst men and women for Montana State University. The focus on simplicity yet modern design is showcased in the white and gray color of the lockers while the logo door pulls on the basketball lockers and the etched logos on volleyball and football add that custom touch.
fairfield university
SHIELD PROJECTS: 5
MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY, MEN'S BASKETBALL TRAINING, VOLLEYBALL & MEN'S SOCCER
Up next we talked to Zach Dayton, the Assistant Vice President/Deputy Director of Athletics at Fairfield University. Hosting a whopping five Shield projects, Fairfield certainly knows a thing or two about quality locker and facility design.
To Dayton, a top priority is making sure each individual that handles the lockers will be getting what they want out of the project. Keeping relationships strong has been a cornerstone of how he handles operations.
“I try to place a lot of emphasis on relationships and listening to people and making sure that I'm understanding what their needs are,” said Dayton. “I want our coaches to be happy and our student athletes to be happy and to get things done on a budget and have them look sharp… I also talk to a lot of support staff that say, 'okay, well this looks really cool but it’s functionally not going to work for us.’ That’s where my head goes when I think about these things; what’s important to our coaches? What’s important to our student-athletes? What’s operationally the most feasible and functional?”
fairfield men's soccer reveal
As a brand representative, Dayton knows that locker rooms showcase a program's identity. The spaces don’t only need to look aesthetically pleasing but also need to promote who Fairfield is as a university and as a team.
Bringing in new and innovative locker room pieces lets possible athletes and current students know that the school is investing in them. Even at a collegiate level, students want the pro experience, so universities are leaning into new technology that can breach those gaps. With Shield, Fairfield found a way to create lockers that elevate the student athlete experience.
“The big time feel that Shield provides in the locker experience elevates our program as a whole,” said Dayton.
When looking towards the necessities that are needed in a locker, Dayton was another to mention durability being a number one concern. The investments made by these organizations often come from alumni that have connections to the university. With that in mind, there is a whole other group of people that need to be pleased by the end result of the spaces.
“Durability is a paramount concern for us because we’re paying for these spaces through philanthropy and want to make sure they are built to last,” said Dayton. “This isn’t something that we want to go back to five years later and realize we have to redo the entire space. This is a legacy project.”
In collaboration with Fairfield, Shield has created 30 soccer lockers, 16 men’s basketball gameday lockers, 16 women’s basketball gameday lockers, 16 volleyball lockers and 20 men’s basketball training lockers. All together showcasing the Stags personality while offering an elevated player experience.
University of colorado boulder
SHIELD PROJECTS: 3
Lastly we spoke with Jason Depaepe, the Deputy Athletic Director at the University of Colorado Boulder. UC Boulder finished their first project with Shield in 2019, revamping their men’s basketball and women's volleyball locker rooms to elevate their brand and student experience.
For Depaepe, having strong facilities isn’t just about recruiting new athletes, it’s about keeping the ones you have. In the world of collegiate athletics, all schools are vying for the same athletes which makes standing out a top priority.
“When it comes to our athletes, they are very focused on what will be theirs,” said Depaepe. “A lot of that comes down to the equipment and uniforms and the gear. They’re gonna get in the weight room where they’re going to train and spend a lot of time. With the locker room when they get there, they’re going to get a locker and it’s going to be theirs.”
university of colorado boulder volleyball reveal
Having appealing equipment isn’t just about the aesthetics, but also how well it will function for your athletes on a daily basis. If you have a beautiful locker but it breaks in a year, then it isn’t much of a beautiful locker anymore. Compromise can seem like a necessity in the design of lockers, but that doesn’t have to be the case.
With Shield, UC Boulder has been able to create products that both function for students, coaches and equipment staff while also being a great recruiting tool.
“In my role overseeing our facilities, I'm always wanting to make sure that it will be durable,” said Depaepe. “But if you talk to our coaches or recruiting assistants, they want them to look great and function while having all the bells and whistles. That’s why we’ve been so happy with the Shield product because I get what I want with the durability and they get the look and feel and the recruiting advantage… We don’t want to be behind the times when it comes to lockers and locker rooms because we risk losing an athlete when somebody else is doing it better.”
For the current student athletes, a locker room is where they go before every practice and game. It is where team camaraderie is built and allows for the players to get to know each other on a more in depth level. In Depaepe’s experience he has seen the effect that quality facilities can have on athletes' moods and performance.
“One of the earlier projects we did with Shield was our men’s basketball locker room and our women’s volleyball locker room and the women’s volleyball team had really old wood lockers that were ugly,” said Depaepe. “The men had similar older lockers that were breaking all the time. Both of these spaces went from dark and I would say uninviting to really bright and very clean looking. I think from a player’s perspective, going from a dark and stale locker room to a really bright and vibrant locker room has to have an effect on their psyche.”
Shield has created 18 men’s basketball lockers, 19 women’s volleyball lockers and 28 women’s soccer lockers with UC Boulder. With each finished project, the spaces were created to better serve the student-athletes while allowing UC Boulder to put their best foot forward for prospects.
looking to the future
Within the world of collegiate sports, locker and facility design are nowhere near slowing down. With new features constantly being added and teams looking to always do better than their competition, it's clear manufacturers will need to adapt to the times.
Keeping this in mind, we asked all of the athletic directors what they thought were some of the largest trends that won't be going away any.time soon, and we got some interesting answers.
One of the major focuses was on team lounge spaces and incorporating furniture into lockers. A trend that is largely being seen in football, but is quickly spreading to other sports.
"I think lounge spaces are a necessity and some schools are incorporating those into lockers," said Costello. "Providing a safe, comfortable, relaxing space for the student-athletes is where I see the trends going. I don't see that ending in the near future."
The other focus that seemed common among all of the athletic directors was the idea of lockers being an all-in-one package. While it is common to purchase a locker and then have to buy signage or technology from other providers, the consensus seemed that being able to have every feature fall under the one locker purchase would save time and up convenience. Within collegiate athletics specifically, schools are always finding themselves with new athletes and physically changing signage every time a new player takes over a locker can be an annoyance.
"The integration of LEDs into a display roster that is both super sharp and very easy to adjust on the fly, I think is going to be important with the transfer portal," said Dayton. "Athletic departments aren't going to want to pay a ton of money for name plates every time we have a different player."
The integration of all-in-one factors includes features that have commonly only been inside of a locker room itself. Ventilation is one aspect of locker design that has been seeing a rise in popularity due to the amount of equipment and uniforms that need to stay in good condition, as well as keeping the smells of a locker room at bay.
"I think the ventilation systems they have with lockers now, that's a big piece," said Depaepe. "They ventilate the locker to dry equipment so then you're like, 'well we're getting a fan here, let's make the seat cooled.'"
It's clear that lockers are becoming more than just a place for athletes to store their gear. With trends making them a full, integrated part of a locker room, there's only more features that will need to be added. Luckily at Shield, we're up to the challenge.
Locker room design is one of the major cornerstones in training, recruiting, performance, and recovery. It’s one of the major places where organizations can showcase their efforts to identify player and coaching needs. Make sure that whatever your next locker rooms ends up becoming, It starts by listening to current players and staff and bringing their ideas to the table.