Kerry GAA Centre of Excellence Gym Facility

Kerry GAA Centre of Excellence

In 2018, Kerry GAA built a new state-of-the-art High-Performance Centre, located in Curran's, County Kerry. As part of the new fit out, BLK BOX were invited to provide a solution for the gym that would allow athletes to perform the core lifts of their strength and conditioning programs.  The Kerry GAA Committee worked alongside Gregory (Managing Director, BLK BOX) and the team to ultimately create an elite training space like no other in the country.

Kerry GAA's Chairman Tim Murphy admitted that "we might have come late to the table with a Centre of Excellence but what we did learn was from the mistake of others." The 5,000sqft gym has a layout that allows the athletes to move from one exercise to another smoothly and easily within the session, in a logical manner that doesn't require them from moving to one side of the gym to the other between exercises. 

Kerry GAA's Secretary stated that they were prioritising and looking at the bigger picture when planning this facility. "Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to get right because people get carried away. Receptions and hallways shouldn't be the central features. It is the practical things like the gym that should be." The spider web design of the facility means it works from the centre out. At its heart is the gym with a 30m testing track, which is perimetered by a circle of eight dressing rooms, including one specifically for ladies teams. Each of the dressing rooms has its own exits to the pitches, avoiding any traffic through the heart of the centre. Upstairs is a central 50-seater auditorium, video room and eating facilities, one for senior teams and a second for underage.

Overall, the gym features a black wall mounted rig which allows for 4 squat/bench stations to operate at once. This is coupled with a free-standing rig, standing alone in the centre of the facility to allow for dedicated technical and explosive lifts. Along with numerous BLK BOX mixed implements, BLK Series Bumpers and Belfast bars populate the room. The club also chose numerous pieces of cardio kit, kettlebells, dumbbells and BLK BOX Jammers to prepare the players for the upcoming session and add variety to the training program.