CSC alumnus houses, trains athletes during COVID-19 lockdown

Holscher, a Scottsbluff, Nebraska, native, studied Sports and Recreation Management with an option in Exercise Science at CSC and served as a linebacker for the football team. After graduation, he worked at the Warehouse Fitness Center in Scottsbluff as a manager and personal trainer for young athletes. In 2017, he bought the business.

“It felt right to be back here and show these kids what they need to be doing and thinking to get to that next level,” he said.

On March 16, 2020, Holscher closed the gym due to COVID-19.

“We stayed up the night before till one in the morning trying to decide what we should do,” he said.

The next day, he and his wife, Hannah, and two small children moved into the basement of the gym, which had recently been rezoned as a residential space. A few teenage clients of the Warehouse helped the Holscher family move.

“As we're moving into the gym, we started formulating this idea. How cool would it be if these guys that were working so hard could stay with us and train here at the gym,” he said.

Parents were initially hesitant to allow the plan, but Holscher reassured them the boys would be able to complete their schoolwork and develop academically, as well as athletically.

He constructed a daily schedule that included two work-out times and built in time for the boys to do their homework and attend video conference classes. Holscher and his wife fed and housed the boys on site at the gym, which they renamed the Warehouse Academy.

“It was nice to have them there and give them exactly what they needed,” he said.

Holscher found the focus on training the young athletes was helpful for him and the teen athletes to avoid being sucked into worrying about the unknown.

“It gave us a distraction from what might be happening, while still getting work done,” he said.

Holscher and his family followed strict health protocols. They used grocery delivery for all shopping and stayed inside except for runs along deserted trails. The high school boys went home for Easter, but were asked to refrain from socializing with anyone other than family.

“We were not about to take risks,” Holscher said.

The boys moved back home shortly before the Warehouse Fitness Center reopened on May 1, 2020.

Of the five athletes who participated in the Warehouse Academy, two currently play college football, and three are high school seniors.

Tyler Smith, center for the CSC football team, said the time he spent at the Warehouse Academy helped him understand and experience what college life would be like.

Sam Clarkson, offensive lineman for Northwest Missouri State University, said Holscher helped him come back better than ever after an ACL surgery.

Ransen Wilkins, senior at Scottsbluff High School, said the time at the Warehouse helped him practice staying mentally focused which has served him well in sports.

Chance Symons and Trevor Schwartz, also seniors at Scottsbluff High School, both said the training helped them become stronger and faster athletes.

“It really set me up to accomplish my goal of playing at the next level,” Schwartz said.

—Abigail Swanson, College Relations