Ogallala Needed Some Exercise

By: Sydni and Annastazia

Since 2004, Maggie O’Neil has been the personal trainer at the Goodall Rec Center.  She is also the person who started and inspired the plans for the expansion of the Rec Center. “When I first moved here, I came from an area that had a really nice rec center, and lived in smaller towns with nice rec centers. So, when I walked in here for the first time and saw what people were actually using to exercise, I just thought to myself that this town needs something bigger and better, because this just isn’t going to cut it.”

“About a year after I started here, the Manager and I, at the time it was Penny Feltz, we kind of started brainstorming ideas to build on and, at first, it was a smaller addition.” But we all know that it grew to much more than just a small addition. It had grown over twice what they originally planned on. After the first meeting they decided that “this town is big enough to have something bigger. We decided to make a bigger facility.” Which made it possible to have a walking track, a racquet ball area, and basketball area, things like that.

O’Neil says that she kind of inspired herself because she knew that something needed to change. Of course every project comes with challenges that they have to overcome. The Rec Center Expansion project encountered some difficulties, but they always persevered through them. “When you get involved in a small town, you always have people that aren’t for the project or don’t have a lot to say about the project,” says O’Neil. “When you form a group of people that are trying to raise funds there may be people in that group that may not get along, or there might be some issues arise that you may have to make some really tough decisions to keep the group going.” She said that the community supported them very much. Since the expansion has finished, the Rec Center has seen a steady increase in activity.

O'Neil is a certified athletic trainer, which is a little different from a personal trainer. “We resemble physical trainers in a way, but we deal with all sports' injuries and rehabilitation.” The most rewarding part of O’Neil’s job as a personal trainer is “just seeing people do things that they didn’t think they could do, push people past their limits, Training people to do a triathlon or a 5K, and seeing the little things that people can do.”

O'Neil defines a community as “everybody coming together and working on all different projects.” She thinks that teenagers should get involved in the community because she believes that the more you get involved the more it prepares you for the road ahead. O’Neil says, “Getting involved in the community really grows you as a person.”