The school bell rings. Giant mobs of students flock into the hallways, but many of them are not heading home. They are going to the locker room. Why? Sports lockers.

Every sport at Liberty requires at least a uniform or jersey. In addition to this, many athletes use specific shoes, practice clothing, a water bottle, and a snack for before or after practice. Most students do not wear their sport-specific outfits to school, instead they carry them to and from school in a designated bag or duffle.

This can result in students having to carry heavy, back-breaking loads from class to class or misplacing their extra bags. The one time this year that I tried to carry around my sports bag, I left it behind at lunch and, after backtracking through each of my classes, finally found it in the office lost and found. Thankfully, a solution to these problems has been provided for the athletes at Liberty: the glorious sports lockers.

Lockers are available for any athlete with a lock who wants to check-out a spacious locker from one of the P.E. teachers for the duration of their sport’s season. Moreover, these lockers are located in the locker-rooms, where most athletes tend to congregate after school to change for practice anyways. For students like me, who often forget to pack their practice clothing, a sports locker is the perfect place to keep an extra hoodie or outfit for practice.

This thanksgiving I am thankful to Liberty for providing sports lockers: an underappreciated blessing for athletes.