WEST FARGO It’s an athlete’s dream to practice basketball and volleyball without the hassle of sharing an open gym. Not only did a West Fargo father make that dream a reality for his own children, but he also created a space for current and future Packer athletes. Four years ago, Casey Glandt and his friends turned a storage locker into the Packer Lab. “You go to the wellness or any other open gym, and, you know, you got balls knocking your ball out, and you got distractions, and people might be playing five-on-five. It’s great to have a dedicated place for them to call their own too,” Casey said. The enclosed space started with a basketball hoop but has since added a volleyball net as more Packer student-athletes joined. The walls are covered with West Fargo memorabilia. “Once we kind of got this built and posted some photos on Facebook, we asked, you know, the public West Fargo Packer, alumni, current players and families, to donate anything they had, and they just came out of the woodwork,” Casey said. Donations included old jerseys, trophies, championship banners and some prized possessions, such as a cereal box featuring two state champion teams from 1993 and Packer legend Solveig Seymour’s record-breaking game ball. “It just reminds you . like, ‘Why am I here? Because I want to be as good as those guys that were before me.’ And then that motivates the youth and so on,” said Sam Glandt, a West Fargo basketball player. Sam has been using the space throughout his high school career. He says putting up hundreds of shots each week helps him perfect his craft, whether it’s in the middle of summer with a teammate or before school in the winter. “When I go into the season, it’s like, I know I’ve practiced this every single day, these exact game reps, over and over and over. So it’s nothing different once you come game time, it’s just do what you’ve constantly worked on all off season. That builds a belief system in yourself . confidence,” Sam said. com Memberships are $90 a month for 12 months or $100 a month for six months. Participants must be West Fargo Packer students to join.
https://www.inforum.com/news/west-fargo/packer-lab-gives-west-fargo-athletes-a-dedicated-practice-space