NATCHEZ — It was better than Christmas morning for Trinity Episcopal strength and conditioning coach Bill James.

When the new set of weight-lifting machines arrived in the field house a few weeks back, James said he couldn’t have been more excited.

“When we got this stuff, I don’t remember being that happy when I was a kid at Christmas,” James said.

“This was something we needed for years. I’ve been to high schools and colleges, and they had this type of equipment. We just had ragtag stuff — most of the bars were bent because we put so much weight on them.”

Athletic director and head football coach David King said he was happy that his players will have up-to-date equipment to work with.

“We’re very grateful for Kevin Wilson and the booster club,” King said.

“We’ve built this program around the weight room. Eleven years ago, we had a college-type weight program wand no one else was really doing it. We hadn’t upgraded since then, and most of our success can be attributed right here.”

James also said he’s grateful for the booster club realizing where all of Trinity’s success starts.

“It tells the kids they care about the program, not just on the field but what it takes to get there,” James said. “Games aren’t won on Friday nights, but in this room and the hill during the summer.”

With the new weight machines comes more efficiency, and that’s the biggest thing that’s improved with workouts now, James said.

“It wasn’t as much that (the old equipment) was a danger, it’s just you have to worry about getting the bend in the right place instead of concentrating on lifting,” James said.

“All the weights were steel, and they bounced. This room is designed for about 16 people, and we’d have 25 guys working out in here at a time. We were constantly having to watch the kids’ ankles and knees.”

Now that Trinity’s weight room is more modern, James said the players are really excited to work with the new equipment.

“It’s safer, and you get a lot more work done,” he said. “We’ve always had really strong kids, and they’re excited about it.

“A lot of the kids who have graduated come back to lift, and they’re jealous we didn’t have this when they were here.”

Junior tight end Trae McKenzie said he’s happy with the new equipment, and said he’s looking forward to having another year to work with the equipment after this season.

“It’s one of the nicest (weight rooms) around,” McKenzie said. “I feel like our workouts have improved with us having more options.”

McKenzie also said he understands the importance of having a good weight program for athletics.

“Weights keep you maintained. They keep the body healthy and make you look better. It makes you stronger and faster on the field,” McKenzie said.