Adam Thielen gifts new facility to Mallard Creek High

CAMERON WILLIAMS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Carolina Panthers receiver Adam Thielen (center) donated a refurbished weightroom to Mallard Creek High through his foundation. Thielen also pledged five $1,000 scholarships to Mallard Creek students annually for the next 20 years.

The Adam Thielen Foundation’s mission has not changed.

The nonprofit still strives to “help youth reach their full potential.” As an athlete, the nonprofit’s namesake has found there is no better way for him to do it than give back through renovating and install new weight training rooms.

Last year it was Harding High. This year it is Mallard Creek.

“My wife and I, when we started the Thielen Foundation, we wanted to make sure that our mission statement was broad,” Thielen said. “So, our mission statement is helping youth reach their full potential. We did this so we could impact in as many ways as possible. We knew that youth and children were very important to our society, and helping them grow, giving them resources and opportunities to be at their best was very important.”

Thielen’s hope is that the weight room can be a space not only for weightlifting, but something that can help better students’ lives long term.

“Yes, we want them to become better athletes, for sure,” he said, “but we feel that through their sports and being proud of playing sports and being on teams, that they will actually be better people. They’ll graduate high school, and maybe they’ll go on to play college athletics or just go on to a second education. And we feel that a lot of times by renovating these weight rooms and these spaces, it’s impacting far beyond sport. It's impacting the way that they treat others and their self-esteem. The more that they come in here to understand and know how to train, how to work out, they actually have more self-confidence and treat people with more respect.”

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Executive Director of Athletics Ericia Turner expressed appreciation for the foundation’s work.

“I want to thank the Thielen Foundation for what you've done for Mallard Creek and for the students here,” she said. “I tell people, the weightroom is also a classroom, and it needs to be conducive for learning. It's not just about athletics. The kids will feel great coming in here working out, and it’s going to be very productive for our students.”

Mallard Creek football coach Kennedy Tinsley said the old weight room was too small to accommodate every student in weight training courses.

“I think we have over 80 kids in each weight class for the first and second block,” Tinsley said. “The space that we had, the kids actually worked out in the hallway. This venture will ultimately help us impact them even more and give students the ability to continue to try to be successful on the next level and ultimately be successful here at school.”

Principal Jared Thompson added that by having more space, it will in turn make weight training a lot safer for athletes to continue to better themselves. Since 2007, the school has produced numerous collegiate athletes, Super Bowl-winning football players and Olympians, all of whom utilized the weight room at some point.

“Today, you see the results of a six- or seven-month project that is going to have an immense impact on the student athlete experience here at Mallard Creek,” he said. “We have effectively doubled the size of our weight training area. We have brand new equipment. In short, we come from a situation where Mallard Creek, since 2007, it is no secret that we produce some of the top student athletes in the region and even country… but even more importantly is the student experience that we have in our weight training classes each day.”

Thielen also announced the foundation will fund five $1,000 scholarships to Mallard Creek seniors for the next 10 years.

“We've done this before,” he said, “and it’s been really cool because it is nominated by your coaches, and it’s leadership [-based] so the biggest leader, the hardest worker, and the commitment in the weight room, on the court and in school. Those scholarships would go to those people, and we want to make sure it was a long-term commitment.

“It’s all about resources and opportunities. The more that we can help provide that we think that these youth can reach their full potential.”

Comments