BEST OF PHILLY® 2026 WINNER FOR BEST HOME STORAGE
After more than 50 years in the same locker room, the Northeast High School Vikings deserved a space that matched the pride they brought to their program.
Instead, players were left to hang uniforms and equipment from hooks bolted to chain-link fencing. With no individual lockers or place to sit, getting ready meant making do with whatever space was available.
When Coach Nick Lincoln started at the school in May 2024, he saw an opportunity to give his players something better. That vision would bring coaches, parents, school staff, and local businesses together.
A Vision Worth Building
To Coach Linc, the fencing wasn’t just impractical. He said it made the locker room feel like a cage, and he believed the space needed to change for the young men who used it every day.
He pictured a college-style locker room where players could sit, keep their equipment separated and clean, and prepare alongside their teammates. Because Northeast regularly hosts other high schools and colleges, he also wanted a room the program could feel proud to share.
After the Vikings’ Thanksgiving game, Coach Linc joined coaches and parents in tearing the cages down. They weren’t sure how the full renovation would come together, but they pushed ahead anyway, starting with the one thing they knew had to go.
Bringing the Community Together
Once the cages were gone, Coach Linc spent months making calls, sending emails, and finding the people who could help carry the project forward.
Fusion Gyms had already joined the effort, helping transform the weight room with new flooring, mirrors, lighting, and equipment. Their contribution gave the players a safer, more professional space to train and helped move the whole project forward.
A connection through one of the football families brought the locker room project to The Closet Works. After our VP of Operations, Jennifer Keohane, visited and walked the space herself, our team agreed to contribute the custom lockers as part of the larger community effort.
With each partner taking on a different part of the facility, The Closet Works began turning Coach Linc’s vision into a locker system that could serve the whole program.
Designing Custom Lockers Around the Team
The challenge was designing one system that could serve the whole team at once. Players needed seating and defined storage for uniforms, shoes, protective equipment, and personal belongings, with enough separation to keep the room working when everyone was using it.
Our team designed the locker system around the room’s existing dimensions so the finished layout felt intentional and cohesive.
Once the plans were set, The Closet Works manufactured every component, and our installers began bringing the room together over the next several months. Ever the hands-on leader, Coach Linc kept the project moving, arranging coverage for his class and hurrying over to unlock the room whenever crews needed access.
Section by section, the room began to change. The empty walls left by the cages filled with custom lockers, and by the end, players had individual places to sit, prepare, and keep their gear separated through summer training, daily practices, and Friday night games.
Giving the Vikings a Place of Their Own
Coach Linc had talked to his players about the locker room from the time he arrived, but they’d heard similar promises before. Even after the cages came down, he didn’t think they fully pictured what the room would become.
Then the lockers went in.
The finished room made the vision real. It surpassed what Coach Linc had imagined and gave the program exactly what it needed for summer training camp and Friday night football.
“The final product blew their mind,” he said.
Coach Linc uses football to build young men, open doors to post-secondary opportunities, and help players work through the challenges they may face growing up in Philadelphia.
“Closet Works Inc. changed the game for us, literally,” Coach Linc said. “The biggest thing Closet Works conveys to our young men is that there are people who will invest in their safety, peace of mind, and future.”
That investment is now visible every time the Vikings enter the room. Players have places of their own, the team has a cleaner and more organized space to prepare, and Northeast has a locker room it can feel proud to share when other schools visit.
The project began with a coach who believed his players deserved better. It came together because football families, school staff, local businesses, and community partners each found a way to help.
We’re grateful to have played a part alongside Fusion Gyms and everyone else who contributed their time, resources, and expertise.
After more than 50 years, the Vikings finally have a locker room built for the young men who use it and worthy of the pride they bring to their program.
Watch the ribbon cutting below and hear from Coach Linc, the players, Fusion Gyms, and The Closet Works in this video from YEA Sports.
See more spaces and stories The Closet Works has helped bring to life, or book a free design consultation today.
