With Parkersburg native and strength coach Allan Johnson now on board and construction soon to be under way on a major expansion that includes both a modern, state-of-the-art indoor training facility and an outdoor practice field, HOF Chiropractic owner/founder Dr. Dave Hall ''still can't believe'' his longtime ''dream'' of a comprehensive sports performance center ''is in the process of becoming a reality.''

Johnson, with a strength and conditioning background probably second to none in the country, will head up the staff at the new 8,000 square-foot facility located on 37th Street off Grand Central Avenue, and close to Hall's original HOF Chiropractic offices. ''This will multiply this area we're in now by six or seven times,'' said Hall.

''Our goal right now is to be in the new building by this fall, hopefully within four to five months,'' said Hall, also a hometown Parkersburg boy. ''We're moving this along as fast as we can. The exciting part now is seeing this starting to be built right down the road from us. I've been waiting 16 years for this. Some people wait 16 years to get a driver's license; I'm waiting 16 years to make people have a drive to move their bodies. So the dream is starting to come true.''

Hall knows too that the HOF Chiropractic sports performance coaching staff, which now consists of his good friend Johnson along with former Warren High School and Marietta College baseball player Chris Hendricks, will need to be expanded as well, up to at least six or seven, when the new training facility is completed.

''I couldn't have better people working here,'' said Hall. ''But they don't work for me; they work here for the area and the community.''

Hendricks played for the legendary Don Schaly at Marietta - that fact first and foremost stood out when Hall hired him. ''When you hear Chris talk about coach Schaly and what kind of influence he had on him, that's the kind of people you want - people who have learned from or worked under the best,'' said Hall. ''That rubs off on you and makes a big difference when you see how Chris works with both kids and adults.''

And Hall too is ''excited'' to have his buddy Al Johnson back home to join him in his new venture, which has now added a 30-yard wide by 50-yard long outdoor practice field to the plan as a further enhancement to the indoor complex.

''With just the people Al has worked with through the years, I don't think I could be any luckier than to have someone of that caliber here,'' said Hall.

''In fact,'' continued Hall, ''the combination of the chiropractic service along with the sports performance/training facility is really unique - a one-stop shop for all your needs to make you better at what you do.''

Hall said the chiropractic/sports performance center ''will be his final destination'' after beginning his chiropractic practice in Mineral Wells before moving into Parkersburg.

''With Al and Chris here and the new construction starting within earshot, the puzzle's coming together and now the pieces are there'' to fulfill Hall's ultimate dream. ''We just need to glue it all together,'' Hall said. ''I think the results will be just unbelievable.''

Included in the new sports performance/training center will be field turf, rubber flooring with a complete weight-training center, a 40-yard area to do sprints, flex-band wall and ''a lot of programs dealing with recovering from injury,'' said Hall. Out back behind the building will be an area devoted to some of Johnson's strength-training methods - sand pit, hill climb and tire flipping - among other sports performance-related drills.

Plus, ''we'll do combines, speed camps and all sort of motivational things, including classes,'' added Hall. ''And we especially want to work with local school teams too, providing them with whatever kind of help or training they need to get better.''

But the new sports performance facility is not all just going to be about getting better, faster and stronger. ''We will also be teaching people about health, nutrition and fitness,'' noted Hall.

Although many activities will be youth oriented, ''we want (to serve) anyone from 8 to 80 or beyond and will be doing a lot with adult fitness because there's no better drug that you can take than exercise,'' stated Hall. ''No matter what age you are, you've got to move to stay fit.

''And that's what we're going to be doing - teaching people to move.