Hopes and Challenges await the Tennis and Track and Field Coaches
With the spring semester rolling to a start, the new sports season is on the minds of our many student athletes and supporters. Specifically, the coaches have to grapple with the many challenges and difficulties that await the new season while attempting to achieve new goals this semester.
Nick Schneigert, the current Coach for the Cross Country/Track and Field teams for the men and women, said that he hopes to “break a few records” and improve on their run times this season, while striving for his teams to “enjoy their time as track athletes.”
“We have a great foundation with our young distance kids,” he said.
In particular, one athlete has been able to prove himself on the field–Alex Bozhilov–by outshining other competitors. Schneigert believes that he will break the 5,000 meter record at the Texas Tech Invitational, an invite-only indoor meet. In addition, he wants him to qualify for the 5,000 and/or 10,000 meter championships.
“I have coached 27 All-Americans in my career. One of them was UD legend cross-country athlete Anna Wilgenbusch. She was my two-time All-American. Alex has that shot to be an All-American as well. Alex missed nationals by one spot in the cross-country season, and based on his times, he could have been an NCAA All-American if he made it to nationals. But we were in one of the toughest regional championships in the nation.” Schneigert said.
Jacob Delao, the Head Coach for the men and women’s tennis teams, shares a similar optimism for his teams.
“[My goals are to] build off what we did last spring and in the fall,” he said.
Delao stated that the teams had good results and improvements, and he would like to build off the successes from the program last year. He hopes to gain a handful of wins, especially from the conference.
He said, “[We hope to] establish ourselves as a competitive team within the SCAC.”
However, these hopes are not without their challenges. UD lacks the appropriate equipment and space to foster strong track and field athletes. Without a designated sprinting track, throwing rings, hurdles and jump pits, UD athletes are immediately set back in terms of winning conference championships.
Schneigert said, “It’s impossible to do workouts with my sprinters, jumpers, hurdlers, and throwers.”. However, he added that, “The distance kids develop and build that bond which is critical for [cross country in the fall].”
Another challenge is the lack of coaches. Most other college teams have a designated throws coach, distance coach, and sprints coach, with one of them being the head coach as well. However, Schneigert must coach all three, making him coach multiple times a day.
However, he said, “[I have] a fantastic [graduate assistant] and a distance volunteer coach.”
These crucial members of the athletics staff are Caleb Clayton and Anna Dougherty respectively, who help strengthen the team. Anna Dougherty was formerly Anna Wilgenbusch, the All-American UD athlete whom Coach Schneigert coached in the past.
Academics is another challenge. Being at the University of Dallas, Coach Schneigert knows that the classical education curriculum is time consuming, and so he tries to find Saturday only meets. This is because the DFW area only has one school with a track, Texas Christian University.
Schneigert said, “We travel far, usually on a Friday afternoon, and do an overnighter. They have to miss several classes that day.” In spite of these challenges, he noted that, “[The track team] consistently makes NCAA All-Academic American year in and year out.”
For the tennis team, Delao said that the challenges are threefold. Being a small team, with about eight men and seven women, even a few injuries could mean losing a portion of the team. Ensuring that players are healthy is of vital importance to him.
The youth of the team is another challenge. Having mostly sophomores and freshmen with few seniors and no juniors on both the men’s and women’s teams means that they are going head to head with players a couple years older than their average age. That isn’t to say that the team will have trouble winning, however, and Delao makes it clear that the team is zoned in on learning how to win together and commit to each other.
He said “We’re accountable to each other, teammates are accountable to each other, [and] coaches are accountable to players. Players are accountable to coaches by having high energy, a great attitude, a great work ethic, teamwork and just staying committed to each other.”
Delao understands the difficulties of balancing academics and clubs with an athletic commitment, which is a challenge. He wants to work with his players as best he can in that regard to ensure that they receive the support they need. He hopes, in spite of the difficulties that may come, that the team will continue staying committed to each other.
“[Trust] the process of what we’re building, and hopefully […] see it to fruition, in April,” said Delao. “[I also] encourage the student body, other student athletes of other teams, and faculty staff members to come out to one of our home matches.”
The tennis team plays their home matches at Las Colinas Country Club, with their first match on Friday, March 7 at 4 p.m., against East Texas Baptist University.
As a closing statement, Delao added, “My belief in these young men and women is immense and we have the opportunity to achieve and build something truly special here at UD! Swords Up!”