MC Coach Welty adapting to new normal

When it comes to dealing with the Coronavirus Pandemic, we tend to think of mainly the students and faculty who are adversely affected by the virus and its consequences on our learning and athletic endeavors. There is also, however, a major impact on the coaching staff at Monmouth College, who dedicate their time and effort to building on the storied Fighting Scots athletic programs. 

For cross country and track and field coach Jon Welty, life amid the coronavirus pandemic has changed quite a bit. “It has been a very odd adjustment. When you’re used to practice every day and a meet almost every weekend, you get used to that routine. Not having the ability to work with our student-athletes has been a difficult adjustment, however, it does allow us to work on different aspects of coaching we may not otherwise get to try,” explained Welty. One way Welty is making the most of this uncertain time is by connecting with his student-athletes through Zoom meetings. This is all part of establishing the team’s new “routine,” as Welty says, “We have been doing a Zoom meeting every other week and I have been providing the team with workouts to prepare for the cross-country season. I have also set up a Google doc for them to track their workouts and communicate with each other and myself.” 

Across all sports at Monmouth, coaches have needed to adapt their coaching methods in order to prepare their student-athletes for the hopeful prospect of fall competitions. When asked about the fall, Welty noted, “I am trying to take care of the team right now. The hard thing is that no one knows what August will look like, so I just want to do the best for our kids in the current moment and prepare ourselves the best we can for a great fall.” Hopefully, this extended time off from competition will only motivate student-athletes at Monmouth to work even harder and come into their respective fall sports ready to succeed.

Riley Dulin - Sports Editor