La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's and men's track & field teams were set to open its 2020 outdoor seasons on Saturday, April 4.  The Eagles were hosting the 8th Annual Ashton May Invitational at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.  

Due to the COVID-19 public health threat, the spring sports season and all competitions were canceled.  All athletically related activities were originally suspended however, following updated guidelines from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), the track & field staffs began keeping in contact with their teams.  

"Like many coaches, we are keeping up with our athletes on a regular basis," said UWL head women's track & field coach Nickolas Davis.  "In addition to emailing our team important information or resources for dealing with these challenging times, our staff is engaging in weekly Zoom meetings in their respective event groups."  Davis says the team's captains and group leaders have set-up days and times to have "coffee talk" with one another that is athlete led and gives them the opportunity to connect socially. 

He says the women's track & field team is using its social media accounts to help alums and parents to reach out to the current student-athletes to provide them with words of encouragement and support.  "Their words have been really appreciated by our team, especially the seniors who have had their career cut short," said Davis. "In addition to connecting with our team, we have planned fun activities with other teams as well.  We are in the planning stages of doing a fun "Virtual Dual Meet" with UW-Stevens Point to provide the team an opportunity to "compete" against a conference rival in made-up events that have a very "quarantine-ish" feeling to them." 
  

Davis says the coaching staff is going over many ways the student-athletes can continue to stay focused physically and mentally while not being on campus.  "First and foremost, we are working with our athletes on how to best prepare/operate in a distance learning environment," added Davis.  "We're currently working with them on developing structured schedules to create similar routines to what they were used to having prior to the need for social distancing.  In addition, our coaching staff has continued to coach remotely, writing training for our athletes to complete and providing guidance when needed (breaking down video, adjusting workouts to meet physical environments, etc.)."   

The staff has also provided student-athletes with readings and webinars that focus on improving the mental side of training/competition and have suggested areas of growth given the current circumstances.

UWL head men's track & field coach Josh Buchholtz says the staff is keeping in touch with its student-athletes through various social platforms.  "There is a lot of banter on our WhatsApp Messenger," said Buchholtz.  "We also have scheduled video meetings with the event groups and the staff is checking in with each event group.