I had the pleasant opportunity to sit down with Head Coach Jennifer Johnson, the interim head coach of the SWOSU Women’s Track and Field team to discuss her team’s preparation for the upcoming season and Johnson was very excited about it.
“The cross country team really doesn’t have an offseason, they compete in the distance races. The track team though, had an amazing offseason,” Johnson said, “and I am looking forward to a great year.”
The thing coach talked mostly about how when she got here that injuries and prevention of injuries were a major problem. The past few years, Johnson discussed, has been tough on the team, as they couldn’t maintain consistency throughout the year, and her focus all offseason was care and prevention. This is huge in all sports, as you cannot play or compete without athletes. It isn’t the same for every sport though, which makes it challenging for the strength and conditioning program. Here at SWOSU, though, we have an outstanding staff, led by coach Cade Oller, who is also, like Johnson, in his first year.
Speaking more to the team, Coach Johnson pointed out Monica Gonzalez.
“(Gonzalez) was the first student-athlete to come to SWOSU for track and field, as the program was started here four years ago. Gonzalez,” Johnson commented, “has competed all four years and will graduate this spring. She competes in the heptathalon, which is seven events, and she is an outstanding athlete, and a gutsy one. She really embodies what being an athlete is all about.”
We ended the conversation with something for the younger athletes, the juniors in high school, who are going to be seniors. We left a reminder for them, it is about hard work and your attitude. Johnson said that is something she looks for in a young recruit. You can’t be a good athlete and have a bad attitude.
The next time you will be able to see your SWOSU Track team compete is in Norman at the GAC Indoor Championships on February 28-29.
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