Madison Shumway

Staff Writer

After the retirement of 33-year coaching veteran Dave Nielsen, an all-new staff was assembled which will present a big adjustment for the ISU indoor track and field team.

With a short seven-meet schedule, which includes both the conference meet and regional meet, the team doesn’t have long to prove itself to the Big Sky.

After stepping into her new position and hiring assistant coaches who cater to individual events, head coach Hillary Merkley is determined to see improvements in practice turn into improvements during competition.

“The kids are just excited to get started,” she said. “We’ve been training hard since the beginning of fall, and now it’s time to see how that work has been paying off.”

Merkley was hired as an assistant during the 2013-14 season and is now in her first full season as head coach, and has restructured the coaching staff so that teammates could receive more individual attention.

“The kids are really responding well to having people that can actually be there and help them with their individual events,” she said.

Numbers are lower than they’ve been in the past, which means that returning conference champions can improve as newcomers step up to the plate.

Every thrower showed personal improvement at a meet at the end of last year. The rest of the team will compete in the coming weeks and receive an opportunity to improve as well.

“It’s hard to train over and over and over,” Merkley said. “Now the fun part starts where they get to start competing and working on improving marks.”

This season’s staff includes head cross country coach Nate Houle, who will serve as an assistant head coach to distance runners, Bulgarian six-time triple jump national champion Yuriy Litinski who will assist with sprints and horizontal jumps, former All-American Mike McPherson coaching vertical jumps and gymnastics and Casey Fonnesbeck coaching throws.

“[We have] a lot of good people,” Merkley said. “They have experience, they’ve had a lot of success, and they’ve got some coaching experience. They’re doing a great job.”

The staff is larger than it’s been in the past, and all the fresh faces have made for a big adjustment.

“It’s always a transition when you have new coaches coming in because kids are used to doing things a certain way,” said Merkley. “We’re giving them new ways to do things, and so there’s sometimes an adjustment period.”

Another big change for the team is a move away from qualifying marks for conference.

Big Sky schools decided last year that coaches can enter teammates that are ready to compete, replacing the previous system of members aiming for a specific time or rank in order to make it to the conference.

The decision will benefit teammates with injuries, Merkley explained.

While some have raised questions about a subsequent decrease in media coverage or coaches showing favoritism, she thinks those concerns can be addressed and the change will encourage improvement on the team.

“I think it raises the standard a bit with them,” Merkley said. “It makes it a little bit easier for coaches to say ‘Yeah, well, you’re not quite ready and where you need to be,’ so kids have to step it up. It just increases the expectation a little bit for them to go.”