Wake Forest Athletics
Averill Continues to Build Strong Bonds, Virtually & Culturally
5/12/2020 12:30:00 PM | Field Hockey, Les Johns
Despite her team being all across the world, Wake Forest Field Hockey Coach Jen Averill has the Deacs connected and prepared for the uncertain road ahead.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- With players from the Netherlands, Spain, England, Belgium and eight different states, Wake Forest Field Hockey Coach Jen Averill has faced a unique challenge to get her entire team on the same page during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The challenge is geography, when they're all over the globe," Averill said. "Some of our kids are taking exams while others are working out."
The logistics of different time zones force her tight-knit squad to adjust to the best of their abilities for this current situation.
"The student-athlete in Europe may be running at 9 p.m., while her volunteer workout partner runs with her at 3 p.m. in the afternoon," Averill said about the situation. "Those things are cumbersome, plus it's just the volume of work. It varies from professor-to-professor, day-to-day and player-to-player. We've been really cognizant about time when we're reaching out to the kids to check in on them."
Universally, each player will tell you they had a great start to spring practice, going so hard that they believed spring break was a much-needed respite. Little did they realize that spring break would be extended and then all student-athletes would be excommunicated from campus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Averill has been pleased with how her team has responded in the subsequent weeks.
"We try in our recruiting process, to recruit kids who have that adaptability and who have that growth mindset," she said. "This particular process we all find ourselves in — where can we still have growth? I liken it to preseason. The first week is like what do we have and where are we? The second week you move through it and diagnose it. The third week you start to settle down."
Averill credited support staff in the Wake Forest Athletic department for the success they've had in terms of staying connected and providing value to the student-athletes. She specifically singled out Jackie Briggs, Melissa Gonzalez, Brooke Taylor, Laura Reiner, Ashley Wechter and David Bass.
"We're set up with people who see the problems and are seeking out the solutions," Averill said. "That's definitely been inspirational for me, to help navigate through murky waters and know I have solution-oriented staff to be a part of this. We are very connected, even though the interpersonal interaction is not there. We're very like minded, in that respect."
Building strong bonds is a strength Averill has shown throughout her 28 seasons at Wake Forest.
"The hardest thing for any of us is that we're all created to be connected," Averill continued. "Those connections are so personal. The ability to see emotions on a day-to-day basis, and be able to understand perceptions. That has been the biggest challenge.
"How do we convey empathy, sympathy, motivation, happiness and heartache in this virtual environment? Honestly, that's what we do really well. We're able to have that impact and that's our sixth man. It gives us that cultural piece. How do you manufacture that now? That's been the challenging piece of it."
They're finding out quickly that some tasks are better performed virtually in large groups, while others are more suited for smaller sets of players.
"What kind of production can we get out of a Zoom with 26 people on it?" Averill asked rhetorically. "You're limited. That particular presentation will be a game, or something like a game, that engages and gets us to laugh. However, it's not prime time for us to get vulnerable or personal. We've broken the squad down into smaller bits and pieces. That's allowed us to have more transparency and authenticity.
"There's more growth in areas where we probably wouldn't have made the time if not for these things happening the way they have."
With a strong start to spring practice and lofty goals of returning to the Final Four, Averill said it's incumbent upon her to keep her team focused, driven and positive.
"Part of my responsibility is to keep the vision and the lofty goals illuminated," she said in closing. "We're coming back. But we have different blueprints based upon what day it is we come back. But we're coming back, and we all have a purpose and meaning. We're just redefining those purposes and avenues.
"It's been challenging, but I think you'll find that most of the coaches I associate with here Wake, that's what they do best. We'll find ways to win."
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