Success does not come immediately for many first-time coaches, and it often takes years to achieve notable results. Being a first-time collegiate coach is an even more difficult undertaking. However, for Assistant Track Coach Annika Pingel, her debut came with a tremendous amount of success.
“Right after outdoor nationals, when I was finished with my track career, Ed Fye (Director of Track & Field and Cross Country) asked me if I wanted to be the head sprints coach and an assistant coach. We had talked before about me staying at Doane and coaching, but Ed gave me the opportunity to step right in,” Pingel said.
Pingel, a 2022 graduate, competed as an athlete for Doane for five years, was a multiple All-American, and ran events ranging from the 200-meter to the 6k in cross country. Pingel felt that her experience on the track team made the transition to coaching easy.
In Pingel’s first indoor season as the sprints coach proved to be successful. Doane Track and Field won conference on the men’s side and the women’s team placed second. Pingel’s athletes secured all-conference honors, and she produced two conference champions with freshman Neryah Hekl winning the 60m and sophomore Joaquin Gutierrez winning the 600m.
“My biggest takeaway so far as coach has been my shift in focus in wanting to put all my time and energy into my athletes and wanting to know each of them and cultivate a relationship with them and help them reach their full potential,” Pingel said.
Pingel felt that progress was made each week with her athletes and that her athletes bought into her coaching and made her job much easier.
“Being a recent athlete, being some of these athletes’ teammates, it gives me a unique dynamic. I can collaborate with my athletes and I am in tune with what their experiences are,” Pingel said.
Pingel and the rest of the Doane Track team are competing at NAIA National Championships in Brookings, South Dakota from Feb. 29 through March 2.
