By Austin Sommer, EIWA Sports Information Director
The Bears of Morgan State are currently in their first season as members of the EIWA conference. Starting a new program, or in the case of Morgan State - revamping a program that was shut down decades ago, there is always an expectation of "taking lumps." Building a solid foundation can take years until the program starts to build momentum. Coach Monday smiled and said, "Wrestling is tough." He continued, "I love this team. I am starting to understand where I am as a coach too."
As you can see, it's literally a team effort. It takes time to figure out how to coach, how the team reacts to you, and a general understanding of the culture. Frankly, getting a feel for the administration's support has a timeframe as well. These are all factors to a new coach needs to navigate. Monday continued, "Last year, the team was mostly freshmen. We have more experience this year. We are better than we were last year. We are eager to learn, which is great." Coach Monday expressed this as a positive aspect his team. On the flip side, one thing he'd like to see more of is "belief and confidence" from his athletes.
"I'd like to see more fight when we are down early. We wrestle hard up to a certain point. We're working on that. Confidence needs to stay high even when you are down in the match." Overall, Coach Monday mentioned the team's expectations will rise as results happen. They usually go together. Coach Monday, an Olympic gold medalist, gave much praise to confidence and belief being huge factors during his competitive career. He is trying to install that into his wrestlers.
With this foundation building comes some undesired results. It takes time to build a program. Coach Monday is expected to keep the team's confidence high, even after failing to see immediate results. For example, the team is currently 1-7 in duals. I asked coach how to keep the team's confidence high and help them strive for improvement. "Ups and downs happen. We're understanding that. Last year, we were shut out often. This year, we are winning a few bouts here and there. There are more close duals this year." The positivity in a program is contagious. It takes a special leader to keep their team positive and see the bright spots – even if they are somewhat limited.
Coach Monday has been on the recruiting trail ever since he started at Morgan State. However, the transfer portal has been good to the squad. Darrien Roberts and Xavier Doolin have found homes at Morgan State after spending time at other Division One programs. Roberts is a redshirt senior who spent four years at Oklahoma who brings a wealth of experience. Xavier Doolin is a junior with a stint at Northern Colorado for three years before making the move to Morgan State. Doolin has been a bright spot in the lineup as the heavyweight. When a match comes down to the final bout, the Bears like their chances.
When discussing these two leaders, Coach Monday stated, "Nothing replaces experience." As we all know, Division One wrestling is more than just wrestling. "These men are great leaders. They manage time and life very well, which is more important than anything you do inside the wrestling room." Having an experienced leader doing the right things off the mat is great way to keep a winning culture. As Coach Monday put it, "The life of a student athlete will translate to post wrestling life." The hard work and dedication of a wrestler makes them great employees in the "real world."
The goals for the Morgan State program are expanding. Coach Monday had a few answers, "On the mat, we'd like to qualify someone for NCAAs. That's goal number one and will be historic here at Morgan State. From there, we will build and see multiple qualifiers per year" In terms of a multi-year goal, Monday simply stated "Brick by brick. Year after year." Just as the saying goes – "Rome wasn't built in a day." This is a work in progress.
Lastly, Coach Monday was relieved about joining the EIWA. "Now that our team has a home conference, I can sleep better at night. We are excited to join the conference" Monday was very open about the support for the current coaches in the conference. "Based on the history and tradition of the EIWA, we are honored to part of it." Coach Monday and the Morgan State Bears are looking to jump-in on the conference's overall upward trajectory.