CatamountSports.com continues to spotlight unique feature stories from #CatamountCountry in our online series called Catamount Perspectives. It is a chance to tell our stories and provide readers a deeper insight. This latest installment of Catamount Perspectives is presented by Zaxby's of Sylva on Zaxby's Tuesday.
 

---

 
"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." – General George S. Patton
 
"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." – Albert Einstein
 
These two quotes in a roundabout way inspired today's "Catamount Perspectives" piece.
 
Those who follow Catamount Athletics on our social media platforms may have noticed the question-and-answer series surrounding what many of our coaches and staff members are doing during the stay-at-home quarantine related to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you haven't taken notice, here's your friendly reminder to do so every "Zaxby's Tuesday" on Twitter using the handle, @catamounts.
 
The process of building that weekly social media interactive piece included polling many within the department; asking the various questions from which our graphics are – and will continue to be – based, simply looking for answers to a light-hearted albeit brief respite from the on-goings of the day. No one, however, could have anticipated the care and detail that many of our coaches and staff put into answering one of the more burning questions during this crisis – what are you doing and what have you done amidst stay-at-home instructions to prepare for next season?
 
The answers really ran the gamut – new Director of Athletics Alex Gary, a former Catamount baseball player, stated that he was keeping his arm loose just in case he "may need to throw batting practice this fall." Head football coach Mark Speir touted that it "seems like I've watched every 2021 prospect in America on video – twice!" He's also been busy with his staff planning virtual campus tours for recruits and working to attract former Catamounts from across the generations to deliver online meetings with the current roster to help prep for the upcoming campaign.
 
So, since the only practicing of sorts has been practicing social distancing, "Catamount Perspectives" today looks at what many around Catamount Athletics have been doing while telecommuting or teleworking while staying safe and staying home:
 
Evan Barr, Director of Athletic Performance:
"Staying connected with our student-athletes, posting my own workouts to encourage our players – and Catamount Nation each #MotivationMonday – to continue to do what they can while away. We're continuing to build those relationships with our student-athletes."
 
Bret Beaver, Women's Tennis Head Coach:
"Listening to various podcasts and taking part in webinars on coaching techniques. Reading as much as possible, all in an effort to look for new ideas we can add to our program."
 
Chelsi Carter, Volleyball Assistant Coach:
"Conducting studies that are Southern Conference specific to help boost us from third in 2019 to getting us a conference title!"
 
Karen Glover, Volleyball Head Coach:
"Lots of film study and video review while also doing some planning for our preseason. I've also been participating in online coaching webinars to improve my knowledge in the field."
 
Kiley Hill, Women's Basketball Head Coach:
"Working to complete my assistant coaching staff, hired a new staff member via virtual and phone interviews. Also trying to complete the nonconference portion of our 2020-21 schedule."
 
John Holt, Assistant Football Coach / Offensive Coordinator:
"I've used this time to try and get closer with our team members through calls, texts, emails, Twitter exchanges, and video calls. I believe the more you invest in each other, the harder it will be to let your team down. I'm also getting new ideas from our newest coaches on staff from other places on schemes, techniques, and ways to teach our team how to execute."
 
Chad Miller, Women's Soccer Head Coach:
"Watching all of our matches from this past fall while also watching online coaching lectures and forums."
 
Jesse Norman, Track & Field Head Coach
"Planning the summer and chatting with next year's group about when they start, while also finishing up the 2020 recruiting class. I also joined a coaching group on Facebook called, 'Coaches Collab' where we talk about things like different training methods or how we're handling the current crisis."
 
Taylor Sandefur, Baseball Assistant Coach:
"Getting organized for the fall non-traditional season by setting-up generic throwing progressions. Identifying things we didn't do a good job of in the shortened 2020 season so we can give that more focus once we reconvene."
 
Remote working for Catamount Athletics staff members has also been a busy time. While Athletics Administrative assistant Kimberly Jamison is simply "trying to remain calm," as she works remotely, WCU's Director of Corporate Sponsorship Michael Ceccarelli has been taking advantage of Evan Barr's #MotivationMonday videos, "watching them like 50 times a day" to get motivated – mostly to assemble furniture for his upcoming and anticipated delivery from the stork. Director of Marketing Ashley Alletto has stayed busy putting together the various sport marketing plans, crossing every T and dotting each I.
 
Here are a few additional thoughts from many of the work-from-home brigade within Catamount Athletics:
 
Dan Gibson, Director of NCAA Compliance:
"Planning out our calendars for the next couple of months, while also building what I call the "bus book" – as if, if I were to get run over by a bus, someone could pick it up and keep our system running."
 
Brittney Holder, Associate Director of the Catamount Club:
"Planning for our home events in the Purple Zone, Paws' Porch, and Catamount Corner, while also looking ahead to our road football game tailgates."
 
Stacey Miller, Associate AD for Student Success / SWA:
"Helping our student-athletes use this time and these circumstances to rise above and become even better leaders."
 
Anita Puerto, Director of Student-Athlete Success:
"Getting through THIS semester with all of the transitions while also planning ahead for our student-athletes that will be taking summer classes online."
 
And in one that hits closer to home, the Catamount Athletics Media Relations staff has been spending a lot of time working on CatamountSports.com since the transition to SIDEARM Sports, while also taking the opportunity to tidy-up historical and record-keeping documents. A lot of time has also been devoted to creating new content for our social media outlets – Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Twitter (@catamounts) and Instagram (wcu_catamounts) – but along with the entire external relations staff, we've also been busy trying to reinvent our job, per se, without having games, matches, and contests on which to report – finding new and creative ways to continue to tell the Catamount story.
 
Under the direction of first-year Athletics Director Alex Gary, the Catamount Athletics Senior Staff has also commissioned a COVID-19 Working Group to examine all of the processes and items that must be addressed as the university and its entities eye a return to normalcy that includes attending sporting events on campus. This group is working with local, state, and federal government, as well as university and UNC System personnel in an effort to best prepare for that special day when we all can "meet at the Creek" in Cullowhee and tailgate before a Catamount home football game.
 
Until then, stay safe, Catamount Nation – take care of yourself and each other!