Two new sports are coming to Lindenwood’s campus next fall.  

Last Tuesday, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Brad Wachler announced that Lindenwood will be sponsoring two new sports teams: Olympic weightlifting and archery.

Olympic weightlifting will be returning to campus as a part of the athletic department after being offered as a student life sport. 

The Lindenwood Olympic weightlifting team had success as a student life sport, winning four National Championships from 2014-2018. 

According to the Lindenwood athletics webpage, the team will be led by Trent Crain who will serve as head coach. Crain was previously an assistant coach for the team from 2015-19. 

The Lindenwood archery team will start its first season of competition in fall 2021. The team will be led by two coaches, Derek Schaub and Steve Wolk. 

Wolk said that they plan to start the season with a minimum of 15 students made of both men and women. 

Wolk has high expectations for the first season of the new archery team. 

“Our expectations for the first year is to lay a strong foundation that will put us as one of the top collegiate programs in the country in a few short years,” Wolk said. 

According to Wolk, he and Schaub are prepared for anything that may come up in the first season. 

“There will definitely be a learning curve, but I anticipate no major obstacles that myself or Coach Derek Schaub have not already dealt with,” Wolk said. 

The coaching duo have a combined 25 years of coaching experience at Lindenwood, with Wolk spending his first five years on the staff of the shotgun team.

“We both know what it takes to get the job done,” Wolk said. 

Wolk and Schaub have spent their time making sure to make the right professional connections and certify their other coaches in order to be prepared for the first season of archery. 

“The team staff has already taken classes and testing to get their Level 2 coaching certifications. The majority of the preparation right now is focusing on recruiting,” Wolk said. “A lot of the needed professional relationships have already been established, such as that with the St. Louis Bow Hunters Club, and some other potential team sponsors.” 

According to Wolk, they have also set an anticipated schedule for the competitions that will span the spring and fall semesters as a part of the first season. 

“The word is already getting out that we are here, and that we plan on being successful,” Wolk said. “This is a fantastic opportunity to introduce Lindenwood University to a lot more high school kids that may not have known of us prior to the startup of this team.” 

There will be scholarship opportunities available through the archery program as well. Lindenwood will be the first Missouri school to offer any type of archery scholarship, according to Wolk. 

With two new sports coming to campus in the fall, there will be even more opportunities to get involved in the athletics department. 

Students interested in the Olympic weightlifting team can contact Trent Crain by email at [email protected].  

Students in the new archery team can contact Steve Wolk at [email protected] or Derek Schaub at [email protected].