UTM rifle alumna is back and finishing her first year as head rifle coach.
M.J. Vowell, a 1988 graduate of UTM, has come out of retirement to start a new career as the Division I head rifle coach. Vowell came to UTM in the fall of 1986 to join the rifle team.
Upon graduation, she was commissioned into the army and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. Soon after her retirement, she got a newsletter from her head coach Bob Beard, informing alumni of the rifle program and saying that if a new coach was not found soon the program would be cut.
Vowell immediately jumped on this opportunity to give back to the team that gave her so much during her undergraduate years.
“Being a member of this team instilled a good work ethic, discipline, working with others towards a common goal, leadership and follower-ship,” said Vowell.
She contacted Beard only two weeks after he was asked to come out of retirement to save the team.
Beard was very happy that Vowell came back to her alma mater to follow in his footsteps.
“She is an excellent fit for our team. She and I have similar backgrounds and think a lot alike. The feedback I have gotten from team members and parents has been very positive.”
Vowell had a very positive first year. Team members have grown to love her and appreciate that she has stepped in to save their team. Upperclassmen and underclassmen have both adjusted very well to her.
Freshman Celia Gelpey said, “She has made the transition into college shooting easy! She has made my freshman year at UTM much easier than I thought it would be!”
Vowell’s plans for the future of the team involve a lot of progress. She hopes to move the team up in NCAA ranking into a Top-8 standing and to eventually have a fully electronic target system equipped in the range. She also plans to continue the good practices handed down by Coach Beard, instill the desire to be the very best and continue to recruit outstanding new student athletes.
As for Beard, he has plans to settle back into retirement.
“Having turned 74 last month, I am at the point where I need to begin cutting back on my time with the team and in the office, but I plan to continue to assist on an ‘on call’ basis whenever needed.”
Vowell is very appreciative that Beard stayed on to help her with the transition.
“The transition has been very easy due to Coach Beard volunteering to stay on this year and walk me through the season. This has made all the difference for the team and myself. There is much information behind the scenes to learn, and the knowledge of key events, which occur through the year that I was previously not familiar with or had to re-learn.”
For her first season, Vowell has made large steps of progress for this almost-cut program. She has learned a lot and made a difference in the lives of many shooters, just as Beard has done for her.
“I enjoy interacting with each team member. Each one is different in their personalities, level of shooting and plans for the day/week/month/future! Each and every one of my team members have great potential and I am looking forward to their future successes.”
