![Jacob Wells and Daughter]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1623697900/perkiomen/erjserv52f71pjc5ibjz/jacobwells.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1623697900/perkiomen/erjserv52f71pjc5ibjz/jacobwells.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1623697900/perkiomen/erjserv52f71pjc5ibjz/jacobwells.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1623697900/perkiomen/erjserv52f71pjc5ibjz/jacobwells.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1623697900/perkiomen/erjserv52f71pjc5ibjz/jacobwells.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1623697900/perkiomen/erjserv52f71pjc5ibjz/jacobwells.jpg","width":2200}])
As Perkiomen School continues to elevate the quality of its athletics programs for boys and girls, the school announced the hiring of Jacob Wells, a new running coach who will serve as the cross-country head coach, coach track and field, and teach history. Coach Wells comes to Perkiomen from BASIS Scottsdale, a charter school in Scottsdale, AZ, where he worked as a teacher and coach since 2015. Wells founded the school's cross-country program in the fall of 2017. The program quickly became very competitive in the league, with individual athletes placing at the league championships every year, and one athlete winning the individual league championship in the fall of 2019.
Wells was also the head track and field coach at BASIS Scottsdale since the spring of 2019, after serving one season as an assistant coach. In three seasons, the BASIS Scottsdale track team won two league championships and individual athletes set multiple league records in sprinting and distance events. Wells won the league's "Coach of the Year" awards for the men's and women's teams in 2019, and the women's team in 2021.
At Perkiomen, Wells is excited to combine his coaching and teaching experience at a school with such a long tradition and history of athletic competition. He looks forward to working with Perkiomen’s established cross-country and track and field programs, helping to strengthen the teams as they take on a greater presence in the school’s culture.
Wells has a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Alabama and earned a master’s in history from Washington State University. He ran cross-country and track throughout high school, specializing in the 5k, 1 mile, and 2-mile, and has since continued long-distance running in competition ranging from open track meets to marathon running.
Coach Wells is ready to work with students who are experienced runners as well as those who are new to cross-country. They will all make progress and persevere together.
“Cross country is a sport that can create an unbreakable community of athletes,” says Wells. “The collective experience will create bonds and friendships that transcend the cross-country season. Cross-country will help students learn time management, proper scheduling, and self-control. It will also promote collaboration, team-wide support, and emotional regulation, all of which are important qualities for young athletes and students to be successful in later endeavors.”