October 4, 2021
Kristen Bourne named WSF VanDerveer Fellow
St. Scholastica assistant nordic ski coach Kristen Bourne has been recognized as a for 2021-22. Bourne is one of ten awardees in the nation to receive this coaching fellowship.
The fund is named after legendary Stanford University coach Tara VanDerveer, the all-time winningest coach in college women鈥檚 basketball and an advocate for aspiring female coaches in collegiate sports.
鈥淭he grant aims to get more women in coaching roles and to get more women to stay in coaching roles,鈥� said Bourne. 鈥淯ltimately, with the grant, the hope is to gain experience to eventually become a head coach and I鈥檓 really excited about this opportunity.鈥�
Fellowship recipients are encouraged to attend at least three professional development opportunities, connect with fellow coaches and members of their cohort and provide progress reports to WSF. Recipients are also given mentorship from an established collegiate coach. Maria Stuber, head nordic skiing coach and assistant cross country coach, will serve as Bourne鈥檚 mentor.
Stuber is eager to work with Bourne in defining her career goals and setting her up to succeed as a lifelong coach. She also recognized the influence of women coaches on the College鈥檚 current and future student-athletes.
鈥淭his has an impact on student-athletes, especially women student-athletes to demonstrate that women can lead in the sports environment,鈥� said Stuber. 鈥淪tudent-athletes don鈥檛 always get to see a ton of women in leadership roles.鈥�
Bourne is a former Northern Michigan University standout and four-time NCAA qualifier. She competed for the U.S. World Junior Team and U.S. U23 World Team, and was a First Team All-CCSA choice in 2018. Prior to St. Scholastica, Bourne trained and raced competitively with Lyn Ski and Team Obos in Oslo, Norway. During the summer of 2020, she was an intern assistant for Green Racing Project based in Vermont, where she assisted with biathlon and junior level training.
