Three
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Questi ns CSB and SJU faculty and staff answer questions in their area of expertise By Mike Killeen
Athletic and recreational opportunities are important to students at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. How important? When asked on the 2011 admitted student survey (specifically looking at students who went on to enroll at CSB and SJU) how important athletic or recreational opportunities were to enrolling at CSB and SJU, 81.6 percent of admitted students at SJU said they were either “very important” or “somewhat important,” while 76.3 percent of admitted students at CSB said they were either “very important” or “somewhat important.” Steve Kimble, coach of the CSB soccer team, and Bob Alpers, coach of the SJU golf team, were each asked three questions about athletic and recreational programs at their schools.
Steve Kimble 2011 turned out to be a “sweet” season for Steve Kimble. Kimble led the Blazers to the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2011 NCAA Division III National Tournament. The Blazers also captured both the regular season and playoff Min-
nesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles. For his efforts, he was named the MIAC women’s soccer Coach of the Year and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Mondo Regional Coach of the Year. His success wasn’t limited to the Blazers. Kimble coached the USA Division III Women’s Soccer All-Star team in a four-game tour of Brazil in May, posting a 1-2-1 record. Before coming to CSB, Kimble was the head girls’ soccer coach at Brainerd (Minn.) High School from 2002-08. The Warriors made five consecutive appearances in the Section 8AA title game and twice advanced to the state Class AA tournament. The 1999 Saint John’s University graduate was a decathlete for Coach Tim Miles during his collegiate career, and was a twotime national tournament qualifier and an All-America selection. Kimble, who also serves as an assistant athletic director (events and promotions) at CSB, was asked about how CSB prepares student-athletes for the future. CSB coaches are specifically trained to assist women with both athletic development and personal growth. How do you as a coach foster both athletic development and personal growth in your student-athletes? I’ve been fortunate to have some success coaching female athletes. A large part of it is the ability to build confidence and work ethic in the girls and women on my teams. I see a lack of confidence in many young ladies, especially within athletics. Many of
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my athletes come in with a real fear of failure. That fear leads to conservative athletic performance which leads to ... well, nothing. My approach is to somehow get the women I coach to be comfortable, or at least willing, to put themselves out there, to challenge their capacity, to find pride and confidence in what they accomplish. Then repeat the process until they develop an unbreakable sense of self-belief. If I had to pick one quote to live by, it would be Aristotle’s “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” That’s been the underlying life lesson in sports forever. I’m just making an honest effort to coach to it. What lifetime skills have studentathletes told you they’ve learned through athletics that have helped them in their professional careers? I’ve had a lot of athletes stay connected and come back to reconnect. That says, to me, they found some value in our experience together. If they left with anything, I hope it’s a powerful confidence in their individual ability, and an elevated standard for how they go about life, career and family. I can attribute where I am right now professionally and personally to some very special high school and college coaches. CSB President MaryAnn Baenninger touts CSB’s high quality academic and student development programs and the sense of community when coaches ask her to help recruit a student-athlete. What qualities do you tout when you are recruiting a student-athlete to attend CSB? The College of Saint Benedict will offer a college experience unlike any other