In BRSN’s final spotlight, we got an opportunity to speak with Wendy Schaenen ’79 Head Coach of Volleyball, Trudy Vande Berg, about her love for the sport and her drive to instill this passion within her players.
Coach Vande Berg has served the Big Red program as an assistant since 2012 before being named head coach back in March. In those three seasons, the volleyball team steadily improved in each consecutive year after going 5-21 the season prior to adding Vande Berg to the staff.
Before joining the Cornell team, Vande Berg played collegiately at UW-Milwaukee, where she was selected to the first-team All-Horizon League. She moved on to coaching and gained crucial experience at the collegiate level, including roles at North Florida, Wisconsin, Duke, and Iowa State. At each of these stops, she had a key role in both coaching and recruiting. Vande Berg also had a successful stint with Team Iowa Ice of the Premier Volleyball League, where she led her team to a league championship.
Vande Berg’s deep love for volleyball is clearly evident through her long coaching career. Now, she hopes to express this passion to her new team as head coach. “I love this sport. I hope that it translates to the team, even when the school year is getting tough. I want them to use volleyball and their team as an outlet,” said Vande Berg.
When asked about the strengths of her team, Coach Vande Berg pointed to the team’s chemistry. She mentioned that this was crucial for building confidence in one another’s skills and will contribute to overall team success. Ultimately, Vande Berg’s main goal for the year is, “To get better every day and learn from every match — good or bad.”
Comentários