SASKATOON – As an athlete Kendra Finch etched her name into the WolfPack record books, now the former outside hitter for the WolfPack women’s volleyball team is helping to give back to the game and program she loves as a member of the U SPORTS Female Apprentice Coach Program.
Finch is one of 18 former student-athletes selected for the program that aims to increase the number of females in coaching positions across Canadian universities by matching apprentice coaches who have recently graduated with a head coach in one of the 11 U SPORTS-sanctioned sport offerings.
“I feel super honoured that I was chosen to be a part of this program,” said Finch. “I think it’s a really important mission to increase the representation of women in coaching, especially at an elite level. There are a lot of female coaches that volunteer their time but it’s not always easy for them to get an experience like this. I’m excited to see where it takes everybody that is involved.”
Suiting up for the WolfPack from 2015-20, Finch was a key cog in a turnaround of the program that saw the ‘Pack go from 21-81 in the five seasons prior to her arrival to 61-59 in her five seasons with the team. The product of North Vancouver was a conference first team all-star and recipient of the Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service Award in her final season of play.
“It’s good to have someone like Kendra back that was so recently a member of the program,” said WolfPack head coach Chad Grimm. “She understands how things operate here and can pass that along and help develop the student-athletes on a different level and from a different relationship perspective than I would have with the team.”
Finch, who is a graduate of TRU, first got into coaching by helping out her parents – who both work in the school system and very involved with coaching – coach youth volleyball at the age of 13.
“What draws me to coaching is when you can help someone have an ‘aha moment’ when you say something and you can just tell that it clicks for them,” said Finch. “I love having that impact on people and you can just see it change their thought process and hopefully contribute to them in a positive way.”
Returning to the WolfPack as an assistant coach this season, both Finch and Grimm jumped at the opportunity for Finch to re-join the program that made it all the way to the Canada West semifinals in 2019-20.
“It’s definitely cool to see where the program is now compared to where it was when I arrived here so to continue to be a part of that journey is very special,” said Finch. “I have a lot of admiration for Chad and the way that he does things, so it’s cool to learn from him in on a different level as well.”
Finch and the WolfPack start their 2021-22 season this weekend when they travel to Langley for a pair of games with the Trinity Western Spartans on November 5-6.