Kirsten Girard joins the LMU women’s rowing staff for the 2020-21 season. She joins the Lions after simultaneously working as the Novice Coach and Assistant Varsity Coach at Harvard University and the Head Novice High School Girls Coach at Arlington Belmont Crew.
“We are very excited to welcome Kirsten to The Bluff,” said Director of Rowing and Women's Head Coach Karl. “She has built a great reputation for herself amongst her peers and colleagues throughout her time spent working with a variety of different boats and experience levels. Her values of being a good teammate and emphasizing accountability, hard work, fairness, and fun will fit in well with our team. Kirsten is conscientious and has great integrity, which will only add to our great community at LMU. We cannot wait to get her started.”
Girard’s coaching experience also includes serving as an Assistant Coach for the Northwest Rowing Center in Vashon Island, Washington, and teaching the basics of rowing as a Learn-to-Row Coach at Stanford University.
Prior to beginning her coaching career, Girard was a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll and two-time Big 12 Academic All-Conference rower for the University of Tennessee, competing in the 1V8 boat for the Vols for all four years. Girard was a member of the Tennessee crew that finished second at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in 2018, and she assisted the Vols in winning three bronze medals in the 1V8 event at the Big 12 Championships.
Girard earned her BS in Education with a concentration in Recreation and Sport Management, and minors in Business and Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Institute for Rowing Leadership graduate program through Community Rowing in Boston which teaches coaches about all aspects of rowing coaching and program management, including subjects in sport science, team management, and leadership.
