Article Contributed on: 2/24/2009 8:22:02 AM
GOLDEN, Colo. (Feb. 23, 2009) - Colorado School of Mines head volleyball coach Jamie Skadeland has been selected to receive a Thirty Under 30 award from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, as announced by the AVCA in that organization's February / March 2009 edition of
Coaching Volleyball.
The AVCA selected the top 30 coaches under the age of 30 from all levels of the game (club, high school, junior college, NAIA and NCAA Division I, II and III) to receive its inaugural Thirty Under 30 awards in 2009.
"I am honored and surprised to receive this award," said Skadeland, who begins her second year as the head volleyball coach - and third year overall - at CSM in 2009. "There are many talented coaches that are very deserving of this honor. In this profession, we all put in so many tireless hours to make our programs succeed, so it is always a nice gesture to receive an award like this. I consider myself fortunate to be surrounded by such a supportive staff and also by athletes who give me their best every time we step into the gym. There are a lot of pieces that make up a successful program and I am excited to watch them come together each and every day."
During her first season at the helm in 2008, Skadeland guided the Orediggers to a 19-13 overall record (12-7 RMAC) and led Mines to a berth as the #6 seed in the RMAC Tournament. The Orediggers, whose 19 victories in 2008 were just one shy of tying the single-season program record, advanced into the semifinals of the RMAC Tournament. CSM was ranked as high as eighth in the NCAA Division II Central Region Poll in 2008.
Prior to her arrival at CSM, Skadeland spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Minnesota State University - Mankato, helping to guide the Mavericks to a 17-13 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Division II North Central Regional Tournament in 2006. Skadeland, who earned her master's degree in Sport Psychology at Minnesota State - Mankato, also assisted with on-court instruction, setter training, offensive coaching, recruiting, game management and marketing & promotions during her time with the Mavericks.
As a player at the University of North Dakota (2001-04), Skadeland earned All-Conference accolades as a setter following her junior and senior seasons. Skadeland led the Fighting Sioux to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament in 2002 and 2003 and was named the MVP of the 2004 Northern Extreme Fall Classic. Skadeland departed UND with 2,791 career assists and 1,086 digs, ranking her fifth and 10th, respectively, in those categories in the all-time Fighting Sioux career record book. In 2003, Skadeland established UND's third-highest individual single-season total for assists (1,417) and the sixth-best individual single-season mark for digs (432).
A native of Williston, N.D. (Williston High School), Skadeland also served as the Director and Head Coach of the Omeja Volleyball Club (Mankato, Minn.) from 2005-07. Furthermore, Skadeland was chosen to represent the United States in the 2005 Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia.
For more information, please visit http://athletics.mines.edu or contact CSM Sports Information Director Jeff Duggan at jduggan@mines.edu.