Blue Knights Volleyball Coach, Jen Bowman, Inducted into Osseo Senior High Hall of Fame
Bowman sisters to enter OSH Athletic Hall of Fame together
Jen and Kelly led Osseo to volleyball and basketball prominence
By Bob San sunpressnews@ecm-inc.com Aug 30, 2018
Jen and Kelly Bowman were two of the most dominant volleyball players in Osseo High School's history. Their athleticism, brilliant all-around skills and competitive spirits led Osseo to many years of dominance and success in volleyball. They were also standout basketball players who led Osseo to success on the court. For their achievements, the Bowman sisters have been named to the Osseo High's 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame.
They will join baseball coaches Keith Lorenson and Ken Thompson, football and track star Dennis Heinen, track and basketball standout Julian Morris and wrestling great Tom Tripp at an induction ceremony at at halftime of the Orioles' home football game against Totino Grace Oct. 5.
Jennifer Bowman
Bowman attended Osseo High from 1997-2000 and was a standout in volleyball and basketball. In volleyball, she was a four-time letter-winner and captain of the 1999 team. Bowman was named all conference four times and was second team all metro and all state in 1998, and first team all metro and all state in 1999. She finished her career with 932 kills, 1282 assists, and 268 aces, and wen to to play at Northern Illinois University where she was named MAC player of the year as a sophomore and was first team all conference, finishing fourth in the nation in assists. Bowman transferred to the University of Minnesota and played with Kelly on the Gopher team that took second in the NCAA tournament in 2004.
" I am truly humbled and honored for being selected for the OSH Hall of Fame, and I am thrilled to be entering the Hall fo Fame with my sister, Kelly," Jen said. "There couldn't be anyone more deserving of this honor than her. There are so many people who made my career in volleyball and basketball possible, including my parents, family, coaches, and friends. I am truly blessed to have amazing people in my life and without their continued love and support, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I thank them from the bottom of my heart and want to share this honor with them."
There are so many great memories for Jen at OHS from volleyball and basketball, but there are a couple that stand out.
"I will never forget running the 400 out on the track each year for volleyball tryouts," she recalled. "Each year, I had to beat my sister's time and have one of the fastest times on the team. I think she beat me once by a second or two. It was how we started the season every year, and marked the beginning of something that I loved doing (playing volleyball). It was also the chance for us, myself and Kelly, to show our extremely competitive sides and our will to be the best."
Another memory that stands out for Jen was when the Orioles were getting ready for their region final against Armstrong in her senior year (1999).
"Dave Thorpe, Osseo's beloved basketball coach and mentor, organized a way to get two full bus loads of student fans to come to the championship match," Jen recalled. "We started our warm-ups in a relatively empty gym, and then the buses showed up and the fans piled in, and I remember this amazing feeling of incredible support and a huge rush of adrenaline of having so many friends and peers to cheer us on. That was the largest crowd we had to one of our matches in all the years I played volleyball at Osseo."
On top of it all, Jen felt extremely fortunate to play volleyball with sister Kelly at Osseo and then again at the University of Minnesota.
"Having those experiences with her is something I will always treasure," she said.
After college, Jen continued playing volleyball whenever she got the chance. She competed in six AVP Beach Volleyball events and played in hundreds of adult volleyball indoor, sand, and grass tournaments. She was an USAV Adult Open National Champion with Kelly during USAV Adult National Championships in 2005. She was also inducted into the Waupaca Boatride Hall of Fame (the largest grass volleyball tournament in the nation) in 2016. She won the women's open grass championship seven years in a row, and the women's open sand championship three years in a row.
Jen also started her coaching career while playing volleyball. She was the volleyball volunteer assistant coach at the U of M in 2005, an assistant coach at St. Thomas University, and Augsburg University and coached high school volleyball at New Life Academy and Bloomington Kennedy. She coached at M1, Armour VBC, Blazers VBC, Vital Volleyball Club, and now with CORE Volleyball club.
Bowman is currently in her fourth season as the head women's volleyball coach at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount.
"Coaching is my passion, and I feel so fortunate to call it my career," she said.
For the complete article, you can visit this link: https://www.hometownsource.com/press_and_news/sports/bowman-sisters-to-enter-osh-athletic-hall-of-fame-together/article_a4551a58-aba8-11e8-b375-377b6b7790cc.html
