The School of Kinesiology offers a 15-credit Coaching Minor / Coaching Certification program available to all University of Minnesota students. This was the perfect addition to Maria (Martje) Oostra’s schedule. Oostra is a non-traditional student returning to her education after completing a bachelor’s and master’s degree before getting married and having four children. 

Oostra, her husband Sander, and their four children, Gijs (16 years old), David (14), Joeri (10), and Sophie (8), have lived in Minnesota for the past six years. Oostra and her husband are both Dutch and they met in Belgium. She was partially through a second master’s degree in philosophy when her husband’s work called him to France. After several years of traveling and living in different countries they ended up in Minnesota. 

“My kids are older now,” Oostra said. “So, I decided to go to the U of M to finally finish my philosophy degree.” 

In addition to being a lifelong learner, Oostra is also a lifelong runner. Despite completing only three official marathons, Oostra has qualified for Boston twice. Her new goal is to run an ultra-marathon race, which is any distance race longer than a marathon. She has her sights set specifically on a 100 mile race. 

“I have always been a runner,” Oostra said. “I love distance running; it’s a mental health thing. Especially after I was in a car accident where I broke my pelvis area, I became even more interested in the mechanics of movement, and the mind/body connection.” 

Oostra said it was her connection with the running community that led her to consider the Coaching Certification program. She met with Christopher Lundstrom, PhD, a sport and exercise science lecturer and Director of the School’s Sport and Exercise Science MEd and Physical Activity and Health MEd programs. 

“I was interested in perhaps the master’s or PhD program,” Oostra said. “But, I already have a master’s degree, and I’m actually getting my BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) right now, because I love to paint. So, I knew I wasn’t interested in applying just yet. I was looking for something that would offer me a glimpse into the philosophy of coaching but that was also very flexible.” 

The flexibility and compact size of the coaching program is what convinced Oostra to add it to her BFA and philosophy degree pursuit. 

“I knew I was interested in coaching, the coaching of running, coaching ideas, and also how coaching is seen,” Oostra said. “Especially now that my older children are interested in running and skiing, I’m essentially coaching them in a non-professional way and I wanted to learn more. It feels like there is a big gap in coaching, especially in children’s activities. It is very performance-oriented versus process-oriented.” 

Oostra has taken one coaching course so far, but she said she feels like she has already received “the best of the best” in her first course KIN 5136. 

“I’ve only taken one class, but it was with Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi,” Oostra said. “I knew her work before taking the class, so it was really cool to learn from her. Coaching in the United States really has a stigma of being very male-dominated. Having her explain the industry and talk about her research made me realize, ‘Hey, there is a role for women here, and it’s not too late for me to consider it.’”

Oostra said she’s excited to continue taking courses to complete her coaching minor, and that she’s specifically interested in looking further into the meaning behind phrases like “the art of coaching” and “coaching philosophy.” Considering the connection to her other areas of study, this makes perfect sense! 

“I’m really interested in exploring the connection between art and coaching,” Oostra said. “I think there is something to be found there.” 

For those considering the program, Oostra said that for her it was the flexibility of the program, her ability to tailor the courses to her interests, and the fact that the program is based heavily in science that drew her in. 

“I’ve looked at other certifications out there,” Oostra said. “They all seemed to be very technical. I like how this program really digs into the human aspect of coaching, the people and teams that you are coaching, not just the very mechanical parts of coaching.” 

As Oostra moves through her coursework she hopes to use her skills to work with her children. Her daughter would like to participate in Girls on the Run in the future and her son is interested in both running and skiing. 

Thanks for sharing your story with us Maria! We can’t wait to see where your studies take you.