The Interview!

Jen Kerns attended Cd’A High (1992-93) and Lake City High (1994-95) and was an outstanding athlete in soccer and basketball playing on several Idaho State Championship teams. She was the Idaho H.S. Gatorade Player of the year in 1995 and was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame. She attended WSU on a Basketball Scholarship, graduated in 2000, and went on to play professional Basketball in Europe for 10 years. She recently became The Head Youth Coordinator for the Club BG74 and The Head Women’s Basketball Coach.

Reporter, Mara Münder.


Interview:

How come you play Basketball? Did you try other sports?

I play basketball because I enjoy the fact that it is a dynamic team sport and that it is both physically and mentally challenging.

I did play both soccer & fast pitch softball when I was younger, through out my entire childhood. Playing soccer was a big advantage for me once I began playing basketball because of the footwork and other aspects of the game including the overview of the entire court/field.

What do you think is so fascinating about sports/your sport? How come you did it professionally?

I think sports in general are fascinating because I could always find some way in every sport to challenge myself. I find basketball fascinating because it is very fast & dynamic and it is a huge challenge to get all 5 players out on the court to play & work together. Also, I found early in my childhood that I had the ability to make my teammates better and this was very rewarding for me as a person.

I played basketball professionally because it was an opportunity to continue to learn about the sport itself as well as playing in different countries, cultures and environments than I had before, this was very interesting for me. I also played professionally because I love basketball, it is my passion and because it is so fun! I always knew I wanted to coach and I wanted to expose myself to as many different types of basketball as possible as a player so that I could build my own philosophy and take what worked in different parts of the world and make it my own as a coach. Playing professionally in Europe gave me the opportunity to travel and experience new cultures and meet different people around the world; this is more valuable to me than money.

Do/did you have role models? Did they motivate you?

I had a couple role models growing up. A soccer player, the best woman player in the history of the sport, her name is Mia Hamm (sorry Birgit Prinz). I watched what she did and I emulated it and it worked! I noticed the impact she had on her sport and on the people around her and this made a big impression on me. I also noticed how much respect she had from the men’s players & and spectators and this was very nice for me to see. Michael Jordan was also a role model for me to follow because of his pure dominance in his sport. This was truly inspiring to watch and it was an incredible source of motivation for me.


Who supported you in doing your sport, and how?

My parents supported me as much as they could and my coaches & the community (city) supported me as well. I am one of 9 kids so my parents had 8 others to support, they gave me everything they could to allow me to go forward and succeed....they knew the importance of having good shoes on their children and I thank them for that!
When there was a tournament or a national camp that my family could not afford to send me to, my coaches got involved with the wonderful and generous Coeur d'Alene community and found sponsors to help me compete. As far as my education of the actual knowledge of the sport, that support came from my High School Coaches, Dave Fealko and Dave Stockwell. As well as my WSU Coaches, Harold Rhodes & his staff and Jenny Przekwas & her staff.

I feel like my basketball education and support I received in High School and in University have prepared me very well for my future.

Are there differences in the support of sports between men and women?

Of course there are some differences regarding the support between men’s and women’s sports, especially here in Europe. I would say that the difference is not so big in America as it is here in Europe.
Growing up as a child the difference was so big it was not comparable however, in the end of 1970’s & in the 1980’s this changed drastically. In 1995 I was graduating from high school and deciding where to attend University so that I could continue my education & my sports career. I chose Washington State University because of the influence that University had on Equal Gender Opportunity & Equal Gender Rights concerning the work place, school and sports. This law that was passed through government, it is called Title 9 (Title IX) and I am so proud to have gone to this university who passed this law in America because it affected every College & University System along with other Institutions across the United States of America! This law meant that whatever the men were offered, so were the women. However the men were treated, so were the women and if there were certain jobs or sport’s teams offered to men at the University, they were offered to the women as well.
This drastically changed the difference between the support of men and women’s sports and the ideals/mentality of the American people.

Here is a great article on Gender Equality in Sports from Washington State University, check it out:

http://wsm.wsu.edu/s/index.php?id=281

I have been in Europe since 2000 and the difference between the support of men’s and women’s sports are the equivalent of America in the 1970’ and 1980’s. Even down to the normal, everyday mentality between men and women….and of course this spills over into the sports world.
In saying this, I have lived in 7 different countries in both Eastern and Western Europe and Germany is way ahead of most of the other countries I have lived in and is much closer to the American way of supporting both genders in sports.
However, sports are drastically different in America and Europe because of the culture, traditions, ideals, priorities and several other factors. The American people put A LOT of money and interest into sports in general but they also reap A LOT of benefits through their sports and this in turn, benefits many people, institutes, programs, cities and the economy.

I will say that it is quite difficult after growing up in America and enjoying the comfort of Equal Gender Opportunities and then coming to Europe and having to deal with the stark difference in support of men’s and women’s sports. I have found this much easier in Germany than other countries in Europe that I have lived in.


What do you think about the female role in our society today and in your sport? Do you feel discriminated against or in a disadvantage at times?

Overall the role of females in society today can be looked at in a couple different ways. First is the “housewife” or the “stay-at-home-mom” which is still a prevalent role today. There are many mothers that stay at home and care for the kids or just the house and their man, not necessarily for the same reasons we had this role 40 years or even 30 years before.

Second, you can talk about the role of a career woman or a “working woman” and the benefits of this role stemming from open-minded people in society and equal opportunity situations in government and in society. I think our institutions and education programs have become better and have offered the same courses to women as they do to men. Therefore women have the same opportunities to work as men.

Honestly I do not feel discriminated against at all here in Germany. I feel like Germany is one of the world leaders in this area. Angela Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany. In 2007 Merkel was also President of the European Council and she became the second woman to chair the G8, after Margaret Thatcher.

Here is an interesting site from all Women Presidents since 1945: (interestingly enough, many of these countries were communist countries at the time of a female ruler)

http://www.terra.es/personal2/monolith/00women2.htm

Third, I think it is important for the Military in every country around the world to allow women the right to defend their country.

I never feel like I am at a disadvantage living and working here in Germany because I do not look for these situations. I think many times there are women who want to be treated equal to men but don’t want to put in the same hard work or the same hours. I feel like when women look for these situations it is always possible to find something negative. However, if you go about your everyday life and you are an educated woman and you work hard I believe women can have a very nice life here in Germany, as well as in America. If something does come up which is a negative situation and the woman is educated then she will have the intelligence to find her way out of this problem and the knowledge to get to a “better place” for herself.

Our society is considered very emancipated, is it really? Why or in which way?


Emancipation is a term used to describe various efforts to obtain political rights or equality, or more generally in discussion of such matters.

I believe we do live in an emancipated society, especially when you look at living in Germany compared to many other countries around the world. I do think though, that this is a very relative question because you can find societies in other lands, which are more emancipated than Germany, and societies in other parts of the world which are much worse off than Germany. I think with women like, Tarja Halonen (The President of the Republic of Finland), Angela Merkel (The German Chancellor), & Hillary Clinton (Secretary of State, Chief Foreign Affairs Adviser) we have some very strong and intelligent examples of emancipation.

What are your wishes concerning emancipation for Professional Sports?

My wishes are that people in the future will be open-minded enough and can notice that both women and men are doing the same work and should be paid equally. That the amount of sweat and hard work that women are putting into their practices and jobs is the same hours as what men are putting into their practices and jobs.

It is interesting that many of the American men athletes over here are wondering why there is such a big difference and they also feel it is a bit unfair….but it is because of the way we were brought up. I must also say that we Americans look at each other differently than European sportsmen do. An American man looks at a woman playing sports as an “Athlete” not as a “women athlete” or a “woman basketball player”, just as an athlete and this is met with great respect from the women athletes. My experience here in Europe and in Germany as well is that every thing is divided with “mens” and “womens” and is heavily titled. I find this sad that there is such a great divide coming from the sponsors, to the clubs, the fans and all the way to the male athletes using the same facilities and playing in the same leagues. My wish is that someday the same funding and support is given to both genders in all sports throughout the world.

Why do you think it is important that women play sports and that they get supported?

I think it is really important that girls play sports because most importantly, it is healthy and it leads to a healthy lifestyle. Secondly, when young girls are given the opportunity to play sports, it helps them to build a great deal of self confidence along with learning how to work with many different types of people and if they play a team sport then they learn about how to work together in a team. Also, young people who play sports learn about time management and how to organize their schedules in order to fit in their practices into their daily schedules with school and home life. As well as how to deal in stressful situations and performing in front of people other then their family and friends. I think it is really important that these sports programs are supported because of these benefits stated above. When young people, boys and girls are given the opportunity to play sports, these benefits mentioned above are qualities that stay with them forever, life-long qualities.

Do you watch other female sports?

I watch sports whenever I get the chance. I don’t care if it is men or women’s sports. I enjoy watching sports in general because of the passion and the artistic value that comes from the athletes and from the sport itself. I really enjoy to watch WSU & BG74's Taylor Rochestie play, and I have the chance every week live here in Göttingen, Germany...talk about artistic!

This link is very interesting and was just sent to me by a friend, thanks Kim!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/as-girls-become-women-sports-pay-dividends/?emc=eta1