Princeton University Athletics
Kristen Holmes-Winn Named Head Field Hockey Coach
March 06, 2003 | Field Hockey
March 6, 2003
Kristen Holmes-Winn, whose career includes playing and coaching in the NCAA Final Four and mentoring the finest young field hockey players in the country, has been named head field hockey coach at Princeton University, Director of Athletics Gary Walters announced today.
"We are delighted to appoint Kristen as our new field hockey coach," says Walters. "While her field hockey credentials are impeccable, the search committee was even more impressed with her ability to reflect and articulate the educational values that we embrace at Princeton."
Holmes-Winn comes to Princeton from Champion's Edge, Inc., a company dedicated to improving the quality of instruction and opportunities for field hockey players on the middle school and high school levels. She is also currently serving as the United States Under-16 national coach and on the staff for the U.S. Under-23 national team.
"Princeton has the truest student-athletes," Holmes-Winn says. "These are women who are tremendously talented on the field and gifted in the classroom. I wanted to recruit those students and coach those students and be part of their development for four years. I've had the opportunity to coach many of the athletes at Princeton on the national level. I know the type of athletes and people attracted to Princeton. Holmes-Winn was a three-time All-America as an undergraduate at Iowa, where she was a two-time Big 10 Athlete of the Year and two-time Honda Broderick Award candidate. She was a member of three Big 10 championship teams and three NCAA Final Four teams in field hockey at Iowa, and she also competed as a member of the 1997 Big 10 champion women's basketball team, which made an appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16.
Ironically, her final collegiate field hockey game came against Princeton in the 1996 NCAA quarterfinals, when Princeton defeated Iowa to advance to the Final Four.
After graduating in 1997 with a degree in political science and minors in French and anthropology, Holmes-Winn spent three years as an assistant coach at her alma mater, helping the Hawkeyes to the 1999 Final Four. She also was a member of the U.S. national team from 1994-98 and again in 2000 and has competed internationally many times, including at the 1998 World Cup in the Netherlands and at the 2000 Olympic qualifier in England. She was an alternate for the 1996 Olympic team.
Princeton has won nine straight Ivy League field hockey championships and has made four Final Four appearances and two appearances in the NCAA championship game. Holmes-Winn replaces Beth Bozman, who left Princeton to become the head coach at Duke.
"I'm very excited about college coaching," Holmes-Winn says. "I've missed the process of developing a team and working with them on a daily basis. It's such a challenge, to get a group of individuals to work together on a greater purpose. It's a very exciting challenge for me, and I'm looking forward to it."
Holmes-Winn, a native of Bridgewater, Mass., is married to Matt Winn, a former baseball player at Iowa. He is vice president of Champion's Edge.
Kristen Holmes-Winn
Professional Highlights
President and Owner, Champion's Edge, Inc., 2000-present
Head coach, United States Under-16 national team, 2002-03
Assistant coach, United State Under-23 national team, 2000-03
Assistant coach, University of Iowa, 1998-2000
Athletic Highlights
University of Iowa
three-time All-America
two-time Big 10 Athlete of the Year
two-time Honda Broderick candidate
two-time University of Iowa Athlete of the Year
U.S. national team
member, 1994-98, 2000
1996 Olympic team alternate
1998 World Cup team member
2000 Olympic qualifying team member
36 international caps
Educational Highlights
University of Iowa, Class of 1997
B.A. in political science
minor in French
minor in anthropology