Bell Cow leaders provide us a model from whom we can learn deeply and meaningfully about coaching. The term “Bell Cow” is not just a catchy reference to Wisconsin’s proud dairy heritage, but a useful metaphor for leadership.
Tradition has it that farmers have been known place a large bell around the neck of the “lead cow” in a herd. Knowing that the other cows tend to congregate around the lead cow, the herd can easily be found by the farmer, even in the biggest of fields or roughest of terrains. The farmer listens for the clang of the bell and knows that by finding the Bell Cow, they’ll find the whole herd.
What’s interesting to note about bell cows is that the other cows naturally follow them. They watch, learn from, and follow the bell cows. Bell Cows pace the herd and model the way to go. In a similar fashion, we can each benefit from “Bell Cows” in our own lives. We can observe, listen to, learn from, and in some cases, emulate leaders we admire. Bell Cow leaders.
The Wisconsin Coaching Project is identifying and honoring several Bell Cows throughout Wisconsin and beyond. These leaders change lives. They grow the good around them. We choose Bell Cow leaders as concrete models from whom we can learn to grow the good in our communities through sport. Kathy Cemensky Allen, a Hall of Famer who resides in Baraboo, WI, was recognized as a Bell Cow leader. She was a trailblazer for girls in sport and her everyday leadership made its mark on all those around her.
On Friday, September 29, Josie Schaefer, a Wisconsin Athletics Track and Field All-American and Baraboo native, presented the Bell Cow Award to Coach Allen. Josie’s words exemplify what it means to be a Bell Cow leader and why Kathy Cemensky Allen is a leader for us to follow:
“Hello Everyone, thanks for being here this Friday Morning.
I am here on behalf of BIOS The Badger Inquiry on Sport research group at UW Madison – and there is an initiate called the Wisconsin Coaching Project that aims to identify, honor and learn from Bell Cows
- We Define Bell Cows as models we can reflect deeply and meaningfully from = they are the leaders that others know to congregate around, and follow to stay on the right track
- They set the pace and model behavior for the herd – in this spirit, the Wisconsin Coaching Project has identified and honored coaches across the state who embody growing the good of sport, doing things the right away and trailblazing a path for the rest of us to follow
Kathy Cemensky Allen is certainly a leader who is much more than a trailblazer, influencer and trendsetter. – Let me tell you what I mean
Kathy grew up in a competitive household, constantly playing and jockeying for top positions with her brothers and sisters in Minnesota. Growing up with normal competition, imagine going to junior and senior high school and having to watch your brothers go have fun and you only getting to play on Portage’s softball team because they had to have 2 girls on it. At BHS she had to sit out because girls weren’t allowed to play other than 3 on 3 basketball in gym class and a few track events her senior year – like the softball throw instead of shot put or discus – she held that record for quite a while by the way- Reasons like health and ability were reasons for sidelining girls – but Kathy knew this was a complete fallacy –
Imagine knowing you could play and succeed and being told you could not and then seizing the opportunity your younger self dreamed of – an incomprehensible feat in itself-
Kathy said her and her teammates were like kids in a candy shop – this is a landscape I want all the young people in the room to think about – how we take for granted the opportunities and entitlement we have to spaces, gym time and resources – because people like Kathy Cemensky Allen fought for them – and proved women could.
Kathy went on to play volleyball, basketball, and softball at Winona State – with no prior organized sports. Many girls only playing half court or 3 on 3 basketball having limited skills made them all have to learn a whole new game. Kathy competed at the highest level after being sidelined for her entire childhood – what a feat –
Kathy knew the importance of decision making and having a seat at the table – The head of the PE department at Winona was a woman who fought for the space to compete – showing Kathy how it is done and how women should be entitled to these spaces. Yet these women never played, or coached organized sports so Kathy and her teammates were really figuring things out for themselves – coaching each other.
On top of learning and coaching a group of athletes in a new landscape, Kathy and her teammates had to fight what to wear to class when administrators tried to mandate skirts to class.
She was already impacting the athletic landscape for women as the Women’s Intramural Intercollegiate Chairperson and later Student Athletic Director making sure women in the intercollegiate and intramural sports had space to practice by fighting for resources in the newly growing female athletics landscape – oh yeah – all while she was captaining and performing MVP duties for some of the 10 varsity letters she won at Winona.
This is just the beginning of the Kathy Cemensky Allen Story – she knew her love of athletics would last a lifetime and received her degree in physical education- everyday making the space for and empowering young people- young women to compete, be strong and develop. While Kathy would never admit the seismic impact she has had
– because that was just the right thing to do at the time –
It needs to be understood how many lives Kathy positively impacted – her teammates, her students before even starting her historic coaching career. As we heard Kathy started coaching with the passing of Title 9 in 1972 – previously only allowing girls to participate in things like cheerleading or gymnastics. This new landscape of fighting for space, jerseys, rights to gyms – all these obstacles in the way of women practicing and playing – Jim and Kathy recall the early women’s teams wearing the same jerseys for all three seasons of the year
Kathy with the support of Athletic Director Harry Sulutous and the growing distaste from the stuck-in-the-past decision makers – Kathy fought for her teams to play, talked to other coaches, attended clinics and always tried to keep improving what she was doing to provide the best information to her teams.
A hallmark of her career as an Athletic Director and her own teams – reflecting on what went well, what didn’t work, what can we do better – every year always striving to improve.
We saw her years of dedication, conference and regional championships – her iconic diplomatic handling of conflict, I would also add how she showing up for kids as Athletic Director, as a coach – showing kids what they’re doing is important- the standards she helped athletes set for themselves in this new landscape, the goals and improvement seen each season – the development and moral compass growing in the right direction each day. When interviewing Kathy for this award and hearing the stories, energy and passion she had and has for athletics, creating opportunities for the girls and justice – showing girls how to conduct and dress respectfully to show that what they were doing was respectable and they should act and dress that was – – perspective keeping echoes as one of Kathy’s great skills from that conversation
Kathy took to each landscape her perspective from the sideline- from not getting a chance and – her perspective competing at a high level in new landscapes – her perspective around hearing even the smallest voices and the value of empowerment – the perspective that made her address conflict by hearing both sides and finding a productive solution. Kathy met athletes where they were at and tried to make each leveled athlete feel successful where they are at. This comes from assessing worth on effort – not necessarily skill.
Kathy spent so much time and energy trying to make the girls athletic experience as good as it could be – my mom recalls the most special gift from a coach was a scrapbook of all the newspaper clippings about the team being presented to each senior at the end of season banquet – Kathy tried to do this for every one of her teams – 19 varsity volleyball teams and decades of basketball and softball
- Personally, Kathy has demonstrated these values when coaching my mom who coached me and reffing for me in high school – I wish I knew then – just what it meant to be on a court with the women who made my life so easy – made me never think twice about if I belonged on the court or if I was good enough to be there – She taught my mom and me that – so thank you Kathy for all your energy that has impacted women’s sports in the Midwest and especially here at Baraboo high school – we will never know what athletics would have looked like without you.
Kathy has been recognized at Winona State’s Hall of fame,
Baraboo JC’s Outstanding Young Wisconsinite
Baraboo School District’s teacher of the year
Sat as WIAA Athletic Lesion and Baraboo’s women in athletics committees,
And as many of you remember has the most prestigious middle school award for athletes – the Kathy Allen award for two kids who model what a student athlete should be each year – among the long list of accolades and appreciation this community and the State feels for you – I’d like to add Bell Cow Leader from the University of Wisconsin’s Badger Inquiry on Sport to this list
– Congratulations Kathy and from the bottom of my heart and from my colleagues at BIOS and the Wisconsin Coaching Project Maria Dehnert and Dr. Peter Miller we would like to say – thank you for what you did for sports, the time and effort you made – and for all the lessons you have passed along to the many many lives you have touched – all of us here included
Let’s give it up for Kathy.”
