It is with great sadness that the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) announces the passing of founding head coach Colleen Kausrud from pulmonary-related complications early Sunday. In addition to her tremendous contribution to the NCATA, Kausrud also served as Head Acrobatics & Tumbling Coach at Azusa Pacific University (APU) since 2010.
"The entire Acrobatics & Tumbling community grieves the loss of Colleen Kausrud, one of our founding coaches who built a legacy mentoring young women in competition and in life at Azusa Pacific,” said NCATA President Dr. Renee Baumgartner. “Her student-athletes were at the center of everything she did. She was an incredible role model who demonstrated the lessons she taught her student athletes – lessons of strength, collaboration, and service to others. The family atmosphere she created has resulted in an outstanding program that will carry her legacy forward.
“All of us at the NCATA share our condolences with her family, her student-athletes, and all who cherished her as we did."
Kausrud is the only head coach in the history of the Azusa Pacific program, which started competing in the NCATA in 2010 as one of six founding programs within the sport.
“We are heartbroken by the sudden passing of Colleen,” said APU Athletics Director Gary Pine. “Our department has lost a loyal friend, outstanding coach, and most importantly, a devoted woman of God. Her loss will be felt far beyond the Azusa Pacific community for she was an absolute joy.”
In 11 years leading Azusa Pacific, Kausrud guided the Cougars to NCATA semifinals appearances seven times, including a run of four consecutive NCATA semifinals from 2012-15. She was named NCATA Coach of the Year in 2013. A year later, she led the program to a national runner-up finish at the 2014 NCATA National Championships.
"As a young woman at the age of 18 I was introduced to Colleen as my college coach. Little did I know, she would become one of the most influential people in my life,” said Collen’s former student-athlete and current assistant coach Kara Willard. “I had the honor of being her assistant coach over the last eight years and spent countless hours working alongside her. I was blessed with the opportunity to witness firsthand her exceptional character, work ethic, and passion for developing the sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling. She did everything in her power to see that more opportunities were created for women to showcase their talents at the collegiate level.”
Kara also mentioned another key component to Colleen’s coaching and leadership style; “An even more inspirational side of Colleen was her love for her family. She actively instilled a family culture with each of her teams. Colleen's life work was to make sure that each person on her team knew they had a significant role to play and each individual mattered to the team. She always hoped her athletes would walk away from their experience at APU having a relationship with Christ.”
Ellen Barker, a former APU student-athlete and current Acrobatics & Tumbling head coach at Adrian College also shared her appreciation for the role model Colleen was to her teams.
“Words alone cannot embody everything Coach Colleen did for each one of her athletes, said Barker. “Without her vision and competitive nature, the NCATA wouldn’t be where we are today. Every NCATA athlete has been affected by her. All because Colleen and a few like-minded individuals created an opportunity to compete in Acrobatics & Tumbling.”
Barker also described the impact of Kausrud’s leadership on her personally. “Colleen embodied APU’s motto of “God First” and it showed in everything she did. She held all of us to a higher standard, which made her program great. But she was never afraid to have fun. I will remember her laughing, teasing, and celebrating with us the most. Because of Colleen, I became a more confident, empathetic person, and a team player. She showed me that a strong leader is not always the loudest in the room, but the one who leads by doing what is right,” Barker explained.
In addition to earning NCATA Coach of the Year honors, Kausrud also coached 10 student-athletes that went on to earn NCATA All-America honors (Iliana Ibrahim, Nicole Shook, Jessica Laughton, Emily Sanchez, Ahnaliese Spitzer, Jamie Montgomery, Ashleigh Pitts (twice), Heather Hovander, Hannah Alonzo and Beth Magee). Also, freshman standout Hannah Alonzo was honored as the associations’ Newcomer of the Year in 2019, and Claire Dresselhaus earned the Louise Goodrum Academic Achievement Award in 2015 at the NCATA Championships.
Kausrud had an extensive background in competitive cheer, acrobatics & tumbling, and fitness training. She served for six years (2003-08) as the West Coast representative for the Fellowship of Christian Cheerleaders (FCC), has provided coaching and instruction at numerous camps and clinics, and for four years (1999-2003) she was the competition cheerleading coach at Western Christian High School in Covina. She joined Azusa Pacific in 2005 as the cheer coach, leading the program to the 2010 National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) national championship for the All-Girl Division III classification. A year later, she successfully transitioned Azusa Pacific’s competitive cheer program into one of six founding members of the NCATA.
“Colleen Kausrud is, and always will be, a stalwart in the sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling. As a coach she was a pioneer, a visionary, and an advocate for thousands of young women who have been able to live their dream of becoming a collegiate student athlete in part because of her work and perseverance,” said Jackson Stava, a former administrator at Azusa Pacific University and current Director of Compliance with the NCATA.
Reflecting further on her influence, Stava noted how Kausrud focused on developing her student-athletes as young women and the lasting legacy she leaves behind. “While her pioneering work with this organization has been nothing short of remarkable, it pales in comparison to who she was as a person, a coach, and a friend. I had the opportunity to work closely with Colleen for many years, and was able to witness first-hand the care, passion, grace, and love she had for her family, friends, colleagues, and certainly for her student-athletes.
“While she was a fierce competitor, obsessive about every tenth of a point she could create in the scoring system, never once did anything deter her from her ultimate passion of seeing her student athletes grow and develop into powerful, strong, and faithful young women. My prayers and thoughts are with her family and all of those who love her as I do. While she is gone far too soon, her impact will be felt for generations to come as her student athletes live out what she taught them.”
With Kausrud at the forefront as a founding coach, The NCATA grew from six programs in its inaugural season in 2010, to 32 programs in 2020 – just 11 years later. During the 2020 season, 26 programs competed at the varsity level as the association and sport provided collegiate athletics opportunities for over 680 young women. During 2020, the sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling officially reached NCAA emerging sports status at all three levels of competition on August 1, 2020.
“As we reflect on all Colleen accomplished, I am so thankful she witnessed the milestone of Acrobatics & Tumbling becoming a NCAA emerging sport. She was equally competitive and creative, which is the perfect combination for a sport pioneer. She will always be one our originals,” said Janell Cook, Executive Director of the NCATA.
In addition to her work with the NCATA and as a head coach in both competitive cheer and acrobatics & tumbling, Kausrud was heavily involved with the Fellowship of Christian Cheerleaders Association (FCC) since her time at Western Christian in the early 1990’s. In addition to serving as the organization’s West Coast representative from 2003-2008, she also assisted the organization by running FCC Championships on the West Coast, coordinated yearly awards, and was also a donor and longtime supporter of the faith-based organization.
“The FCC family lost an incredible co-worker, friend and supporter on Sunday with the passing of Colleen Kausrud,” said FCC President Cary Coleman. “She played a significant role in the expansion of FCC on the West Coast. She served in a variety of positions and was always eager for a new challenge. She is a big reason for our tenured success out West."
Kausrud is survived by her husband of nearly 40 years, Todd, and their two daughters, Jen (Anthony De Jager) and Laurie (Dwayne Harrington), both APU alumni, and five grandchildren.