The 2018 Austin Torch Roster!
Torch Profiles :: Coaching Staff
The Austin Torch is proud to announce Amy Kendziorski as Head Coach, Colleen Kepner as Assistant Coach and Sarah "Slider" Blyth as skills coach!
AMY KENDZIORSKI
Head Coach
Amy Kendziorski is an ultimate and engineering geek with a binary tattoo and over ten years of coaching and captaining experience. She started her career playing with Melee, milking every year of eligibility for all it was worth. After college she founded and captained developing women’s teams with assistant coach Colleen Kepner and returned to Melee to coach for two years.
After a series of injuries and a brief stint in an all-girl rock band in Texas (in which she played a killer guitar), Amy returned to ultimate to coach Moontower (a mixed club team based in Austin) and join the coaching staff for the Austin Torch. As the chief strategist for the team, AmyK brings a keen eye and tactical mind that complements her assistant coach’s flowery language. She’s excited to be a part of piloting professional women’s ultimate in Texas and to exhibit the tremendous talent on the team.
Colleen Kepner
Assistant Coach
Colleen is a lifelong athlete who comes from a family where sports = life. After a successful Division I college field hockey career and a move across the country from Amherst to Austin, she was eager for a new team and sport. She found a home on Texas Melee, and went on to play for a number of club teams including Texas Showdown.
Inspired by her mother – a career athlete and hall-of-fame coach – Colleen’s coaching background includes growing the team at Kealing Middle School in Austin alongside friends and mentors Cara Crouch and Michael Natenberg, and working as USA Ultimate’s Girls Outreach Coordinator for the state of Texas. She is also a co-founder and director of the Texas Ultimate Summer Camp, and writes young adult fiction about powerful girl-athletes.
Colleen is excited to once again join forces with AmyK after the two collaborated on developmental women’s teams in the past. She fondly recalls playing the tender heart to Amy’s calculated head, and hopes to put their combined efforts to good use on this new adventure. Colleen's coaching style is focused on community-building, relationships, and shared goals, and she’s passionate about contributing to the future of women’s ultimate with the Torch.
Sarah "Slider" Blyth
Skills Coach
After many years of soccer and playing an unsatisfying season of college soccer, Slider transferred to UT and found her way onto the ultimate field with Melee in 2005.
She never went back to soccer and played 3 years with Melee and many more with Showdown. She was fortunate enough to play at worlds with Showdown in Prague in 2010 and Italy in 2014 capping off her playing career.
Since retirement, Slider has been largely removed from the ultimate scene, but couldn’t stay away once she heard about the creation of the Torch.
Torch Staff Profiles: Co-Owner Bonesaw!
Get to know the Torch Co-Owner Bonesaw!
Torch Staff Profile: Captains and Co-Owners Rachel and Dre
Get to know the Torch Captains and Co-Owners Rachel Yeager and Dre Esparza!
Torch Staff Profile :: Colleen Kepner and Cara Crouch
Get to know our General Managers Colleen Kepner and Cara Crouch!
Tryouts!
Interested in trying out to be one of the first professional ultimate players in Texas? Just want to get out there and play some high level ultimate with some other fierce women? Feel like supporting the team by showing up and being a part of the process? Well all are welcome!
Tryouts are being held at Zilker Park in Austin, TX on Saturday April 14th from 2pm - 5pm. There is a $25 fee which gets you an Austin Torch reversible and also helps support the team financially.
Fill out the survey HERE and get ready to cleat up and be part of history! Can't attend tryouts? Don't worry - we're still interested in you! Fill out this application here.