Former Northeastern Husky Tendie Breaks Glass Ceiling
Origins
She’s one of the greatest Swiss athletes of all time. Florence Schelling played her first Olympic Games in 2006 at only 16; her first Olympic medal was at 24. She started all four years as a Northeastern Husky from 2008-2012 with a GAA of 1.42 her senior year. The former Huskie then went on to play in the CWHL before going back to Europe to play first in the Swiss leagues, then in Sweden. In 2018 she retired with four Olympic appearances, 10 World Cup appearances, and a list of awards and accolades longer than my arm. All this before she even hit 30.
As if her career wasn’t already successful enough, she immediately signed on as an assistant coach for the Swiss Women’s U18 national team for two seasons.
And now, she’s done what no woman has done before: Florence Schelling has become the first-ever woman to be a General Manager of a men’s professional team.
From the Top
What makes Florence’s rise to the top so amazing is that she did not actively apply for GM positions. Her track record and character spoke so well for itself that the CEO of SC Bern actually reached out to her to see if she wanted the position. It’s no surprise, looking at her Bachelor’s in business from Northeastern and then masters in the same from Linkoping University in Sweden, that this was her trajectory, whether she saw it or not. Former teammates and opponents alike have come forward to assert such.
Big Picture, Small Picture
This is exciting and much bigger than just a woman playing in a man’s league, which she has also done. This is bigger than women in the press box. It’s bigger than a woman coaching a men’s team, which the NFL is just starting to be introduced to. This is bigger than sports; it is an assertation that with the right skillset and qualifications, women deserve to be sought after for any role.
But back to the small scale, this is exciting for Florence. Clearly she has worked hard for everything she’s done in her career, and she deserves this opportunity. I look forward to seeing her succeed. I can’t wait for her to do SC Bern proud. And I’m excited for more women to become GMs in the future.
I wish her all the best and I’ll be rooting for SC Bern when this pandemic is over.
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-Heidi Thomas (@damselondrums)
