Posted: Mar 29, 2023
GET TICKETS HERE -- Kathy Bresnahan Inspirational Message Tickets
When Kathy Bresnahan comes to Western Nebraska Community College on Monday, April 3 to talk about motivation from the 2011 accident that killed her star setter Caroline Found, it will be an experience that will be inspirational.
Jeff Linder, the sports writer for the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, "The Gazette" newspaper and who has covered the story from the beginning including doing a 10-year remembrance story in 2021, said this is a special story of how teams and communities come together.
"I talked to Kathy the morning after it happened in 2011 and it obviously was a pretty emotional time. That whole season was special, the 2011 season," Linder said earlier this week on his way back from covering the University of Iowa women's basketball team at the Elite Eight tourney in Seattle. "Kathy did a really good job with the book. I don't know if you saw it, but reality is a lot better than what the movie made it. It was a story that didn't need to be embellished or Hollywood-ized, I guess, I would say. It was a phenomenal story on its own. It was the way they came together and they were able to get the job done together throughout the season."
Bresnahan, who was the coach of the West High School team in Iowa City, Iowa, later wrote a book called "The Miracle Season," which was made into a movie of the same name that was released in 2018. The movie starred Helen Hunt as Kathy Bresnahan, William Hurt as Caroline Found's father, Danika Yarosh as Caroline Found, and Erin Moriaty as Kelley Fiehler, Fiehler was Caroline's best friend, who took over the setter position and became the leader of the team to help them win a state title.
Bresnahan will be in Scottsbluff for a presentation on Monday at 6 p.m. at the WNCC theater with a book signing afterwards. Tickets for the event are $15 and can be purchased off a link on the WNCC athletic webpage at www.wnccathletics.com.
Linder said the whole story and how they came together was special and it is one that he will always remember.
"They were shocked. This wasn't a kid or adult that was sick, she was a vibrant energetic girl that died of a terrible accident," he said. "It was everybody. It wasn't just the teammates, the schoolmates, or anybody. It was a shock around eastern Iowa."
What did Found mean to the team? Just by the stories that were done on the situation and how much the Live Like Line Foundation is still active 12 years after the tragic accident, it is a story that will never be forgotten because of the kind of person that Caroline Found was for the team and the school.
"She was their setter, their leader and their vocal leader," Linder said. "She was a chatterbox and ornery. She was a full life and a lot of fun."
People don't realize that after Found's death, the slogan "Live Like Line" was put into action as T-shirts were made and the Foundation was formed to help students from the Iowa City high school compete in sports and other sports activities. It helped under-privileged students go to conferences and buy equipment to enjoy the extra-curricular activities.
Linder said that the Live Like Line Foundation is an important part of giving back in Found's memory and a lot of the proceeds from the book that Bresnahan wrote and her speaking engagements go to the Foundation.
"I think all the proceeds from the book went to that foundation," Linder said. "I think when Kathy speaks, most of it, if not all, the proceeds go to that foundation. That is a big, important thing to Kathy. I know it is still an active and important thing today."
Linder said Bresnahan will be someone that the people that come to the presentation will leave with much more inspiration than what they came with.
"Kathy is a good speaker," he said. "Kathy will bring people in and they will enjoy what she has to say."
Linder is passionate about prep sports and prep sports athletes and had been with the The Gazette since 1995 covering high school sports. He said the story and how they regrouped to win back-to-back titles are amazing.
West won a state title in 2010 when Found was their setter and then when Found was killed just weeks before the season was to start, the team was down. Bresnahan got them re-energized and came through to win another title for Found.
"People made the best and most of it as far as the team," Linder said. "It is something I will never forget. The way they came together and won that 2011 title. It is something I will never forget."
