Taking the position of new head coach, Carlos Jimenez is excited to be leading the Blackburn volleyball team this season. Jimenez has coached several age groups, ranging from high school, club ball, multiple college divisions and professional beach volleyball players.
During his junior national career, Jimenez was required as part of his training to coach a grassroots team in Colombia, his country of origin, and ended up coaching a high school team as well. This fostered a love for coaching that Jimenez wanted to continue, even after the end of his junior national career. Since then, he has coached for 32 years.
After recently moving to the St. Louis area, he was searching for a coaching job. Through mutual friends, who were also either coaches or referees, he heard that Blackburn was somewhat desperate for a volleyball coach. He applied for the job and was hired. Since then, he has implemented back-to-basics methods and a coaching style that is new to most of the girls, focusing on the fundamentals and making sure his athletes have a true understanding of the game.
When asked for a preseason preview, Jimenez said, “I believe the team is in a good position to do well within the conference. When looking at the potential of the players and some of the other teams, I think they match up well. It is going to be a question of how well we can implement the things were trying to do and there is a good potential for us to do well in the standings.”