Much of the the success of Blackburn’s athletics is through recruitment. Blackburn encourages anyone to tryout, but it takes extra hard work from the head coaches to bring and attract the best talent. In past seasons, Blackburn has had trouble filling teams with enough players to properly compete. In the fall of 2016, Blackburn’s head coaches put in more work to potentially bring wins. Women’s soccer head coach Tim Gould had a busy summer looking for a goalkeeper to push their team to the next level. Gould was able to recruit freshman Ashley Hoban from Parker, Arizona. Hoban said when she was approached by Gould, that he knew everything about her and her skills. “I felt like I belonged here; he made me feel welcomed,” said Hoban.
Gould is ready to utilize a larger roster than last season. “I’m excited that we are adding 15 new players to our program,” he said. “They are coming from a variety of programs and bring us some different playing styles and strengths. It will be fun seeing how each of the players will fit into the program.” Women’s soccer at Blackburn has added players from all over the country this season, including players from Puerto Rico.
Women’s volleyball also added a group of players to their roster after last season’s much smaller team. Five women were added including freshman outside hitter Nikki Ridgeway from Christopher, Illinois. The women’s volleyball team hired new coach Jim Hunstein. Hunstein had success last year at Lewis and Clark Community College and has brought his talents and different coaching style to Blackburn. Hunstein held open gyms in the summer to observe and acquire new talent for the program. Ridgeway took advantage of these open gyms and showed Hunstein what she can bring to the program. The women’s volleyball team has several underclassmen ready to rebuild the program and bring more wins for Blackburn.
Blackburn is ready to turn a new page in the athletics department and to hoist more championship banners. There is a combination of new coaches, new players and new tactics that are being used to bring respect back to Blackburn Athletics and respect to the SLIAC. “If we play like we practice,” said Hoban, “we will kick butt.”