Monday, Mar. 01, 2010

Finding her path

Five short years after Alison Blackmon dominated the basketball court at South Johnston High School, she came back to show the boys how it's done.

The 24-year-old just wrapped up her first season as coach of South's junior varsity boys' basketball team. The state's high school athletic association doesn't track the gender of coaches, but Blackmon is surely one of few women coaching a boys' basketball team. It's a distinction that has brought new realizations and struggles for the self-proclaimed girly girl, who graduated from South in 2004.

And she recognizes the irony: Blackmon's father, Gary Blackmon, coached girls' teams at South before he died four years ago. Now she's charged with prepping the boys to step into the varsity spotlight, and her father is on her mind every step of the way.

"I knew that it was going to be a challenge, but I was ready for a challenge," she said.Blackmon doesn't feel the need to yell to get someone's attention. She's laid back and soft-spoken. Her dad was like that too when he coached softball and girls' basketball, Blackmon said. When her players get frustrated during games and intense practices, she doesn't want to yell. Instead, she pulls them aside and tries to calm them down.

"I think a lot of the male coaches usually probably feed off of that and try to match their intensity," Blackmon said. Even so, sophomore Javonte Burns said he sometimes wanted his coach to get a little loud. He had grown used to the intensity of his football coach.

"He likes to be heard," Burns said. "And her, she knows what she wants done ... (but) it's a little softer. But we know that she means business."

Star status

Blackmon definitely meant business as an athlete at South. She played tennis, softball and basketball.She netted 118 3-pointers during her four-year varsity basketball career. She set school records for 3-pointers in a game and for career 3-pointers. The school's trophy case displays a picture of Blackmon in the 2004 East-West All-Star Game. Nearby are pictures of her dad.

On March 24, 2006, Gary Blackmon died of a heart attack. He had gotten sick at school that day and went to the hospital. Alison was more than 100 miles away at Greensboro College, where she had won a scholarship to play basketball. She came home to her family, abandoned her basketball career and transferred to UNC-Wilmington.

"I decided it was really hard to play the game without him in it," Blackmon said of her father and her decision to leave the court as a player. "He was the biggest fan. He was the reason I was so passionate about it."

At the funeral, she saw the impact her father had on his students. He had inspired them.Blackmon realized she wanted to affect young people's lives like that.

So when she graduated last year with a bachelor's degree in physical education and health, she accepted a teaching job at South.

A different start

Blackmon admits she would rather coach girls, because she thinks she could more easily form connections with them. But coaching spots on the girls' teams were taken. Varsity boys' coach David Dewey asked her to step in as his junior varsity coach.

The team struggled this year, finishing with a 6-13 record. But Blackmon is proud of her team's 5-5 record in conference play, and Dewey said this jayvee team was one of the most talented in years.

"They learned," Dewey said. "They adapted and respected and played hard for her."

Blackmon said she was hard on the boys when she needed to be. Some of her players were also on the varsity football team, which made it to the state championship game this winter. After they'd finish football practice, they'd switch gears for basketball, running drills and playing scrimmage games. All the while, they adjusted to having a female coach who isn't much older than them.

"It was tough at first," said sophomore Alex Barbour. "Coming out of someone as little as her, it's not as threatening. But she definitely got my attention."

Blackmon didn't ditch her eyeliner for her new job. Instead, she embraces the femininity she brings to a boys' game. She looks up to Ronda Langdon, the school's varsity girls' coach, for "keepin' it classy."

"I like to look nice, but if you give me tennis shoes and a basketball, I'll get down to business," Blackmon said.

After all, Blackmon knows a thing or two about the game.

"We knew that she knew what she was talking about," Burns said.

Her dad taught her a lot of the wisdom she now brings to South's boys. Blackmon said she learned to lead by example, and to care about the kids.

"If you love what you do and love who you do it for, then that's what real success is," Blackmon said. "It's not about wins and losses."

That's a philosophy that would surely make her dad proud.