One of St. Dominics own coaches just achieved an incredible feat. Varsity Volleyball Coach Courtney Bland just reached her 400th career win in a 3rd place match in the Borgia tournament against Francis Howell Central.

Coach Bland played volleyball for UCM, now known as CMU, and began her career as a head coach at Duchesne high school in 2002. 

“I absolutely loved coaching from the beginning.  My first three years I had Coach Allen, who is my younger sister, on my team so that was a fun experience and we went to state my first two years.  My early years of coaching were a lot of fun and very memorable.  Both of my trips to state were also held at UCM at the time so it was fun to return to UCM as a coach” Coach Bland said.

While coaching she has learned many things and the game of volleyball has evolved, like new rules being added or some being changed all together. Coaching through changes like this is incredibly hard and impressive because you are coaching a sport that is different from what you played in the past. 

“My early years of coaching the libero was introduced, rally scoring started, games went from 15 points to 25, and more recently they have gone from 3-5sets. So the game has changed a lot.  I also believe it has become a much faster paced game,” Coach Bland said. 

Coaching many seasons from a young age has allowed Coach Bland to rack up an incredibly high amount of wins. Currently she has 408 wins surpassing the milestone of 400 this past week. 

“It means I am old and have done it a really long time! It is a huge number but when I realized that I was at that milestone my brain went straight to how many young girls I have coached, how many seniors have graduated with me, and how much my life has changed since the beginning. I also have that realization that my first year I coached I didn’t have any children of my own and now I have 5 kids.  Ella is a senior that plays for me and Charlotte is about to enter the program next year.  When I first started coaching I would have never thought I would still be coaching when they went through highschool,” Coach Bland said. 

While achieving your 400th win as a coach is outstanding, Coach Bland had also gone to State five times in her career as a coach. Currently the team is on track to add another state run, and it’s all thanks to her incredible coaching. 

“I have a lot of accomplishments but I feel my biggest accomplishment is when I have former players come back and coach with me or for my club,” Coach Bland said. 

Not only has she completed 400 wins, she is also close to completing 200 wins with her assistant coach and sister Maggie Allen. It’s expected for this to happen during this season and St. Dominic can’t wait to see it!

“We are very close to reaching 200 wins at St. Dominic and while that is awesome I really just want this team to win that state championship match, so that is my entire focus.  Coaching with my sister, having my daughter and niece on the team is all just a bonus and makes everything more special,” Coach Bland said. 

Coaching has been such a big part of Coach Bland’s life, and she has coached many young athletes. For most, she has helped them find their love for the sport. 

“My absolute favorite part of coaching is keeping in touch with former players.  I coach to be a positive influence and help mold young people into successful adults.  I love our sport but what I really love is the life lessons that young people get to learn while playing a sport they love,” Coach Bland said.

Our volleyball team is incredibly successful this year and we are so excited to see where Coach Bland and the girls are headed. We are ready to cheer them on throughout the season and hopefully to a state championship win!