By Isabel Batista
Correspondent
Danny Blank, the new women’s soccer coach, was six years old when he first kicked a ball.
“I fell immediately in love with the game,” Blank said. “I was the kid who slept in my uniform on Friday nights.”
Before coming to the College, Blank was head coach at Widener University for two seasons, spent five years at the University of Georgia as associate head coach and was an assistant coach at Ole Miss.
With the University of Georgia team being a “power five school” and Widener being more of a traditional division three school, Blank is coming to the team with tons of experience.
“The level of play was very high,” he said.
Thankfully, Blank’s transition to the College has been “seamless” since he didn’t have to move. He moved to Hamilton Township back in 2018, while his family lives in Florida.
Some fun facts about him are that when Covid-19 hit, he says he “would have gone insane” if it weren’t for his two dogs Utley and Rio. They are beagle-terrier mixes and sisters, but Blank says they look nothing alike.
Coming to the College, Blank is pleased with the athletes he’ll be working with, saying that his players are “a group of high achievers.”
They were disappointed on how their last season went and are now “very focused” and intent on improving themselves. Their objective is to play for the National Championship.
When asked about his techniques and what he’s changed, he had this to say: “From what I understand, I’m very different than the coach who was here last season,” Blank said.
This year, the team is focusing more on defense since that was their main problem last season.
“There weren't a lot of broken parts to this program,” Blank said. “It’s a very player driven program. So half of my job has been just staying out of their way.”
Aside from tending to his dogs and coaching, Blank has many other hobbies. He has previously written several books, including one children’s book, “Thigpen McThwacket’s Incredible Racket,” and many coaching or soccer related novels, including “Everything Your Coach Never Told You Because You’re a Girl.” He also enjoys fishing, cooking and riding his bike.
