Every coach has his or her own unique style of inspiring a team. Head field hockey coach Deb Ranieri is guilty of wheeling a large sound system out to her practice field to blast classical music as inspiration for her athletes, while basketball coach Happy Dobbs spends hours writing inspirational, eloquent and often comical speeches, comparing the art of basketball to the art of life, to invigorate his players. Other coaches, however push their team through less creatively-charged or overtly cliché practices. Blake New, the men’s soccer coach at Oberlin, leads and inspires his team by example. In the words of sophomore Johannes Jungschaffer, “On the field, Blake is strictly business.”

New’s calm, professional, coaching style has paid off this year. After leading his team to their first NCAC tournament this past season, New was named the North Coast’s Coach of the Year. Six of his players received NCAC team honors and his squadron of talented Yeomen finished the season with a solid record of 9-7-2 overall, and a 6-2-1 record in the NCAC.

The 2005 fall season was New’s seventh as the men’s soccer coach and his tenth as a member of the Oberlin athletic department. He began coaching at Oberlin in 1996 as the women’s soccer coach before moving over to the men’s department as head coach in 1999. Ever since then, the stats have been looking good for New and his teams. Over the past seven years New has steadily guided the program in a new direction, working with his players to improve their skills and their confidence while attempting to gain a foothold in the conference.

A senior, Mitch Bartlett, who retired from the team after the 2003 season due to a series of soccer-related injuries, reflects on the progress New has made, saying, “Oberlin couldn’t have hired a better coach, more passionate and serious about improving the team, investing himself in the program and becoming a dominating force in the NCAC. Looking at his track record, he has really turned the program around.”

It has been 20 years since the Yeomen have come close to a second place finish in the conference.

Sophomore Henry Schneider attributes this season’s success to New’s purposeful approach to the game. “He really stresses a hard work ethic and positive self image as a scholar and an athlete,” Schneider says. “He expects all his players to carry themselves very confidently and professionally in the classroom as well as on the playing field. It has really paid off.”

New has a long history of success. He graduated from Cleveland State University where he played division one soccer, earning All-Conference honors as a goalkeeper in 1988, and he still holds the school record for his 29 career shutouts. New moved on to play for the Cleveland Crunch of the Major Indoor Soccer League and the Canton Invaders of the National Professional Soccer League after his collegiate career.

Sophomore team member Sam Zackheim likes to think that New’s successful history has not always been as professional looking as one would like to think, but that “he used to have a mullet and drove a truck.”

Whatever the case, New looks better than ever, with his shiny, bald head resembling a younger Bruce Willis and a shiny Coach of the Year plaque to match. As of late, one can find him strolling around town during the weekends. Last spring he moved into Oberlin with his wife, and daughter Madeline, making it clear that he has invested himself as a member of the community.

Now he is not only looking to improve Oberlin’s soccer program but the community’s program as well.

“I really love it here. I think it’s the next logical step for me. I would like to get more involved in the youth soccer scene. I’d like to improve opportunities for younger players in Oberlin,” New commented.

New’s love of the game extends past Oberlin’s neighborhoods. This past summer he took the men’s soccer team to Brazil to experience soccer outside the United States.

“I have had the chance in my coaching and soccer career to travel all over the world. I feel like it has really shaped me. I thought it would be a great opportunity for the team. When you’re in a culture where soccer is basically a religion, I think it rubs off on you. You can really see how much the guys have really come to care about it,” New said.

Senior Umra Omar, a past field hockey player and office assistant to New, is extremely excited about the progress New has made with the men’s program.

“Speak of passion, commitment and drive, Blake New takes coaching to a new level. It is very evident that he relates to his players on and off the field, whether in the cornfields of Ohio or on the sandy beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Watch out for the Oberlin men’s soccer program because this is just the beginning,” Omar commented.

If next fall is too long to wait to catch New doing what he does best, check him out this spring, freshly shaven and rearing to go as he coaches the men’s golf team.