UMBC

Bio

	Ian Blanchard
	Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Westfield State College, 1988

When Ian Blanchard took over the helm of the UMBC women’s volleyball program to begin the 2005 season, he not only became the fifth head coach in the program’s 33-year history, but the occasion also marked his first collegiate head coaching position.  One year later, Blanchard enters his second season with UMBC after providing the UMBC community with a glimpse of the Retrievers’ future in his first year. 

In Blanchard’s inaugural season his only two freshman recruits earned spots on the America East All-Rookie team, making UMBC one of two conference schools to have more than one member on the All-Rookie team.  In addition, Blanchard’s top recruit set a conference record with seven Rookie of the Week honors, was the unanimous selection for Rookie of the Year and earned honorable mention All-Conference accolades. 

Blanchard’s rookies showed his ability to evaluate athletes and if his first year was an indication of the type of talent coming to UMBC, than his second year could showcase a dramatic improvement on is initial season’s 11-18 record with six freshman newcomers joining the squad.    

Blanchard began coaching at the collegiate level as an assistant coach at Towson University two years prior to coming to UMBC.  Blanchard during his tenure at Towson was very instrumental in the growth of their program as the Tigers’ first assistant and recruiting coordinator.  Blanchard recruited talented student-athletes both on a local and national level, leading to an NCAA Tournament appearance by the program in the fall of 2004.  

Prior to Towson University, Blanchard spent a year (2002) at Catonsville Community College as the head women’s volleyball coach, leading the program to a 24-5 overall record.  Blanchard’s team went 12-0 in the conference and ranked 11th in the nation at the NJCAA Division II level.  Blanchard was honored with NJCAA Region F and Maryland JuCo Coach of the Year accolades.   

In addition to his collegiate experience, Blanchard has made a name for himself at the USAV Club level, directing the Orange Crush of the Time Out Volleyball Club for the past nine seasons.  Blanchard’s team went undefeated in the USAV Chesapeake Region from 2000-2004 and placed fifth in 2003 and third in 2004 at the USAV National Championships.

Blanchard is a former social studies teacher at Dulaney High School where he coached the Baltimore County school to a 90-6 record between 1997-2001, winning back-to-back state titles in 1999 and 2000 and four consecutive final four appearances in the state tournament.  Blanchard was named Maryland State Coach of the Year for 2001-02 and Baltimore Sun Metropolitan Coach of the Year in 1999.

Blanchard owns a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Westfield State College (1988) where he was a four-year member of Westfield State’s men’s volleyball team.  Blanchard went on to earn his Education Certification from the University of Massachusetts in 1992.  Blanchard is certified with USAV Coaching Accreditation Program I & II.     

Blanchard is married with two kids and resides in Phoenix, Md.