New Athletic Director settling into his role
LaVell Blanchard is Manchester’s new Athletic Director and will also serve as Assistant Principal of Manchester High School.
LaVell Blanchard first heard of Manchester when, as a high school student in the 90s, he and some friends wanted to observe the “best running back in the area.”
That running back was Nick Davis, a standout on the 1994-97 MHS varsity team, who eventually played for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers and as a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings.
“Back then, I could see the culture of Manchester; the tradition they had,” he says. “I remembered the crowd support for the athletic program. So when I saw the job posting for the athletic director here, I knew very well what kind of place Manchester was, and I knew it was the kind of place I wanted to be.”
Blanchard played one year of football and two years of baseball at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor. But it was basketball, where he was named All-USA Honorable Mention in his junior year and to the first team in the 1999 USA Today All-USA high school basketball team, where he excelled. That success took him to the University of Michigan, where he was proud to play for “the Blue.” Blanchard was only the fifth player to lead an NCAA team in both scoring and rebounding four years in a row. For 12 years, he played professional basketball in Europe before returning to get his degree in Sports Management and Administration from Eastern Michigan University. For the past few years, he has served as Assistant Athletic Director at Ypsilanti Community Schools, which was formed from the merger of the Ypsilanti and Willow Run districts in 2013.
He has had a whirlwind of activity since starting his new position on July 1, but says he’s enjoying it. “It’s fun,” he insists. “And people here have been very positive and kind. I look forward to being part of the Manchester community.”
Blanchard has great words for his predecessor, Wes Gall, who had a more than 40-year tradition with Manchester football and has served as the AD for the past 12 years until retiring at the end of June.
“I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about the history and tradition of this community from Mr. Gall,” he says. “Not just the schools, but about Manchester as a whole. He started a great program here, and has carried that throughout his career. If I can follow through with what I’ve learned from him, that will be a great thing.”
He also has high praise for the new football coach, Mike Blumenauer. “Coach Blu is doing a great job,” he says. And although the program has had to make some tough decisions this fall–eliminating Junior Varsity and consolidating the seventh and eighth-grade teams, “he is really working on building the youth programs and encouraging participation to get these programs back to where they were before.”
While he admits there may have been a few challenges in his early days as Athletic Director, he prefers to see them as “situations that occur, and you try to solve them.” He believes that is the direction that he, and the rest of the coaches and players, are headed for the future.
His goals include learning more about the Manchester community and becoming part of the greater community. At the high school level, “the teachers are great; the culture here is already established, and I see a lot of passion and vision. I look forward to working with them to continue and build on the great traditions that are already here.” He also hopes to open up more communication between school, athletics, and the community.
Since the sports seasons are already under way, Blanchard says that it’s already “back to school” time for him, even though school itself doesn’t start for another week. The volleyball and soccer teams began their seasons last week, and the first varsity football game of the year was held on Friday, August 24 against traditional rival Clinton. “I’m learning all about these small town rivalries,” he says with a smile.
The next football game will be Thursday, Aug. 30 at Grass Lake, and the home opener will be Friday, Sept. 7 when the varsity hosts East Jackson.
Blanchard’s years in professional basketball overseas made a huge impact on him. While there, he participated in many youth-oriented programs and through those he believes that he gained new perspectives and learned a lot about himself. In some ways, the experience probably determined his future direction in life, leading to his current career in educational leadership. He tells the story of helping a young boy named Sascha in an orphanage in the Ukraine; he mentored Sascha for some time and although they both knew it was unlikely Sascha would ever leave the orphanage with a family, LaVell tried to provide him with some support, purpose, and love by teaching him about sports and the importance of working to a common goal.
“Sports is a great equalizer,” he says. “That’s the beauty of being in sports … It really breaks down barriers; whether it’s language, religion, or belief systems. The impact we had in those programs is something that will always stay with me.”
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