By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
A pair of familiar coaches from the area have landed in new spots.
Harold Blackmon, who has been head football coach at St. Laurence and Oak Lawn, has been named coach at De La Salle.
George Shimko, a former girls basketball coach at Queen of Peace and St. Laurence, will serve in that role at Evergreen Park.
Blackmon, a former NFL player, brings playing and coaching experience to the Meteors. While at St. Laurence, he led the Vikings to the IHSA state semifinals in 2015 (Class 5A) and 2016 (Class 6A).
“We believe strongly that with his impressive resume and background, he will do an excellent job leading the football program at the Institute and will help our student-athletes achieve all of their goals both in the classroom and on the field of competition,” De La Salle athletic director Tom White stated in a press release. “Coach Blackmon not only brings a vast knowledge of the game with him but he’s also someone of the highest character, class and integrity and those were the traits that were the most important to us in making this decision.”
Blackmon graduated in 2000 from Northwestern, where was a four-year starter at defensive back for the Wildcats. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks and played there in 2001 and 2002.
“One of my core statements when I first became a head coach was, ‘If you give me four years of work, I’ll give you 40 years of work,”’ Blackmon stated in a press release. “My philosophy is that when a young man or woman decides to commit to my program, it’s a four-year commitment from me to help them with whatever issues or situations arise in their lives moving forward.
“As for the wins and losses, the X’s and O’s, I’m a firm believer that those will take care of themselves. It’s a byproduct of doing the right thing. As a coach, I believe you need to put young men and women in the right positions to succeed but also prepare them on and off the field to be humble when success comes.”
The Meteors open the season at home against Argo on Aug. 30.
Blackmon is already plotting an exciting offense.
“We’ll be a spread team, we’ll be aggressive, we’ll be really up-tempo and we’ll play hard,” Blackmon said. “We’re going to play hard and we’re going to be humble in what we do.
“We are going to win humbly, and we’ll lose graciously. I think it’s all about building the three pillars of character, academics and athletics. Those are the three things that we’re going to develop, and we have to see that on and off the field.”