COACH OF THE YEAR

CURTIS BLAIR

Blair entered the 2017 season feeling good about the prospects of his Baylor girls’ soccer team. Those good vibes were confirmed in late October, as the Lady Red Raiders finished a 14-0-5 season by earning the Division II-AA state championship with a victory over Briarcrest in a penalty-kick shootout.

The team played 18 players in the match, using all possible pieces needed to get the win.

“We had to feed into the concept that it’s a team game,” Blair said. “They bought into it, whatever was needed. A girl went down, it was the next girl up. For us to win the state championship in PKs, that just shows that we bought into that mentality.”