Baylor Soccer Staff - (l-r) Curtis Blair, Jennifer Clemmer, Leland Strang, Lara Sibold
photo by Barbara Kennedy
Baylor School has named Curtis Blair
its director of soccer and head coach for the boys and girls varsity teams,
overseeing the continued development of the school’s soccer program and managing
the use of the new Baylor soccer complex with coaches and programs throughout
the region.
Additional program changes include the hiring of Leland
Strang, who has coached at Girls Preparatory School the last four years; and
Jennifer Clemmer, who was an All American and 2010 “Player of the Year”
at D-III powerhouse Denison University.
Blair has served as an assistant for Baylor’s girls varsity
team since 2006 and the head boys varsity coach since 2009, leading the 2012
team to a state title and earning “Tennessee High School Coach of the Year” in
2012.
He serves as the Tennessee state coach for the Olympic Development
Program and is director of coaching education and curriculum development for the
Tennessee Football Club Academy. He holds the USSF “A” License and NSCAA
“Premier” Diploma.
Strang, a 2002 Baylor graduate who served as the girls
varsity coach at GPS since 2010, will take over as the girls associate head
coach and will also work with the boys program. Strang played on two Red Raider
state championship teams and was a four-year starter at
Sewanee.
Clemmer is a 2007 Baylor graduate and will also be an
assistant coach with the girls team. She was a member of Baylor's 2003 and 2004
state champion teams and a two-time captain before signing with
Denison.
Lara Sibold, a Maryville College Soccer Hall-of-Famer,
has served as goalkeeper coach at Baylor since 2005 will continue to work in
that position.
Baylor Athletic Director Thad Lepcio said current
soccer players had a role in the re-structuring. “I am very excited about this
coaching staff and I give much of the credit to our current players who helped
steer the direction of our search,” said Lepcio. “The girls expressed a strong
desire for technical skill development with a talented coaching staff, who also
had an appreciation for Baylor School and its rich soccer history.”