Sean Blackwood Signs to Play Volleyball at St. Ambrose

Maybe the best way to describe Lincoln-Way Central's Sean Blackwood is versatility.

Never mind that he's involved with countless clubs and extracurriculars. Or that , which helped raise money for student scholarships, by dressing as Napolean Dynamite.

The two-sport athlete's activities were many, but the one he says he loved most was playing volleyball. On Thursday, he signed with St. Ambrose University in Iowa to keep playing in college.

“I can see my game play has really evolved," said Blackwood, of Manhattan. "Volleyball stood out as my favorite sport.”

He showed off his versatility this year, when he switched to outside hitter after playing middle his junior season. His coach, Joann Holverson, respected the off-season work Blackwood did to learn a new position and train for it. He played club volleyball during his basketball season, and even took a class called Human Performance at Central so he could lift and train during school.

“You can see the difference in his muscle level, speed, vertical jump," Holverson said. "The effects were just completely evident when he took the court this season.”

Blackwood leads the team with 231 kills. He's also had 60 blocks, 237 service points and 16 aces, and was named to the All-Tournament team earlier this year at Marist High School.

For St. Ambrose coach Bill Gleeson, who went to Brother Rice, Blackwood's versatility and work ethic is something he's learned a lot about from watching him play and talking with the coaches. Central's assistant coach Brian Danielson also played at St. Ambrose rom 2006-2009.

"I know the coaching staff here pretty well, and I know what I’m getting with this program," Gleeson said. "A coach knows the players the best, so I got in-depth analysis for the times I couldn’t see Sean play.”

Outside of his skills on the court, his coaches said they enjoyed Blackwood's personality, enthusiasm and willingness to involve himself in all the facets of the school. Holverson said Blackwood, along with best friends and teammates Matt Dugan and Cory Carrasco, are involved in numerous activities at Central and their leadership brings a lot to the team.

“Each has different leadership roles in differet organizations," she said. "The chemistry between them is outstanding. They represent the best of Lincoln-Way.”

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