By Sue Teggart
C & G Sports Writer

Editor’s note: As part of our continuing series on those who make a living in the world of sports, we take a look at Tony Blankenship. A former Michigan Wolverine and current high school and women’s professional football coach, Blankenship talks about his mentors and where his passion for coaching comes from. For other stories in this series follow the Summer Happenings link.

WIXOM — For some, coaching is a job they go after their other job ends for the day.
But for others, like Tony Blankenship — former University of Michgan player and three-year letter winner — coaching is a calling.

Like many of his fellow coaches, Blankenship has a “day” job, he is currently the dean of students at Detroit Academy of Arts and Science (a Detroit charter school).
But make no mistake, he not a typical coach.

Though he has enjoyed every phase of his coaching career, at the high school and college levels, he’s found the  most enjoyment coaching a professional team — a women’s professional team.

And he’s also found that his day job, teaching, comes in very handy at every level of coaching.

“Coaching is teaching,” Blankenship said. “The patience necessary in teaching and coaching is the same. … You just have to be able to get the best out of your people.”

Finding his way
After earning a bachelor’s degree in sports management and communications in 1994, Blankenship became a teacher and the football coach at Detroit Murray Wright, his high school alma mater. He would move on to coach at Wayne State University and then Detroit’s Redford High, where he also taught special education.

He is now the coach at Detroit Southwestern and the head coach of the Detroit Demolition, a full-contact women’s professional team based in Novi and made up of players from all over metro Detroit.

Blankenship, 37, said the luxury of being able to look back on his days at Michigan and the ability to draw on his professional experience as a teacher have been crucial in making him a better coach.

Giving credit where credit is due
Blankenship, a Canton resident, said the coaches he had as a youngster left a lasting impression on him and have influenced his coaching principles today.

“I give a lot of those coaches credit … when it comes down to integrity, character and doing things the right way,” Blankenship said. “I was reacquainted with all those things at Michigan — integrity, character, mental toughness — and then it really brought out the coach in me.”

While his coaching career officially began in 1994, it became his calling when he took the helm of the Demolition in 2001.

Although Blankenship said he never envisioned himself coaching women, the job was actually a blessing in disguise.

“I thought, ‘I’ve got nothing to lose. All I can do is get better as a coach because I’m teaching,’” Blankenship said about taking on the challenge of coaching women. “I never knew it was going to turn out to be this.”

Seven years later, Blankenship is 72-5 overall with five championships in two different leagues — the National Women’s Football Association (NWFA) and now the Independent Women’s Football League (IWFL).

It’s a learning process
Though his success with the Demos is well documented, Blankenship said coaching women is challenging because most have no actual game experience to fall back on.

He quickly found out, however, that finding a way to communicate and teach the game to his players was extremely rewarding.

“To be able to give them the opportunity to do something that they never thought they would be able to do, I’m very humbled in that,” Blankenship said about the Demos. “I have a true passion for coaching as it is, but coaching them is something special. They never played sports before and they have so much eagerness and drive.

“That just brings out the best in me.”

April Fowlkes, a Detroit resident, is one of a few players that has been under Blankenship’s tutelage from the Demolition’s inception.

Fowlkes said what’s special about Blankenship is his ability to teach football skills and transform athletic women into championship football players.

“I’ve never met a coach that breaks everything down,” Fowlkes said. “He’s taught me a lot as a player and as a mentor.”

For Blankenship, seeing his players become more disciplined and grow as athletes is the most rewarding part of his job.

 “The learning that I see and the progression I see the players make over time is the most rewarding and incredible thing in the world,” Blankenship said. “To see the success that they are able to have from their hard work is gratifying.

“I really do love it.”

You can reach Sports Writer Sue Teggart at steggart@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1107.