St. Anne's-Belfield School Football Coach John Blake Honored with 2019 Cobleigh Award

Charlottesville, Va., March 1, 2019 - St. Anne's-Belfield School Boys' Varsity Football Head Coach John Blake has been named the winner of the 2019 Bruce Cobleigh Award presented by Glazier Clinics. 
 
Blake, who has been coaching at St. Anne's-Belfield School for 22 years, was honored by the United States Air Force (USAF) at the Glazier Coaches Clinic in Northern Virginia on Friday, March 1. Under his leadership, the Boys' Varsity Football team has won six state championships, and multiple players he's coached have gone on to play in the NFL.
 
"The two most fulfilling parts of coaching for me are witnessing a player overcome a fear or a shortcoming and gain the confidence to do a job that will help the team, knowing that this confidence will help the player throughout their life, and to have former players come back for practice and games," said Blake. "You know you did something right in their eyes when they come back."

Bruce Cobleigh was a football coach most notably known for his success at Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Ga. Cobleigh had a passion and drive to help coaches and athletes get better both on and off the field. Through speaking for Glazier Clinics, coaching on the sideline, and consulting with coaches, he influenced thousands of other coaches. 
 
The award was established with the Air Force as a way of honoring Cobleigh's legacy. Recipients are nominated by their peers and winners are selected by the Air Force. This is the second year the award has been given to honor high school coaches who are not solely focused on winning on the field but developing young men and women who can win in life. The USAF selects each coach regionally based on those who model the USAF leadership values.

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St. Anne's-Belfield School is a co-educational preschool through grade twelve day school of nearly 900 students and more than 150 faculty and staff, with a boarding program in grades nine through twelve. Fifteen countries are represented in the student body, with 40 percent of students receiving financial aid. More information may be found at www.stab.org.