Veteran coach Blasi to lead Central men’s golf program

Central Dutch Athletics

Central Dutch Athletics

PELLA—Four-time Summit League coach of the year Mel Blasi of Western Illinois University is Central College’s new men’s golf coach, taking over a tradition-rich championship program.

The Dutch have captured a record 32 Iowa Conference titles and made 33 NCAA Division III tournament appearances.

Blasi spent 20 seasons at NCAA Division I Western Illinois in Macomb, piloting the Leathernecks to conference crowns in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. His teams have secured 25 tournament titles, most recently claiming Indiana University’s Hoosier Invitational in 2016. The Leathernecks have received all-conference distinction 20 times in the past nine seasons.

At Central, he replaces Jon Olson, who resigned in May after two seasons. The Dutch finished second in this year’s Iowa Conference tournament.

A Burlington, Iowa native and an all-state basketball player and golfer at Monmouth (Ill.) High School, Blasi is a 1987 Western Illinois graduate. He was the Association of Mid-Continent Universities 1985 player of the year. Blasi served as Western Illinois head coach from 1988-90 and later earned a master’s degree at Southern Illinois University, where he was a graduate assistant women’s golf coach from 1993-95. He coached boys’ golf at Monmouth High school from 1995-97, capturing a Class A state title in 1995.

Blasi returned to Western Illinois as director of golf operation in 1998, overseeing operations of the school’s Harry Mussatto Golf Course. He added duties as men’s golf coach in 2000. Blasi directed the Macomb Area Junior Golf Association from 1998-2017 and was director of the First Tee of Western Illinois youth program from 2000-15.

“Mel’s experience in coaching top-level golfers and his desire to win championships stood out to us,” athletics director Eric Van Kley said. “He also has a passion for teaching and for making an impact on the lives of student-athletes.

“He also brings a strong work ethic and tremendous knowledge in golf facility management and development. That will be beneficial as we continue to enhance our on-campus practice facility, which we think is one of the finest in Division III.

“That facility, along with our new indoor hitting center and the highly rated Bos Landen Golf Club, combined with Coach Blasi’s teaching ability, will make Central College an attractive destination for golfers seeking opportunities to compete for championships as well as a life-changing education.”

Central’s national success helped draw Blasi to Pella.

“Obviously Central’s tradition is strong,” he said. “The college supports the program. It’s an opportunity to compete nationally. That’s very attractive to me. I’m a very competitive person and I can’t wait to compete at Central and try to get on that national scene as quickly as possible.”

Blasi said his daily responsibilities in operating a golf course limited his ability to go on the road to recruit.

“This is an opportunity for me to focus my time and talents on just coaching golf,” he said. “I’ve never had that before.”

Central’s players were also a draw for Blasi.

“Central College has such a great reputation for its student-athletes and the student part of that is important to me,” he said. “Obviously at a school like Central, education is important. I’m looking forward to working with those student-athletes and having a positive influence of some kind.”

Blasi has high expectations of his players.

“Our first goal is the conference championship and that has consequences for national tournament qualification,” he said. “Overall, I want our program to be respected for our players’ character, their work ethic and the way that they represent themselves for the college. Always my goal is for our players to be gentlemen on the golf course and to give 100 percent. I anticipate being a very hard-working and high-character golf team.”

The formula for success starts with talent, but doesn’t end there, he said.

“Recruiting is important,” he said. “And we want to establish a culture of winning. We need to talk about where we want to go and how do we get there? If you don’t believe it’s possible, it’s never going to happen.”

Blasi and his wife, Melissa, have three sons. He begins his duties at Central next Monday.

Posted by on Jul 10 2018. Filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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