Farewells for the Blue Wave Girls Volleyball and Boys Basketball

May 21, 2018

The Blue Wave must confess to more than a tinge of sadness as they congratulate head volleyball coach Živa Recek Blackmon as she leaves P.K. Yonge and joins the University of the Incarnate Word Volleyball program in Texas. “In Recek Blackmon, the Incarnate Word is gaining a knowledgeable and dedicated professional,” says P.K. Yonge Athletic Director Kelly Barrett, “In her short time at P.K. Yonge, she has gained significant support of P.K. players and faculty alike. The way our community has responded to her speaks to how much she cares about kids. She will be sorely missed.”

With a highly touted playing career on the Slovenian National Indoor and Beach teams, as well as at the University of Florida, Recek Blackmon has done great work with the P.K. Yonge Girls Volleyball team. “We were excited and grateful that Živa chose to be with us for two years,” said Barrett. “She was a great player and a wonderful coach.” Recek Blackmon’s promise as a coach was clear early on, evidenced by winning an AVCA Coaches 4 Coaches scholarship which pays for future coaches to attend their first coaching convention.

At the same time the Blue Wave wishes Recek Blackmon well in her future position at Incarnate word, they also bid farewell to Head Men’s Basketball Coach Billy Blackmon. Blackmon, who also serves as P.K. Yonge’s Elementary Behavior Coach will be leaving P.K. Yonge to accompany his wife Živa and their son, Billy, to Texas.

Blackmon, a highly valued member of the P.K. Yonge faculty and coaching staff for the last 5 years, established his dominance as a basketball coach and has definitely become an integral part of the P.K. Yonge community. “Billy has deep roots here,” said Barrett, “His love for basketball, for kids, and for our school sets us up with some really tough shoes to fill.” This season Blackmon took the Blue Wave team to the final 4 with some dramatic plays along the way and was also named the Gainesville Sun Mens Small School Coach of the Year.

“The Blue Wave is better for having had Živa and Billy on our team,” said Barrett, “We are sad to see them go, but we are excited about where their paths will take them.”

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