by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College assistant volleyball coach Blair Russell is leaving the Lady Blue Devil program to pursue a lifetime dream – photography.
“I’ve wanted to be a photographer for a long time, ever since I started taking photos when I was about 9 years old and wrote a report on photography my freshman year in high school,” said Russell, who has a degree in convergent media from Missouri Western University, a degree which combines photography, videography, design and journalism.
“The past year I’ve invested more time and money in my photography business in Lawrence and it got to the point I needed more time to do it,” Russell said. Specializing in weddings, engagements, family photos and other such photo opportunities, Russell will also work as a social media and marketing consultant for Body Boutique in Lawrence.
Russell will not completely abandon coaching, however.
“I know I love coaching and will continue coaching in club volleyball in Kansas City,” she said.
“We’re really going to miss her,” KCKCC coach Mary Bruno Ballou said. “She helped us in so many ways, especially in social media. She was the forerunner in everything we’ve done in keeping with what she learned in earning her degree. She made great contributions in her two years as an athlete and one year in coaching with us. I wished she could have stayed longer.”
Ballou said a search for Russell’s replacement will begin immediately.
KCKCC’s only first team NJCAA All-American, Russell led the Blue Devils to the championship of the consolation bracket of the 2014 NJCAA Division II national tournament in Arizona.
“Coach Bruno refueled my fire for volleyball,” said Russell, who almost gave up competitive volleyball after injuring her shoulder her freshman year at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. However, once in contact with Bruno, Russell decided to continue to compete at KCKCC where her off-season workouts elevated her to All-American status.
“I changed from being an athlete to volleyball specific because of all the technical skills I had to work on,” Russell said. “I could not just rely on my athleticism. It definitely helped me in going to a four-year university. I also learned about the administrative side of coaching, which I really enjoy teaching young players how to play.”
In addition to her All-American honors, Russell was named the Most Valuable Player in the Jayhawk Conference while earning All-Jayhawk and All-Region VI first team honors. An outside hitter, she was fifth nationally in kills (516) and eighth in kills (3.94) per game. Ninth in the NJCAA national tournament and eighth in the final NJCAA poll, the Blue Devils finished 32-10 on the season.
Earning an associate’s degree at KCKCC with a major in journalism and minor in convergent media, Russell was a mid-term graduate in 2014 and then transferred to Missouri Western in St. Joseph in January of 2015 where she played two years while earning a Bachelor of Science in journalism.
An MIAA scholar athlete and MIAA honorable mention as a senior, she was on the honor roll both years. A graduate of Marysville (Kansas) High School, she was a three-sport standout there.