In this month’s Coaches Corner, we sit down with Sebastiaan Blickman, a dedicated coach who has significantly influenced youth sports through his diverse coaching experience and commitment to team development. With a background that spans various sports and positions—from assistant coach at The Loomis Chaffee School to head coach at Trinity Prep—Blickman brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to the field. As both the assistant head of the upper school and a teacher of AP World History, he strives to instill core values in his athletes, emphasizing teamwork, personal responsibility, and continuous improvement. Join us as he shares insights into his coaching philosophy, remarkable moments from this season, and the vision he has for the future of Trinity Prep’s athletic program.
How long have you been a coach?
My first coaching position was an assistant on The Loomis Chaffee Boys Varsity Soccer team in 2017-2020. I coached the U18s for Blackrock FC, an academy team of primarily boarding school players. During that period, I was also an assistant for the Boys Varsity Swimming team. I then became an assistant coach with Greenwich Country Day School’s Boys Varsity Soccer team from 2021 to 2023. I was the Head Girls and Boys Varsity Swimming Coach during those years. Last year, I was the Head Boys Middle School coach here at Trinity Prep.
How many sports did you play growing up and in college?
It would be easier to identify which sports I didn’t play. Basketball and football were two sports I was steered away from due to geography and family history. My brothers played football, but my father was a college soccer player and always wanted his sons to play soccer. Basketball is always second to hockey in New England. But I grew up playing soccer in the fall, hockey and swimming in the winter, lacrosse, soccer, and tennis in the spring, and soccer and swimming in the summer.
What is your current position at TPS?
As the assistant head of the upper school, I also teach one section of AP World History in the social sciences department and coach the Girls Varsity Soccer team.
Can you describe a typical practice for your team?
We run a very tight, structured hour and 45 minute long training session. Girls are expected to be laced up and ready to go by 3:30 p.m. They can come together and get loose in our warmup until 3:40. By 3:45, we are into our technical progression, improving our touch, passing, movement off the ball, and continuing to warm up. By 4:05, we are moving into some pattern passing, understanding the patterns that exist in the field while expanding our technical practice. At 4:20, depending on whether or not it is the day before a game, we’ll jump into 10-15 minutes of fitness. If we have a game the next day, we’ll opt for a possession game aimed at understanding a pattern in our play or a movement we need to understand to find success. By 4:45, we will transition into a competitive game with the goal of reviewing our set pieces, principals, or an element of the game plan.
What are your core values as a coach?
General Team Principles
- Nobody is above the team; put the team first
- You represent yourself, me, and the school at all times
- Avoid drama, block out any noise
- Focus on continuous improvement, value the process over the outcome
- On-time is late
- Over communicate, on and off the field
- Win the game within the game
- Give maximum effort
- No phones/social media on the field
- No profanity
- Never criticize a teammate
Core Playing Principles (Defensive)
Pressure on the ball, cover, balance
Sideways and backward, live to fight another day
Tell us about a remarkable memory this season.
The focus on fitness may be new to many and surprising to those who observe us. But watching the girls find fun in a 45-minute session at 6:30 a.m. on a Friday, push each other to work hard, and complete our challenges was a great indicator that we had the right people in the boat and would continue to move in the right direction.
What are you looking forward to next year for the team?
I look forward to developing our identity and style as a team and developing a program that people can point to and understand: “That’s how Trinity Prep plays.”
Is there anything you would like to add that was not asked?
We are building a program with a core identity and values centered around personal responsibility and collective accountability. Here, hard work is encouraged and expected, and success is demanded and earned daily.