18-year-old Kaila Blakeman, the 5’9” native of Calgary who plays the left side, is in her first year as a member of the SAIT Womens Volleyball team.
Blakeman, a graduate of William Aberhart High School, is enrolled in the Exploration Information Technology program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and has her sites set on a career as a geophysicist.
If Blakeman needs any advice on balancing her athletic and academic careers, she can turn to her father who played hockey at SAIT, recording 78 points over 48 games back in the day!
“It was definitely always in the back of my mind,” said Blakeman. “I didn't think of it at first but when it became a possibility that I could play here and become a Trojan, I definitely jumped on that.”
This past summer, Blakeman and her volleyball partner, who plays for Grant MacEwan University, captured the under-18 beach volleyball title at the national championships in Vancouver.
SAIT head coach Art O'Dwyer says Blakeman’s experience and success on the national stage will help her advance her volleyball career on both the hard court and the sand.
Blakeman’s dedication to the game has taken its toll on her nose. In a preseason game with the Trojans, Blakeman suffered a broken nose, the seventh time it had been fractured. SAIT obtained a face mask for Blakeman to prevent an eighth break.
“She came up to me and asked me whether her nose was straight and I didn't know it was broken,” said O’Dwyer. “I said ‘straight compared to what?’. I really didn't know, and I looked a little closer, and then she had it reset, and it wasn't straight from when I saw it before.”
“We say there is just a big target on it that says, "hit me here", and it’s been one time every year for the past sever years,” said Blakeman. “Hopefully that streak is done now.”
Kaila Blakeman of the SAIT Trojans is the CTV Athlete of the Week sponsored by Big Chief Beef Jerky.
With files from CTV's Derek Bidwell
