Dragons Dig for the Cure

Being strong in the world of athletics is often determined by the amount of weight you can lift, but it’s the success and challenges in life that are what make Minnesota State University Moorhead Head Volleyball Coach Tammy Blake-Kath strong.

Blake-Kath will begin her 17th season at the helm of the Dragon program this fall. Last season the team finished fifth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, known as the toughest conference in NCAA DII, as it boasts the last four National Championship teams.

“It’s a very competitive conference, one of the best in the nation,” Blake-Kath said. “Being one of the top teams is always our goal.”

Her team has been one of the top teams in the league in each of her 17 seasons, but none may be so famously followed as the season where the team was off to a 16-0 start. In 2004, Blake-Kath was leading an undefeated team, but it was the challenges she faced off the court, that made the feat even more amazing.

Five months prior to the 2004 season start, Blake-Kath’s husband of four years was diagnosed with terminal cancer and only three months later, her father was diagnosed with cancer.

She became the foundation for her family as she traveled with her husband and father to their treatments, which included multiple experimental treatments in Texas for her husband.

Blake-Kath’s husband died in October, mid-way through the Dragons’ 16-0 run, while her father went through a period of remission. The Dragons went on to tally a 23-8 overall record. Her father lost his battle in 2006.

“In 2004, all of my time was spent back and forth from the hospital to the gym to taking care of my daughter,” Blake-Kath said. “It’s hard to remember everything that went on that fall but the support we received from the community, team and the University was something I will never forget.”

To honor those memories and those who have battled cancer, the MSUM volleyball team will host the fifth annual ‘Dig for the Cure’ on October 21 at 7 p.m.

‘Dig for the Cure’ is an event where the team raises money for hotel stays for the families and patients of those with cancer. This was a cause that was near and dear to Blake-Kath as she was provided with rooms when traveling to Texas in 2004.

“So many people are affected by cancer,” Blake-Kath said. “It’s the extra expenses that people don’t see that the families have that we like to support. It’s our team’s way of honoring those people in our life who have been affected by cancer.”

The team will take free-will donations and also sell t-shirts for $10 during the week of October 21. All proceeds from the event will go to hotel stays for cancer patients and their families.[AWM]