Kelly Bleam can’t think of a better time than now to step away from the helm of the Northwestern Lehigh girls’ soccer program.

The choice to retire from coaching comes after her Tigers won back-to-back Colonial League and District 11 titles.

The longtime varsity head coach feels the Tigers are in a good place for her to be able to step down from a position she has held for the last 25 years in New Tripoli.

“I can’t think of a better place for the program to be than where it is right now,” Bleam said. “There are terrific kids in the program right now, and there are terrific kids coming out for the program soon.

“There’s a coach who has worked with me several years, who I’m hoping steps into the role and can continue all the traditions and excellence that are at Northwestern Lehigh. I absolutely believe that if he chooses to take that job that he will be able to do that.”

It was in mid-November that Bleam coached her final varsity game with NW. Her Tigers dropped a heart-wrenching setback in the PIAA State playoffs to Villa Joseph Marie on November 15. It may have marked her last day that she will ever coach another soccer game, but it won’t stop her from being a fan of the sport, or even her favorite program.

Bleam just felt it was time to step away from a game that has been a part of her life for a long time. More importantly, she put a decision to rest that has been looming in the Northwestern Lehigh High School math teacher’s mind for a while now.

“Though I have considered stepping away at other times throughout the years, I couldn’t do that without knowing the program was in the best possible place,” Bleam said. “Those other times I considered retiring from coaching, things were not in the best possible place - things needed to be restored to a better place.

“Everything (that is the entire program) is in the best possible place now. The program is thriving now. Much in thanks to the leadership and talents of the outstanding senior class of 2019 and 2020, and of course, a wonderful group of invested, talented underclassmen. I couldn’t be any prouder of the teams of the past couple of years.

“I am certain the tradition of excellence that is Lady Tiger soccer, will be in full swing again next year and many more years to come.”

INITIAL KICK

“Soccer personally has been a part of my life since I was 10 or 11 years old, just like most kids who play the game today,” Bleam said. “It’s been a part of my life for a long time.”

Bleam grew up with the sport playing a part in her young life. As a youth, she played competitive club soccer and varsity soccer throughout high school. She played on the defense for Eldred Central High School, which is a small town in Sullivan County, New York. She went on to be named Western Sullivan League Defensive Player of the Year her senior season in 1976, in which Bleam admitted was a “great honor.”

And then, Bleam decided to take the sport to the next level where she played collegiate soccer for three years at the University of Scranton.

NEW INTEREST IN THE GAME

College though is where Bleam eventually found a new interest within the sport she always loved.

Thanks to her college coach Joseph Bochichio, Bleam found a new love within the game.

“My Senior year I was, and I’m still grateful for this, the late Joe Bochichio asked me if I would consider being part of the coaching staff because I was injured and in a place where I could not play,” Bleam said. “That was just one of the greatest things ever considered because I discovered a whole other side of the game and a whole other passion for the game. I learned a lot from him in that experience.”

Soon coaching became a thought, but Bleam wanted to get her teaching career in line before even thinking about continuing to coach the game. But, it would stay in her thought process.

“The coaching part was not something I ever considered until that year (in college), and season, I spent with that staff because the game is just so different through a coach’s eyes,” Bleam said. “It’s a problem-solving, putting the pieces together like of a puzzle or a game of chess. It’s like what works? Who works where? Just putting all the pieces together. I was fascinated sitting in meetings where that kind of stuff was being discussed.

“And, I was like, ‘I never thought about the game from that perspective. That’s really interesting.’ I was intrigued. That led me to trying to start coaching when I was able to. But, at that time, I still had a lot to learn.”

Along the way, Bleam decided to take some coaching education courses to get a better understanding of it. And her background as an education major was helpful in that process.

“Being a teacher already, I was in a place I would be able to teach (the sport),” Bleam said. “I never thought about breaking down the game of soccer the way I would break down a trigonometry problem, or the course of trigonometry where it’s what you do if you’re going to teach something.

“I never thought about breaking down a game like that. You teach all the different aspects of it to try and put the whole thing together in the end. I just fell in love with the whole process.”

FAMILY AFFAIR

Bleam and her husband, Chris, are both longtime high school coaches in the Lehigh Valley and two of the most successful ones to roam the sidelines in the area.

While Kelly has chosen to step away from the game, she won’t speak for Chris who continues to stay involved quite yet in the coaching ranks.

But, while both continued their love for the game as head coaches, they also raised two lovely children in Hallie and Alexa. Both girls grew up playing the game and attending games in which their parents were coaching.

When they reached high school at Northwestern Lehigh, both of Bleam’s daughters were key players on the Tiger varsity teams that achieved great success the past few seasons. Hallie is now member of the team at Elizabethtown University and Alexa will graduate and spring and is still deciding on her college choice.

“In terms of coaching my own daughters, I am very happy that each of them were on teams that won district 11 and league championships,” Bleam said. “Most of all, my daughters like everyone else’s daughters remember being part of a team, playing the game they love and the funny moments that made us all laugh so hard.

“I am happy they got to play on a team that was successful and left them with great memories. Whomever the coach is, that is what HS sports is really about.”

Next summer is going to be quite different for Bleam.

For the last 25 years or so, the year pretty much revolved around the game of soccer. But, after deciding to free up some time this year, Bleam expects the game to catch up with her here and there.

“I think that there will be a couple of times where I’m like, ‘I’m supposed to get up and go to training this morning,’” Bleam giggled. “And then I will be like, ‘I don’t do that anymore.’ I will sort through that.”

She will remain the head of the math department and continue to teach and NW. But, once the summer rolls around, Bleam can improvise a little more than she has been able to in the past.

“Well, I will probably be able to go the beach a little bit more,” Bleam said. “Every week, we had summer training, two days a week. Both of my girls were always involved so getting away was never very easy. But I will be getting away a little bit more.”

But, down the road, expect Bleam to be leading a few cheers along the stands at soccer games at Northwestern Lehigh Stadium.