John Blanche

John Frank Blanche grew up outside of Trenton, NJ.  He attended college and graduate school in Columbus, Ohio.  In 1978, he was commissioned in the USMC and served 21 years.  He served as a Staff Judge Advocate General and a Military Judge.  During his career, John received a number of distinguished military awards including the:

Navy Achievement Medal

John retired from the USMC in the summer of 1999.  He immediately started working for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) as an Assistant District Counsel in El Centro, CA.  During his short career with the INS, John especially enjoyed prosecuting alien smuggling cases presented by the US Border Patrol, as well as drug trafficking cases involving aliens arriving at the Calexico Port of Entry.

While his career took up a large part of John's life, athletics played an important role, too.  He received a Baseball Scholarship while attended Wittenberg University.  He continued to play baseball throughout his life.  He was the winning pitcher for a team of Japanese ball players on Okinawa.  At age 48, he participated in the Major League World Series for Men's Adult Baseball League (MSBL/MABL World Series) in Arizona.  His North County team took third place.

His athletic career turned into a coaching career when son Jack began playing sports.  John coached Jack's Little League baseball team as well as his recreational soccer team while the family lived in Swansboro, North Carolina.  The coaching continued as they were transferred and stationed from city to city.  The moving ended when the family relocated to Fallbrook, CA.  At that time, John started managing his children’s (Jack and Jamie) soccer teams.  He began with Jack's U14 team with the Fallbrook Fury club.  The following year, Jack moved to the Temecula Soccer Club and John managed the U15 and 16 for the next two years.  Finally, Jack and John moved to start the Southwest SC and play for their U17’s.   John also served as the manager of Jamie’s Surf Team for two seasons.

John’s love of soccer, coupled with his seeing the need for a “World Class Soccer Program” in the Temecula, Murrieta, Fallbrook area, led him to help found and then serve on the original Board of Directors of the Southwest Soccer Club.  John’s involvement with Southwest SC began with his successful efforts to recruit the best players from two local U15 boy’s teams, creating a powerhouse team.  This group of young men became the flagship team of Southwest SC, holding an amazing record of 123 wins - 21 losses - 19 ties.  This team amassed 13 Tournament Championships while netting an additional 7 Second Place Trophies.   Seven of these original boys continue to play soccer at the college level.

On a cold and rainy day, April 7, 2001, while he was driving his daughter Jamie home from a soccer practice, a tragic auto accident took John from us.  He is and will continue to be, missed very much by those who knew him.

North County Times Article - Solace from Soccer

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