This is the 9th article in Players of Pride Hall, a subsection of Bears Doing Big Things, celebrating the stories of notable M-A alumni in the Hall of Fame.
Tinka Blackmond ‘84 has dedicated much of her life to basketball, even playing during her 10-year military service. Today, she manages an after-school program and works part-time for iHeartMedia.
Blackmond discovered her love for basketball while playing with her neighbors as a child. “I lived next door to five boys, and the only way they would let me play with them was if I fully learned the sport and got good,” she said. “I would just carry a basketball all the time and once I was finally getting picked first, I knew I had improved.”
Blackmond started ninth grade at San Carlos High School but transferred to M-A after moving to East Palo Alto with her aunt. “I already knew I wanted to go to M-A just because I wanted to play for their team,” she said.
Throughout her three years playing basketball at M-A, Blackmond was coached by Pamela Wimberly. “Ms. Wimberly was everything to our team. She was not only a coach, but also a mom figure and friend,” she said.
“She was firm but compassionate at the same time,” she continued. “You could talk to her about anything, and she was always there trying to help.”
Blackmond played both forward and guard, standing out as one of her team’s top defensive players. “Defense was really my thing more than anything,” she said. “When I scored points, they were like bonus points, but stopping the opponent was my specialty.”
Blackmond and her team were almost undefeated and won the CCS championship in 1984. “We were usually guaranteed to win, but I still loved the sense of competition walking into every game,” she said.
This past October, Blackmond and the 1984 girls basketball team were inducted into M-A’s Athletic Hall of Fame for their outstanding accomplishments. “It was an honor to be recognized because that team means so much to me,” she said. “It was great to reconnect with my former teammates and Ms. Wimberly, whom I haven’t seen in many years.”
After graduating from M-A, Blackmond worked at a local bank for two years before entering the military for ten years. “My life was very hectic at home, and as silly as it sounds, I had a lot of different friends from different groups, and one day I just thought ‘I wonder how everyone would react if I just wasn’t around?’” she said.
Blackmond served as a material facilities specialist in the Air Force, managing the shipping and receiving of materials and ensuring that supplies were sent out to troops in need. At the same time, she joined the United States Air Force Europe womens basketball team, which eventually became her primary focus. “It was easy to just walk onto the team in the Military,” Blackmond said. “Most of the people playing on the teams were military wives, so I was the young gun coming in.”
Blackmonds military career soon shifted to being entirely centered around basketball. “I traveled with the team all year long, so my job technically was just playing basketball for the Air Force,” she explained.
While stationed in Spain, Blackmond and her team traveled across Europe to compete against other countries, including Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Germany. “My favorite win was when we beat Turkey because nobody could ever beat them,” she said. “We even had a parade when we returned to Spain.”
After injuring her shoulder in the military reserves, Blackmond left the military and shifted her focus to working with children. “I’ve always loved kids, but that’s not really a military job,” she said. “When I got out of the military, I started working at a daycare and I thought, ‘I could really make a living off of this.’”
Blackmond opened her own after-school program, Qreativity Uncensored, at Redeemer Lutheran School, where she runs programs for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. She also occasionally coaches P.E. and basketball there. “No day is ever the same, which makes my job really exciting,” she said. “The impact I have on kids is also really special.”
Blackmond also works for iHeartMedia for their public affairs show, a weekly segment that features local nonprofits. “I’m like a disc jockey,” she explained. “I interview people who better our community, edit them, and send them off to be played every week.”
As for the most important lesson basketball has taught her, “It’s really all about learning how to listen and staying disciplined, which I also learned in the military.”
“I tell my students who play sports, you can always play if you’re hurt, but you can’t if you’re injured. That has changed the dynamic of the game for a lot of young players because it’s all about pushing yourself to your maximum potential but also knowing your limits,” Blackmond said.
Blackmond’s advice to current student-athletes: “Practice and work on your game every day like it’s homework and part of your routine. Anyone is capable of success but it’s all about commitment and hard work.”
