www.bceagles.comCongratulations to the 2008 Varsity Club <strong>Hall</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Fame</strong> Inductees!Burke-Magliozzi Funeral HomeMagliozzi Funeral Home390 North Main Street, Andover, MA 01810 23 Governors Avenue, Medford, MA 02155Phone: (978) 475-5200 Phone: (781) 395-0128Cherishing Life. Honoring Memories.Sarah Powell ’01Congratulations!26BOB BP -- File name: B72040_BC_32pg_Txt.pdf Made on Sep 16, 2008 at 7:02:59 PM, Page 26 <strong>of</strong> 36 pages. Trim is 8.5 x 11.0 --
2008 INDUCTEEBOB BP -- File name: B72040_BC_32pg_Txt.pdf Made on Sep 16, 2008 at 7:02:59 PM, Page 27 <strong>of</strong> 36 pages. Trim is 8.5 x 11.0 --CHRIS HAMBLIN ‘01SoccerGiovanni Caboto - John Cabot in historybooks – set sail from Bristol, England in 1497and became the first European since LeifErickson to lay eyes on the mainland <strong>of</strong> theNew World. Exactly five hundred years later,Christopher Hamblin swallowed his misgivingsand set out from his home town <strong>of</strong>Bristol for North America. Like the renownednavigator, Hamblin made history too.Chris became the first Boston College soccerplayer to be named a first team AllAmerican. He also was the leader <strong>of</strong> the soccerClass <strong>of</strong> 2001 class that reversed a fouryearlosing skein and returned Boston Collegemen’s soccer to the national stage.In the fall <strong>of</strong> the year 2000, the Eagleswere the surprise <strong>of</strong> the Big East. They went12-7-1 overall and tied top-rankedConnecticut 1-1 in double overtime duringthe regular season. They knocked <strong>of</strong>f favoredRutgers 1-0 and Seton <strong>Hall</strong> 2-1 to take theconference play<strong>of</strong>f crown and earn BostonCollege its first trip to the NCAA tournamentin ten years.As he had been throughout his career,Hamblin was immense in the net that season.Boston College had the eighth-stingiestdefense in the country, giving up just 17 goalsin 20 games. The acrobatic, undersized goaltenderhad an 0.84 goals-against averageoverall, and a mark <strong>of</strong> 0.44 in conferenceplay.Coach Ed Kelly states “Chris Hamblin’saccomplishments, making a first-team All-America while standing all <strong>of</strong> 5-8 or 5-9, arevery unusual. If he had been 6-3 or so, hewould have been a pr<strong>of</strong>essional goalie andnever gone to college.“But he made up for his size by his workethic and his understanding <strong>of</strong> the game.He was quick, agile, had good decisioningand positioning. His reading <strong>of</strong> the game wasone <strong>of</strong> his keys to success.”Classmate Kevin Boyd, the team’s co-captainand the central defender, said <strong>of</strong>Hamblin, “His reflexes were so quick. Andhis distribution…he was the best and mostaccurate kicker on the team. As soon as hegot the ball I would break away from mydefender and head upfield.”Hamblin prefers to credit the entiresenior class with their career-capping successand Big East title. He points out that a largecontingent had arrived four years previously,and seven <strong>of</strong> them were starters as seniors.They had previously gone 5-9-2, 5-10-2, and6-9-2, and few people took them seriously.But they were a tightly knit and spiritedbunch, and with Chris once again the finalline <strong>of</strong> defense, they exited their collegecareers with a flourish.College soccer was not Hamblin’s initialchoice. In his youth he had hoped to be a pr<strong>of</strong>essionalgoaltender. But despite his obvioustalent and intimate knowledge <strong>of</strong> the game’spsychology and nuances, he had no chance torealize that dream. The problem – he justwasn’t tall enough.In England, one either plays sports orgoes to university. But a friend who’d attendedFlorida Atlantic University told Chris thatin America he could play topnotch soccer andget an education too. That started Christhinking, and in short order a number <strong>of</strong>serendipitous events came his way.A lady from Des Moines, Iowa namedRamona Barber, who just happened to be ahigh school guidance counselor, took a vacationtrip to England. She met a friend <strong>of</strong> theHamblin family and heard <strong>of</strong> Chris’s interestin coming to school in America. Thoughshe’d never met him, Mrs. Barber beganadvising Chris on all aspects <strong>of</strong> college admissions.– what tests to take, how to preparefor them, evaluate potential schools, and sellhimself to athletic recruiters.Chris sent a highlight videotape to soccercoaches at ten schools. Boston College wasnot on that list, but one <strong>of</strong> the tapes found itsway to Kelly at a coaches’ convention. Edneeded a goaltender, and he <strong>of</strong>fered Chris a27scholarship after watching the film.Meanwhile, Hamblin had been acceptedto a UK university and began having secondthoughts about moving so far away. His fatherPaul urged him to take the BC <strong>of</strong>fer, tellinghim that he might be saying “what if” formany years afterwards if he didn’t.So it was that Chris Hamblin journeyedfrom Bristol to Boston, steered to America bya guidance counselor he’d never met to bethe goaltender for a coach who’d never seenhim play. Serendipity it was, indeed.Chris loved the responsibility <strong>of</strong> mindingthe net. “Goal is a unique position. You’repart <strong>of</strong> a team, but it’s different. You’ve got ahero-villain situation going on there. You’vegot to work on the fundamentals, and thetechniques to push yourself to be the best youcan. I had to work on lateral movement a lot,and in our drills I hated to get beat,” he said.“It’s as much psychological as it is physical,”he says. “Playing the angles is a big part<strong>of</strong> it. You can position yourself to make thegoal look smaller than it actually is.Communication with your defenders isimportant too – you need to tell them to moveand shift, to close up the lanes.”Tim O’<strong>Hall</strong>oran was another goaltender inthe Class <strong>of</strong> 2001 and an important influenceon Hamblin’s development. They spent agreat deal <strong>of</strong> time together, practicing andpushing each other to do better. Tim said,“Chris was extraordinarily gifted, with hisreaction saves and reflexes. He was remarkablein reacting to prevent headers anddeflections. He used to describe himself as a“cat on hot tiles.’”Chris still holds Boston College’s all-timerecord for minutes played in goal, logging6319 in 68 games. He is third in career saveswith 322 and second in shutouts with 24.Chris was an early and enthusiastic participantin community service during his studentdays, taking part in the HEAR programand coaching local youth teams. Among hismany accolades was the Brian D.A. <strong>Hall</strong>Leadership Award, the university’s highestleadership honor.After graduation, Chris played pr<strong>of</strong>essionallywith the Boston Bulldogs and joined thecoaching staff <strong>of</strong> Boston College Women’sSoccer, where he now is associate headcoach. He’s also a Region I OlympicDevelopment Program member. When Chrisand his wife, the former Elizabeth Baird,were married last year in Castle Combe,England, seven <strong>of</strong> his former teammates flewto England for the ceremony.
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