APRIL 4 • 2024 | 49
J
N

are struggling with mental health issues 
because of sports, raises awareness about 
those issues, and works to eliminate the 
stigma attached to them in the sports 
culture. The group’s causes appealed to 
Blank’s kindheartedness.
“A student-athlete’s lifestyle of a 
daily commitment to their sport can 
be overwhelming,” Blank said. “It can 
lead to things like eating disorders, 
performance anxiety and confidence 
issues if you feel your self-worth is tied 
to your success in sports.
“We [The Hidden Opponent] can’t 
always find a cure for those issues. 
But we can help if a student-athlete’s 
recovery isn’t as linear as he or she wants 
it to be.”
Blank’s work at Groves with The 
Hidden Opponent included organizing 
mental health awareness days at girls 
basketball and softball games and a fun 
run fundraiser.
She’s still involved in the organization 
at U-M. She’s a head campus captain, 
mentoring 19 high school campus 
captains in 11 states, including 
Michigan, and Canada.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of 
Blank’s multi-faceted life story doesn’t 
involve only her. It involves her parents, 
Bloomfield Hills residents Howard and 
Jamie Blank.
Howard and Jamie were seniors at 
U-M and dating when they attended 

the Rose Bowl game between U-M 
and Washington on Jan. 1, 1998. They 
watched the Wolverines win the game 
and the national championship, their 
last one until this past season.
Fast forward 26 years to Jan. 1, 2024. 
Howard and Jamie were back at the 
Rose Bowl, this time as U-M graduates 
and a married couple (their engagement 
announcement was in the Jan. 22, 1999, 
edition of the Jewish News). They’ll 
celebrate their 25th anniversary July 10. 
They watched U-M beat Alabama 
in overtime in January in a national 
playoff semifinal game in the same end 
zone of the Rose Bowl where they sat 
as U-M students in 1998. Both games 
came down to the final play before the 
Wolverines prevailed.
There was more than football for 
Howard and Jamie to watch in January. 
They watched their daughter perform 
with the U-M marching band.
They could have never imagined that 
on New Year’s Day of 1998.
“If you would have told me back then 
that a daughter of ours was in the U-M 
marching band, I would have been 
shocked,” Howard said with a laugh.
That’s because Ella’s parents are 
admittedly not musically inclined. 
Howard is a physician. Jamie is a middle 
school math teacher at Hillel Day 
School.
“Jamie and I like to listen to music,” 
Howard said. “But music was never a 
career path for us.”
Ella’s love for music was ignited by 
Birmingham Public Schools’ music 
program. 
Her brother Ari, 16, a sophomore at 
Groves, is following a similar musical 
path. He plays viola in the school’s 
orchestra program.
Ella’s family rooting section at the 
Rose Bowl in January also included her 
brother and her maternal grandparents 
William and Marilyn Kohen of West 
Bloomfield, both U-M grads.
In addition to her involvement with 
the U-M marching band, Ella’s parents 
are proud of her work with The Hidden 
Opponent.
“Ella loves to help people. She has 
great empathy for people. She was a 
mentor to her teammates at Groves. This 

organization is a great fit for her,” Jamie 
said. 
“There are so many wonderful life 
lessons that come with being involved 
with sports. Ella doesn’t want sports to 
add stress to someone’s life.”
As for the U-M marching band, Jamie 
said she’s been impressed with how 
much band members support each other 
despite the highly competitive weekly 
auditions.
Ella is majoring in public health at 
U-M with a minor in music. Her career 
goal is to go into medicine or public 
health. 

Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

Howard and Jamie Blank 
at the Rose Bowl in 2024.

ARI BLANK

Howard and Jamie Blank 
at the Rose Bowl in 1998

FAMILY PHOTO

“THERE ARE SO 
MANY WONDERFUL 
LIFE LESSONS 
THAT COME WITH 
BEING INVOLVED 
WITH SPORTS. 
ELLA DOESN’T 
WANT SPORTS TO 
ADD STRESS TO 
SOMEONE’S LIFE.”

— JAMIE BLANK, ELLA’S MOM