Josh
Barnett - Sports Editor
If
you have been to a South Ripley
girls varsity basketball game
in the past seven years, you've
seen Mr. Bill Snyder, with green
towel in hand, coaching the Lady
Raiders from the sidelines. After
the seven years at South Ripley
and an 11 year stint at South
Dearborn, Snyder has decided
to throw in the towel and step
away from the game of basketball. "It's
just time to pass the torch," commented
Bill on why he was retiring, "I've
enjoyed coaching but now it time
for a change," he concluded.
Snyder was hired
as the Assistant Principal at
South Ripley High School during
the 1996-97 school year. After
a couple of years at SR he decided
to become the girls varsity basketball
coach in 1999. During his seven
years as the Lady Raiders' head
coach he compiled a record of
115 wins and 43 losses. Among
those wins were four Ripley County
Tournament titles, three Ohio
River Valley Conference titles,
one sectional and one regional
with a final four appearance.
Just this past season he was
voted as the Hoosier Basketball
Coaches Association District
III Coach of the Year and will
be coaching the HBCA All-Star
game in Paoli on April 10.
Before arriving
at South Ripley, Snyder spent
11 years as the
varsity girls basketball coach at South Dearborn High School. While
coaching the Lady Knights he put together a record of 172 wins
and 69 losses. He won five Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference
titles, four county titles and eight sectional titles.
Putting his career
in perspective coach Snyder put
together an outstanding record
of 287 wins and 112 losses. He
won ten county titles, seven
conference titles, nine sectionals,
a regional and had a final four
appearance.
Snyder wasn't just
a coach though, he played basketball
in college for Sterling College
in Sterling, Kansas. He graduated
from college in 1980 and landed
his first teaching job at South
Dearborn.
Filling the void
left by Bill Snyder will be his
brother Steve. Steve recently
moved to Versailles and he and
his wife both work for the school
district. He wanted to get involved
in coaching for the Raiders so
he started with the eighth grade
boys basketball team, which he
coached this past year. He is
currently coaching the varsity
girls track team.
Like his brother,
Steve has quite the resume. He
coached for several years in
the Milan school district, which
included varsity boys basketball,
varsity baseball and just about
everything in junior high for
both boys and girls.
After retiring
from Milan he
had the opportunity to work at Oldenburg Academy as the Athletic
Director and girls varsity basketball coach. He led the Lady Twisters
to a 6-14 record in one season at Oldenburg. After one year at
Oldenburg he moved to Versailles and works for South Ripley School
Corporation as a full time substitute teacher.
Steve also played
basketball, like Bill, for Division
I, University of Southwestern
Louisiana (currently called University
of Louisiana Lafayette). He graduated
college with a teaching degree
and taught and coached in several
different areas including Georgia,
Florida and East Central High
School.
"He [Steve]
has great knowledge of the game
and is an excellent motivator," noted
Bill Snyder, "He's familiar
with our students and the type
of players we have and will keep
our program on the top where
it belongs."
Steve lives in
Versailles with his wife Gail,
who also works at South Ripley,
and their two children Alex (8th
grade) and Sealey (7th grade). "I
look forward to stepping into
an established program that is
as well known as South Ripley's," said
Steve, "I'm excited to step
in my brothers shoes. It's going
to be a fun and exciting experience."
Most admit that
Bill will be greatly missed by
all Lady Raider fans, but they
agree that Steve is more than
qualified and will pick up right
where his brother left off.
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