SIMLA — Most aspects of life at tiny Simla High School are perpetually quaint and unchanging.
The road immediately outside the school’s gymnasium remains an unpaved gravel tract. Inside, the pregame festivities feature not the national anthem, but the the Pledge of Allegiance.
And, as has been the case for nearly three decades, Susan Snyder is sitting at the side of the court, shouting instructions to the Cubs’ volleyball team while notching yet another victory.
It was a special night at Simla on Thursday, as Snyder was recognized in a pregame ceremony for becoming only the fourth Colorado high school volleyball coach to reach 500 victories. Snyder earned that mark with Simla’s win on Oct. 1 against Flagler, joining Fowler’s Vin Mizer, Evergreen’s Lo Hunter and Flagler’s Pam Fagerlund in the prestigious 500-win club.
“The thing about a milestone like that is that it is all of the kids that played for me in the past, the parents that support me, the administration and the coaches — they put in a lot of time, and really the honor is theirs as much as it is mine,” said Snyder, who earned win No. 505 with the Cubs’ sweep of Hilltop Baptist on Thursday.
“They all stood by me. When I first started coaching, I really wanted to be a basketball coach. That was my passion. But there were hardly any basketball positions open at the time, and there were a multitude of volleyball positions. I played it, but I never really respected the game as much as I did as when I started coaching.”
The Colorado native is in her 28th season as a high school coach, the past 26 of which have been spent at Simla.
Snyder is a three- time winner of the Denver Post’s Class 2A coach of the year award, and this year’s Cubs squad, ranked No. 4 in Class 1A, will be a threat to capture Snyder’s third state championship when the volleyball postseason begins next week.
“She teaches fundamentals from Day One, and that is what you need to win,” Simla senior Kristen Wilson said. “She always makes sure you do those fundamentals throughout the year. We really didn’t have any idea about this (milestone). We win because that is what we want to do, but being a part of this is special too.”
