Gold medal memory

It is okay to toot your own horn when you play in the band. I’m gonna toot away be

I’m gonna toot away because some moments deserve such attention.

Fifty years ago this week— April 22 to be exact—the high school volleyball team on which I played won state. All of us but one are still living, including our coach.

Today, a state championship is a goal for many athletes and academic students. In 1971, it was not even on our radar. I had no clue that playoffs existed in girls’ sports. Even after we won a one-game playoff with arch-nemesis Lamesa High School I didn’t know we moved on and would play again at the regional level. When the Tiger bus pulled up to take us to Lubbock (where we played in the very, very small women’s gym on Texas Tech’s campus) did it hit me that this was a big deal. Normally, that bus was only for the guys.

We won regional that day in a gym smaller than high school gyms today. Two large bleachers pulled out for fans from four schools and folding chairs were set up courtside for overflow. There was very little overflow. The main memory I had of that day was how poorly I played— the youngest on the court stunk it up. Our first-year coach Mrs. Hess pulled my trademark pigtail braids and sat me down for a bit. I got the message, and my parents did not attack her after the game because, quite frankly, my braids needed a good tug.

The ride home was memorable as now we knew exactly what was on the line. Motivation came in the form of (1) making history as the first Snyder High School team to win a state championship, (2) sheer competitiveness on the part of every teammate, and (3) wanting to validate our coach’s innovative methods. That last one is a bit too complicated for lay people, but trust me, Mrs. Hess was cutting edge. On a personal note, I was motivated because I did not want the embarrassment of needing my braids pulled again.

Darn it if we, the Lady Tigers who were seeded fourth of the semifinalists, did not win it all. We defeated Stafford Dulles and then Gregory Portland, who would go on to win the state title the following year. We never had a chance to defend our title that year because Snyder moved up a classification in realignment due to increased enrollement from the oil boom. The next year, five starters returned. Our district included both Abilene high schools, Big Spring, and both Midland high schools, all of whom we beat at least once in the season. Unfortunately, our second-place finish was not a playoff spot in those days. Only the first-place team advanced. We stayed home, a better team in every way than we were the year we won state. To this day, oil booms and UIL realignment days give me pause.

It was magical, this April moment fifty years ago. My teammates were people whom I admired deeply, my coach was someone for whom I would have jumped off the roof, and the families/friends/classmates/teachers who encouraged us during that February, March and April season made it all the more meaningful.

In 1972, the Snyder High School Lady Tigers had a number one hit. You better believe it is okay to keep humming that victory song.

Snyder, Texas, native Sue Jane Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher whose thought-provoking commentary appears occasionally in several West texas newspapers, including The Texas Spur and The Caprock Courier.