COACHING LEGEND
Mike Snyder's legacy spans generations in Seminole
Mike Snyder's legacy spans generations in Seminole
SEMINOLE — Walk into the football stadium in Seminole, and you will see a simple sign with a profound message.
TRADITION NEVER GRADUATES.
Those green words on a white board are the foundation on which Mike Snyder has built a career unlike any other.
He won his 364th game last Friday, a mark no coach in Oklahoma history has ever reached.
Snyder built his tradition through developing relationships with players and becoming an influence for thousands. Six of his nine current assistants played for him and nine of his current players had fathers who donned the green helmet. Snyder's standard is excellence, and that's shown through his winning ways, commitment to
Seminole and the people who live there.
“He just connects with anyone,” said Shawn Snyder, Mike's son who won a national championship on OU's 1994 baseball team and is an assistant coach. “Everyone likes playing for him, and he keeps things consistent.”
This season has actually been an anomaly. Seminole ( 4- 5, 2- 4 District 3A-3) will miss the playoffs for only the fourth time during his 40 seasons leading the program.
Snyder, 69, grew up in Holdenville, about 20 minutes southeast of Seminole, which is about an hour southeast of Oklahoma City. He has been a part of Seminole football since 1972, when he became an assistant. During his eight seasons before taking the head job, the Chieftains won a state title in 1977 and made the playoffs four times.
After becoming head coach in 1980, Snyder quickly found success, reaching the playoffs in three of his first four seasons, including a semifinals appearance in 1982. In 1989, the Chieftains would appear in the first of six eventual title games under Snyder.
Inside his office beneath the home concrete bleachers, there are plenty of trophies accumulated through the years, including one coveted gold ball won by his state title team in 1996.
The stadium hasn't changed much since Snyder took over. The locker room still has wooden lockers, and players write their names on the inside each year. The coaches' office used to be Seminole's agricultural facility. The short ceilings and wooden walls give it an oldtime feel, but Snyder's coaching abilities prove anything but.
“When people come here and play a game, they love the environment,” Snyder said. “When you fill it up, there's not a better stadium around.”
The biggest change is a new scoreboard with “Mike Snyder Field” on a big sign at the bottom. The street on the north side of the stadium, separating it from Seminole's fieldhouse, was coined Snyder Avenue.
Even with his impact on the football program, Snyder's fingerprints are scattered beyond the confines of Chieftain Stadium.
He became the school's first athletic director in the early 1980s. During his tenure, there have been seven superintendents and 13 or 14 principals — he can't remember the exact number.
As an AD, he helped start a volleyball program along with fastpitch and slowpitch softball teams. Seminole is set to open its new high school in January, and he's excited to see how students react to the new facilities when they get in them.
Even though the high school will be different, the football coach will remain the same.
His winning principles are ingrained in the foundation of Seminole's football program. It shows with his state championship, the numerous victories and district titles. The excellence standard trickles to his players, who eventually come back to follow his lead, continuing to learn.
Snyder and the Chieftains battle Okmulgee on Friday to conclude the final page of his 40th season. But as this chapter ends, another begins next fall.
Snyder plans to keep adding to his win total. He said getting to 400 would be neat.
Knowing his high standards for excellence, it would be a shock to see Snyder achieve that.
Three hundred sixtyfour wins later, his culture and style is ingrained in Chieftain green.
As long as his health allows, he will be the head coach at Seminole.
Tradition never graduates.
“Everybody in Seminole is asking that question right now, about when I'll retire,” Snyder said. “I have no plans to retire.
“Football is my hobby. Seminole schools is a passion for me, to try to help everybody who comes through here in some form or fashion.”