After 31 years of coaching volleyball, 18 instructing the Longhorns, varsity coach Susan Dean has decided to step down for retirement after this season.
“It breaks my heart that this is Coach Dean’s last season,” setter/ right-side hitter and senior Jamie Poppen said. “I feel so thankful that I had the opportunity to have her for four years, and my heart aches for people who aren’t going to be able to have her as a coach. She is one of those people who you can go to, whether it’s volleyball related or not.”
Since starting her coaching career in 1998, Dean has won 12 conference championships and four district championships, as well as 11 district runner up finishes, four appearances at sectionals and two trips to the state final four.
“Everything that we do in games, we also do in practice. The preparation for games is a lot of drills, a lot of repetition, a lot of game situations,” Dean said. “It is just a game. It is not life or death, although we still obviously want to do our very best.”
The varsity team, which is made up of two sophomores, six juniors and three seniors, is ranked ninth in the most recent STL Today poll.
“Dean has told us that this year is a lot better than previous years because we have been doing really well. Everyone knows everyone on the team better, which makes it easier to play,” middle hitter/ rightside hitter and sophomore Rebecca Reinecke said.
This season, the girls have 11 wins, six losses and two ties. This makes a total for Dean of 572 wins, 367 losses and 46 ties throughout her coaching career.
“We have a great group of girls who come to practice everyday with great attitudes, and they work really hard, and they get better everyday. We are not so much as to focused on winning right now, as we are about getting better,” Dean said.
With Dean’s last season ending in two weeks, the varsity Longhorns are deciding how to make it count.
“I want to make sure she knows just how much she has meant to the volleyball program here at West,” setter/ right-side hitter and sophomore Tess Allgeyer said. “She has contributed to our individual growth as students, athletes, and people so much in the time that I have had her.”
![Holding the disc, senior Nathan Thompson waits for an opportunity to pass to senior Timmy Fry. Parkway United’s ultimate frisbee team is made up of students from each of the four Parkway schools. “The one thing I really like about ultimate [frisbee] is the community because it’s so different from any other sport I've been a part of. [My] national teammates are people who we play against in the regular season, so we see each other all the time. It's always fun hanging out with [them],” Thompson said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/C96A6823-1200x800.jpg)
![Senior Josie Grunzinger watches the football game intently from the sidelines on Oct. 18. Grunzinger stood out to the crowd as the only girl on the football team, encouraging other girls who want to play football to take a chance and go for a sport outside of their comfort zone. “If you think you could [play football] and you want to do it, just try it, because all it takes is to actually try it out,” Grunzinger said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Untitled-design-1200x675.png)
![With her arms held high, junior Jenna Rickelman throws the ball across the pool during a girls water polo practice. With hours of practice after school and over the summer, Rickelman saw many improvements in her water polo skills. “When I look at [my] stats, I'm so much better than I was last year,” Rickelman said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Untitled-design-2-.png)
![Putting on his helmet, catcher and senior Tommy Eschbach prepares to get in his primary stance. Despite losing 6-1 against Eureka on April 16, Eschbach didn’t let the tough loss affect his playing or mental health. “It's [so] easy to get caught up in the sport and what you're doing that [after] one bad game or a stretch of games it is hard to remind yourself that your worth as a person isn't directly related to your performance on the field,” Eschbach said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0415-1-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Sports organizations have changed lives on and off the field, improving athletes’ muscle strength, reducing their risk of diseases and building energetic work capacity worldwide. However, many student-athletes struggle to balance schoolwork and athletic commitments, hoping to seek more understanding and support from their teachers and coaches. “To lessen mental strain student-athletes [face] and create a healthier, more comfortable lifestyle, there shouldn’t be any homework. I'm already [at school] for eight hours and [homework] creates a bigger load for student-athletes in AP or honors classes,” track and field sprinter and sophomore Lucy Penton said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_0095-1-e1713883278514-1200x847.jpg)
![At the Spring Pep Rally on March 8, boys varsity water poloist and junior Jack Brau stands with the boys water polo team. The group, hoping to include everyone — whether boy or girl, varsity or JV — cheered on the girls water polo team during the sports team runouts. “Even though we all play separate games and have different practices, we like to see ourselves as one big group who represent one water polo [team],” Brau said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_8810-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Looking for an open teammate, freshman Patrick May passes the ball across the court at the Nov. 28 game against Parkway Central. May started in the game against the Colts. ”Growing up, [my parents] always gave me a basketball, [and] we had a basketball hoop outside. I grew up playing [all the time], playing on the [driveway] and shooting hoops with my dad.” May said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/image2-1-1200x801.jpg)
