Snider exceeds expectations in first season leading Lady Royals

Head basketball coach Michael Snider completes his first year with Twin Rivers Lady Royals while leading the team to a district championship.

DAR/D’Courtland Christian

BROSELEY — Head basketball coach Michael Snider completed his first year as the leading guy for the Twin Rivers Lady Royals and exceeded expectations beyond measure.

Since his return to his Alma Mater, Snider said the community has welcomed him with open arms, and from his first practice, the Lady Royals basketball team bought into his vision for the program. Snider is no stranger to the coaching world, having had early experience at other schools within the area, but nothing compares to being back home.

“I’ve been very fortunate early in my career to be in some amazing school districts,” Snider said. “I have made stops at Senath-Hornersville, Holcomb and now back home at Twin Rivers. I couldn’t be happier. Twin Rivers holds a special place in my heart, and I was excited to return and get to work.”

Snider said his first season back at Twin Rivers has been fantastic. He believed the team accepted him and was receptive to his coaching style. He said he couldn’t have asked for a better team that did everything asked of them and constantly went above and beyond my expectations.

While having more experience coaching boys’ basketball, Snider took a leap of faith by coaching the Lady Royals and was still determining how the season would go initially. He said switching from coaching boys to girls was challenging because he did not know what to expect from the Lady Royals or other teams.

Senior Amelia Douglas goes up for a lay-up as the Twin Rivers Lady Royals faced off against Greenville in the OFC tournament.

“It took a lot of watching film and talking to my assistant coach, Kelly Westerfield, to really know what to expect,” Snider said. “We had our ups and downs this season, but overall, it was extremely successful. Not necessarily just from the wins and losses column, but I just saw so much growth in our girls in so many different ways. I just could not be more proud of them.”

The Lady Royals have won multiple district titles in the past few seasons, and Snider wasted no time adding his own to the collection. Twin Rivers finished the season with a 14-14 record and claimed the Class 3 District 1 championship with a trip to the state tournament.

Though the outcome didn’t go as planned, Snider said it was a great way to set the tone for the program going forward.

“Winning the district championship was a big accomplishment for us this year,” he said. “We played in a great conference in the Ozark Foothills and had a pretty good schedule. This year, when we had to pick up games, we wanted to play teams that were going to really challenge us. Our goal is to improve each day to play well at the end of the year in our district. We were very fortunate to do that. It was a great accomplishment; the girls showed great resiliency all year. They could have given in and thrown in the towel, but they didn’t.”

As a perfectionist when it comes to the game of basketball, Snider said paying attention to the small details was crucial to their success. He said there were many things the Lady Royals could’ve improved on, but the girls worked hard all year and then some, which is all he could ask for.

By only losing two seniors next season, the Lady Royals will return many of their young core players for a chance to repeat.

“We will miss our two seniors, Amelia Douglas and Anne Mittelstadt,” Snider said. “I cannot brag on those two enough. They were phenomenal leaders who led by example. They got so much respect from their teammates because they showed up every day and worked. I have yet to think about next year because so much can change in the blink of an eye. But as it sits right now, we have a lot of girls who will be returning next year, which is always exciting. Having this year under their belt, understanding the lingo, plays, defenses and all of that should really help them.”

Snider is excited to get started in the offseason. The goal is to get stronger in the weight room, improve skill level and improve their knowledge of the game. He believes if the team can accomplish this during the offseason, he will feel great about next season. Until then, he said the Lady Royals got work to do.