Godinez Fundamental High School (GFHS) athletic director William Snyder, said when he was selected for the new athletic director (AD) job, it was because of his love for sports. 

“I love being involved in all things athletics. I enjoy all sports, so it is really a perfect job for me because it aligns very much with my interests outside of school,” said Snyder.

Snyder’s busy part of the day starts once the bell rings for 6th period. Snyder exits the athletic office and checks in with every athletic program practicing or competing. Here is what a typical afternoon for Snyder looks like.

Basketball had a game, so Snyder went to the gym to check that everything was going well. He reset the scoreboard and made sure the team was prepared. 

Then, he walked to the boys volleyball courts and checked in with them to see which courts they prefer for their games.

Boys’ soccer also had a game, so Snyder went to the soccer field to see if everything was running smoothly. He mentioned that GFHS’s athletic program makes sure we have two fields reserved when there is a soccer game. Another school also had a game on the field right next to the two fields GFHS reserved. However, when they saw the poor condition of the field they were not too happy. The other team ended up playing in the field in poor condition. 

Snyder then drives to the baseball fields under construction to see its progress. It is coming along so he inspects the progression, then returns to his cart to go back to the athletic office. 

GFHS athletic secretary Shelley Hernandez greets Snyder as he walks through the door after making his rounds. She loves communicating with coaches, athletes that come in the athletic office and parents. She thinks Snyder has been doing a good job as the new athletic director.  

“He has been so supportive and I really like the way he communicates with the athletes as well as coaches. He is a really big aspect of this whole athletic program. He does so much,” said Hernandez

Snyder describes Hernandez’s contribution to the GFHS athletic program as invaluable.

“She knows all the systems, the organization and management. She is teaching me so much because she has been doing this for over 10 years and I am really learning my job through her,” said Snyder. 

Snyder is proud of the fact that they have been able to get their athletic programs going and being able to compete again.

GFHS tennis coach, Regina Parga, thinks Snyder works very hard and does a job communicating with the coaches.

“He has done a good job on maintaining the level of expectations for athletics especially during this time of COVID, trying to keep all sports open and allowing spectators to come in.” said Parga. 

GFHS track and field Coach Aaron Raya had Snyder as his coach and thinks he has been extremely helpful as the athletic director.

“He has been a super great help. He has been giving me advice and suggestions. We are able to bounce ideas off of each other,” said Raya.

“There are challenges we are having to rebuild. We are still low on numbers in a lot of sports and that is something we need to improve on over time,” added Snyder.

Due to the pandemic, there has been a lot of rescheduling, canceling, and postponing sporting events. Snyder mentions that it has been a challenge reopening athletic programs that have been down for some time. 

But he sees hope in the form of more students joining athletics once again.

“We are getting more and more students active and involved in athletics. We are not where we used to be, but we are heading in the right direction.” concluded Snyder.