High School Male Athlete of the Week: Pacifica Christian Orange County’s Caleb Snider going out with a bang
Caleb Snider took one look at the club volleyball scene, and he decided that it was not for him.
He looked inward and discovered what was most important to him with regards to the sport.
The Pacifica Christian Orange County High setter said he asked himself a couple of questions as he re-evaluated why he was playing volleyball, including, “What is my purpose in playing volleyball?” and “Is it to go to college?”
“I decided that that wasn’t really why I wanted to play volleyball,” Snider said. “It was more to build this new program and to also just have a good time while I’m doing it.”
Snider has played at the varsity level in all four seasons with the Tritons, each under a different coach. The latest, Tim Maruyama, only got to coach Snider for seven matches before the spring sports season was postponed due to concerns over the coronavirus.
Starting Friday, sporting events involving Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley and Laguna Beach high schools will not be played indefinitely due to ongoing concern about the coronavirus.
“Cal is a little bit funny in that he’s got a bleeding heart, so he wants to be able to develop everybody,” Maruyama said. “He wants to see everybody succeed and thrive, so when we first started, we had to have a lot of conversations about, ‘Hey, if this is your best hitter, we don’t need to play everybody else. If your best hitter can’t be stopped, set your best hitter the entire time.’”
Junior opposite Jackson Baugh and sophomore outside hitter Knox Vail emerged as top hitting options for the Tritons, who are 6-1 in their first season under Maruyama.
Maruyama added that Snider had learned to set the middle early in matches to open up his best hitters on the pins, although his enthusiasm to get everyone involved remained strong.
That is why Snider found the Tritons’ last match at home against Brethren Christian on March 13 so enjoyable. While the nonleague match was played without spectators, the entirety of the Pacifica Christian boys’ volleyball program was on hand.
The Tritons played host to the Warriors in a nonleague boys’ volleyball match on Friday. No spectators were allowed to attend the match.
Pacifica Christian earned a 25-14, 25-12, 25-17 sweep, and Maruyama began to sub in members of the junior varsity team in the second set while keeping Snider out on the court.
“I think [the score in the second set] was 20-12, maybe, and then Coach [Maruyama] just started subbing in our JV players,” Snider said. “That was probably one of my favorite memories is that we were just having a good time. We weren’t too serious, but then we gave it our all. If that was the last game, I’m satisfied with it.”
Snider finished with 26 assists, 12 service aces and two blocks in the match. Vail had a team-high 12 kills, and sophomore libero Bennett Penticuff had a 2.78 passing average.
Although the team is young, Snider said that it has a well-balanced roster. Penticuff was a big part of that with his ball control to help the Tritons get into their offense on schedule.
“He is a phenomenal libero,” Maruyama said of Penticuff. “He doesn’t let a single ball touch the ground, and he really has embraced relentless pursuit. I mean, this kid will run through a wall. He is so smart, and he is so quick.”
Snider plans to join the Navy as an air traffic controller straight out of high school. His path was influenced, in large part, by the fact that he has an aunt, Tami Tollefson, who worked as an air traffic controller at Los Angeles International Airport.
“My contract is for five [years], so I’ll be in for five, because the schooling for air traffic control takes a little longer,” Snider said. “It’s more difficult.”
Snider will leave for Navy boot camp on July 30, but when he returns, the cost of moving out on his own might not be as high. One of his hobbies is woodworking. He has already manufactured two coffee tables, and he plans to make a bookshelf, so he should at least have some furniture.
The desire to help others is innate in Snider. He noted that part of his decision to join the military was to make a difference with regards to suicide prevention.
“I thought, ‘If there is anything that I can do to help with that, that would be another amazing impact,’” Snider said.
As for the subject of things that not a lot of people know about him, Snider had a hard time coming up with one. He settled on revealing that his family owns chicken, and they eat the eggs.
Perhaps the fact that there are no secrets between Snider and those he knows is one of the reasons why he is so well-respected among his teammates.
Maruyama appreciates coaching Snider for his uncanny ability to get his point across without saying anything at all.
“Cal is someone that I would say is one of the hardest workers on the team,” Maruyama said. “He is a silent leader. He is the type of kid who is the very first person in the gym and the absolute last one to leave. He doesn’t command your traditional sense of high school leadership in that he is not the most vocal person. He’s not telling people what to do, but he leads incredibly well by example. He does a really good job of being that older guy in the room, that if he looks at you sideways, you button your shirt.
“He does a fantastic job leading this team in that capacity, unmatched on our team.”
Caleb Snider
Born: Sept. 16, 2001
Hometown: Huntington Beach
Height: 5 feet 11
Weight: 165 pounds
Sport: Volleyball
Year: Senior
Coach: Tim Maruyama
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite movie: “Isle of Dogs”
Favorite athletic moment: Snider enjoyed the way the entire Pacifica Christian boys’ volleyball program came together for its last match against Brethren Christian on March 13. Several junior varsity players subbed in during the match, and he was able to set for them, too.
Week in review: The senior setter had 26 assists, 12 aces and two blocks to lead Pacifica Christian over Brethren Christian 25-14, 25-12, 25-17 in the teams’ final match before spring sports were postponed.
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