After 30 years of working there, BSM lost a member of its staff. Mark Snell was not only an assistant athletic director, but a coach, leader, and friend of many at our school. He decided to leave for a new job opportunity and new atmosphere at Arctic Wolf Networks, a cybersecurity company located in Eden Prairie Minnesota.

Snell has had many roles at BSM, both as the Assistant Athletic Director and coach. Going forward he has big aspirations for what the future of BSM athletics looks like. “I hope for the school to continue to grow…In the future I just wish everyone the best in their sports programs and all the activity programs to be highly successful,” Snell said.

Snell’s coaching career had a massive impact on BSM and the community at our school. He has coached everything from soccer to basketball, but his most influential coaching role was as the head coach of the BSM Boys Cross Country team. He brought not only coaching but mentorship and family within the program. The team has certain days of the week that would incorporate everyone in an easy and fun way. Trivia Tuesdays were days where coach Stevens would ask trivia questions to the different age groups and reward them with Gatorade, on hat Friday everyone would dress up in funny hats and whatever was judged as the best would be rewarded with Chick-Fil-A. “Having team prayers, pasta dinners, sunglass club, Trivia Tuesday. I think the whole package to make everybody feel welcome was a key thing,” Snell said.

Snell created core groups on the cross country team. He had the captains lead smaller groups of different ages on the team through core workouts. Now, these players are some of the closest friends on the team with each other. Now, core group leaders (captains) are tasked with talking about upcoming events at BSM and how people are feeling about them, current events in the news that runners can indulge into, and teams in events that they play. “I feel like a big part of Cross Country is involving the whole team…As a junior high runner, I started running in eighth grade, it helped me meet older students and get to know them and understand what they do,” Cross-country captain Thomas Sauer said.

The brotherhood is very important to the culture of the team. This way runners work well together because of the amount of team bonding incorporated into practice. As one of the most mentally challenging sports, it is important for the team to be working together rather than stressing alone about the already dreadful meets. “I think that changing the culture within the past 6-10 years of doing different fun days and things and having core groups, 7 AM summer workouts all in order to create the culture of a family,” Snell said.

Snell’s role both within and outside BSMs walls had a big impact on the lives of many students and athletes in a unique, unparalleled way. “I had a big influence on many young people’s lives and being in the building all the time and having that close contact was key to being successful in developing life skills within all the athletes that I coach,” Snell said.

By being an exemplary role model Snell has paved the way for the future of many students and athletes alike. He has exemplified the morals and values that BSM stands for time and time again by showing athletes the importance and meaning of friendship, teamwork, hard work, and perseverance. “I think the whole package to make everybody feel welcome was a key thing. …Ehrmantraut made a comment at my going away party that he’s always had parents come up to him and talk about how one of the best programs in the school is the cross country because of how close they are and they feel like a family and welcome to the progress,” Snell said.