This shows that good coaching is more than just xs and os. Coaches can have a tremendous influence in young people

I always hate when journos fall into that trap of “never letting the facts get in the way of a good tale…”

In this case, Streeter takes a bit of liberty when it comes to Snipes’s Track&Field exploits when he says, “Even though he often performed on an empty stomach, Snipes wasn’t just fast, he blazed. In track, he became state champion in the 100, 200 and 400 meters…”

Not exactly… here are the results of the Snipes’s junior and senior track seasons:

2004 Washington State Meet
State FINALS-3A BOYS 200 METER DASH w-3.40
 1 Taylor Mays-10, O’Dea 22.27
 2 Chancellor Young-12, O’Dea 22.34
 3 Randy Bacon-12, Washington 22.66
4 Attrail Snipes-11, Rainier Beach 22.71
 5 Quinton Jackson-12, Renton 22.94
 6 Trevor Rollinger-12, West Valley(Yak) 23.01
 7 Timothy Smalls-11, West Seattle 23.08
 8 Adam Abusamha-12, Black Hills 23.16

 FINALS-3A BOYS 400 METER DASH
 1 Quinton Jackson-12, Renton 48.93
 2 Randy Bacon-12, Washington 49.12
3 Attrail Snipes-11, Rainier Beach 49.95
 4 Brian Sheldon-12, Mark Morris 50.32
 5 James Hardy-12, Black Hills 50.36
 6 Marc Smith-10, West Valley(Sp) 50.60
 7 Jude Lizama-12, Lakes HS 50.74
 8 EJ Schoen-12, West Valley(Yak) 51.14

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Washington State Meet
June 3-4, 2005

FINALS-3A BOYS 100 METER DASH W-3.04
1 Brandon Jones-11, O’Dea 11.00
2 Jonathan Stewart-12, Timberline 11.17
3 Attrail Snipes-12, Rainier Beach 11.34
4 Joe Miura-12, Seattle Prep 11.35
5 Brandon Sears-12, West Valley(Yak) 11.36
6 Kevin Ramos-10, Shorecrest 11.64
7 Alex Baldwin-10, Centralia 11.65
8 Taylor Mays-11, O’Dea DNS

FINALS-3A BOYS 200 METER DASH w+2.46
1 Jake Hanson-12, Yelm 21.47
2 Brandon Jones-11, O’Dea 21.96
3 Brandon Sears-12, West Valley(Yak) 22.11
4 Will Hillebrand-12, RA Long 22.46
5 Joe Miura-12, Seattle Prep 22.48
6 Anthony Laborin-11, East Valley 22.69
7 Alex Baldwin-10, Centralia 23.04
Attrail Snipes-12, Rainier Beach DNS

FINALS-3A BOYS 400 METER DASH
1 Attrail Snipes-12, Rainier Beach 49.82
2 Tanner Targett-12, Bellevue 50.11
3 Marc Smith-11, West Valley(Spok) 50.27
4 Daryl Schie-12, Burlington-Edison 50.44
5 Erik Fosberg-12, Highline 50.50
6 Gordie Verhovek-11, O’Dea 50.55
7 Keith Holt-12, East Valley 51.92
Will Hillebrand-12, RA Long dq