Tate leaves impact on Snyder baseball program

Image
  • Snyder assistant baseball coach David Tate (right) talks with assistant coach John Moffett during last weekend’s playoff game against Abilene Wylie. Tate, who became assistant principal at Snyder High School in January, was an assistant coach the past 12 years.
    Snyder assistant baseball coach David Tate (right) talks with assistant coach John Moffett during last weekend’s playoff game against Abilene Wylie. Tate, who became assistant principal at Snyder High School in January, was an assistant coach the past 12 years.
Body

Snyder High School assistant principal David Tate impacted the baseball program for the past 12 years.
Tate wrapped up his coaching career last weekend when the Tigers lost to top-ranked Abilene Wylie in the Region 1-4A semifinals. He was named an assistant principal in January, but remained with the baseball program during the 2016 season.
“It’s hard to leave those guys, but it will free up time to spend more time with family,” Tate said. “I will still watch them play as much as I can with the new job. I will miss the relationships working with coaches.”
His son, Logan, was a four-year member of the program and hopes to play in college. Tate said his position as assistant principal will allow him to watch his son play.
“We had a lot of fun times,” Tate said. “I built relationships with players through camps and  coaching. I’ve been thinking about making the move. Not many dads get a chance to coach their son in high school. It would not have been possible to keep coaching and watch Logan play college baseball. I felt this was the right time for the move.”
Tate worked for Scurry County Adult-Juvenile Probation before being hired by Snyder ISD. He coached football and basketball, along with baseball at Snyder High School.
“I finished my degree and had an opportunity to coach in 2005,” Tate said. “I coached three sports until 2008. I’ve coached football and baseball for the past few years. A lot of players still come by the office often and that will be one of the biggest changes. I told them it is still OK to keep calling me ‘coach Tate.’”
Tate worked with former head coach Charles Bollinger through the 2011 season and remained on the staff with current head coach Shane Stewart.
“Coach Bollinger and Stewart taught me a lot and I have a lot of respect for both,” Tate said. “I’ve got good relationships with both coaches. I couldn’t ask for two better coaches to work with. I believe the program is moving forward under coach Stewart. We barely missed the playoffs in 2013 and 2014 and qualified the past two years.”
Snyder qualified for the playoffs 10 times and won five district championships while Tate was an assistant. One of the highlights came during the 2008 season when the Tigers won the Class 3A state championship, defeating Texarkana Pleasant Grove and Michael Wacha, who now pitches for the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Of course the 2008 season was my greatest coaching accomplishment and I was proud to be a part of that team,” Tate said. “I remember at a tournament when coach Bollinger and I were upset when we had trouble catching flyballs. We won the state championship. It’s amazing how much a team can improve. We had two pitchers (Brent Bollinger and Lance Day) who were as good as any other team’s No. 1 pitcher in the state. They helped keep us in every ballgame. I will never forget that team.”
Tate recalled the one-game playoff for the regional championship when Snyder defeated Cooper 4-1 to earn the school’s first state tournament appearance since 1986.
“Cooper was the most nervous time during the season because it was one game,” Tate said. “We won the game and the pressure was off because we were going to the state tournament.”
Tate said the 2007 team, which lost to Lubbock Cooper in the regional quarterfinals, was just as talented as the 2008 team.
“We should have won the state championship in 2007,” he said. “That was a good team. We could have won back-to-back state championships.”
Tate credits Snyder Little League for the high school program’s success. He said the volunteer coaches teach fundamentals to players at a young age.
“The Little League program deserves credit,” Tate said. “We’ve had a lot of good players throughout the years, not only on the field, but the classroom and community. Brent (at Denison) and Jamie (Arnold at Frenship) are in coaching. I received texts every week and they told me to keep it rolling. It’s good to see former players that you had an influence enter the same profession.”