Volleyball pioneer set to retire in style

When Don Shondell started coaching volleyball in 1964 there were only three other varsity teams in the country. Today, in his final year of coaching, there are 68.

The Ball State coach announced his retirement earlier this season. In his 34 years at the helm of the Cardinals, Shondell brought his small team to the NCAA Tournament 14 times, won 19 MIVA titles and compiled a .740 winning percentage.

But Shondell's accomplishments reach far beyond the small borders of this Indiana school.

"All that I have to say is that Don Shondell, I think, has been coaching longer than I have been alive," Penn State's coach Mark Pavlik said. "He is a remarkable man. He's got so much enthusiasm for what he does. He has seen so much and worked so hard to get men's volleyball going in the Midwest and the people he has coached have carried that on. His effects are so far reaching that nobody realizes what Don Shondell has brought to the game of volleyball."

Shondell graduated from Ball State in 1954 and returned two years later to build up the Cardinals' volleyball team. After five years as a club team and six months of negotiation with the athletic department, volleyball became a varsity sport at Ball State in 1964. From then on, other schools caught onto Shondell's dream and began their own volleyball programs.

Today Shondell's Cardinals are a major Div. I contender among 25 other varsity teams. But next year this team will be without its coach as his retirement becomes effective June 30th.

"I'm 69 and still in good health and there are a lot of other things I want to do," Shondell said. "I want to travel, watch all my granddaughters play volleyball and watch my sons play volleyball. When I am coaching every night, there are just too many things I can't do that are fun. There just comes a time."

Shondell's three sons, two of whom are former Cardinal volleyball players, coach high school volleyball. Eight of his former players are currently carrying on Shondell's coaching tradition on the collegiate level. Mick Haley, former Cardinal and former Texas women's volleyball coach, now leads the U.S. Women's National Team.

Shondell will no longer be an active participant in volleyball, but his legacy will still carry on. Former players who have learned from Shondell were lucky to have him for their full collegiate volleyball career. But the current Cardinals are not as privileged. To them, Shondell has not only been a coach but also an inspiration.

"He taught me to really focus on things I should be focusing on," said middle blocker Doug Market. "He really promotes academics more than athletics. He was the best coach I've ever had so far. When I say good-bye, I am going to give him a big, fat hug. It will be a very emotional moment for us."