Sunday Conversation: Catching up with Berne Union athletic director Danny Snively

SUGAR GROVE — Berne Union athletic director Danny Snively is the kind of person you want to be around because he is always smiling and has an upbeat attitude.

The son of a coach, Snively traveled around a lot when he was younger before settling in and graduating from Jonathan Alder High School in 2009. From there, he played football at Muskingum University for four years and was hired as a Lancaster teacher. He was an assistant football and softball coach for the Gales for five years before being hired as Berne Union’s AD. He is also the Rockets’ varsity softball coach.

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Here is our conversation:

Question: Can you talk about where you grew up , what high school and college you attended and what was that experience like?

Danny Snively: I moved around a lot. My dad was a teacher and a coach. I was born in Marion, and we lived there for three years, then we moved to Lancaster and my dad was an assistant coach under Tom McCurdy, and my dad followed him to Hilliard Darby. My final spot was in Plain City, and I graduated from Jonathan Alder. I went to Muskingum University and played football for four years. My first teaching job was at General Sherman. Scott Burre hired me. I was there for five years and then Jon Parker took a chance on me to be the athletic director at Berne Union, and I have been here for the last six years.

Q: What was your high school experience like? I know it’s tough moving around, but what was it like as far as playing sports?

Snively: We were independent, so we didn’t have a league to play in. It was good. I played football, basketball, baseball, and track and I had a lot of great relationships with coaches. The one thing that I go back to is I always wanted to teach and I never thought I wanted to be an administrator, and after seeing how different people managed themselves, and at Jonathan Alder they never really took care of their own, which was frustrating, and right or wrong, it felt like they never had our backs at certain times. That was one thing when I got into administration, I wanted to make sure our community felt that I had their back. I am for our kids, and I am for our community, so that was one of the reasons why I chose this route versus staying in teaching.

Q: How did the experiences of playing sports help you in your professional life?

Snively: Playing three sports, you are always busy. My dad was a coach and we knew a lot of different people, so the work ethic was big. My dad coached (Ohio State strength coach) Mickey Marotti at West Liberty, Bobby Carpenter and his brothers I grew up with, and my mom babysat Jimmy Cordle and his sister. In high school, I worked out with Fury, and he took a group of us under his wing. I would take us and we would work routes, and the next thing you know, Brady Quinn is throwing with you. I was given experiences I don’t think a lot of people got. I think I was given those experiences because of the work ethic and my parents did a phenomenal job of having high expectations and the discipline they instilled in me, and that’s something I’ve tried to keep going with it. In education, I kind of took the statement of make it happen. You don’t know what each day is going to bring, and it’s your job to make it happen and it’s your job to figure out how to make it happen. It’s a piece of what I am trying to build here. Nobody cares about excuses. They just don’t. If you give an excuse in the real world, there are going to be repercussions.

Q: Did you always want to be a coach?

Snively: I always enjoyed sports. My grandma owns a golf course, and I grew up around a golf course. My dad was a football coach, a wrestling coach, a softball coach, so I was always around sports. I have always been around it, and I was given opportunities. I always knew I wanted to teach and give back, and every time I had a chance to work in a special education class, I did. It’s a joy and it’s something that not everyone gets to feel and want to do. Once I got into the special education field, I loved it. As far as coaching goes, I wanted to give back kids the experiences I had. I want our athletes to remember their experience in a positive light and you don’t always get that.

Q: Being an athletic director, what are the challenges and rewards of the job?

Snively: The challenge is never being home. There are multiple weeks where I leave at 7 and get home after nine or later. You work 14-hour days and do it all over again. Kudus to my wife (Bethann), with three boys, it’s not easy. There are times when it is frustrating, but she holds the fort down and it allows me to do what I am allowed to do. You have things that you prioritize things in your life and there are times when that list gets mixed up a little bit, or at least it feels like it. I am starting to figure it out and I am managing my time better to avoid some of the challenges. The rewards are seeing success after kids graduate. We do a good job of being open. The rewards are seeing the kids being successful, and we have a bunch of kids go right into the workforce. You always want to be a great influence.

Q: For the time I have known you, you are always smiling and always have an upbeat attitude. Where does that come from?

Snively: People always that here that I always have a smile on my face. To me, there is nothing to be sad about. There are so many things in the world that I could be going through, and I’m not. We go up to Children’s Hospital every other year, and you see sick kids and I don’t have that. My kids are healthy. I don’t have unfortunate events happening in my life. I’m blessed, and lucky, so there is no reason to be upset. In my role as athletic director, I am 50 percent right and 50 percent wrong. I know I am going to make people happy, and I know I am going to upset people. I feel like I have a done good job of creating repour with people. Smiling is contagious, and I just don’t have anything to be upset about, ever.

Q: Tell me something about yourself that people would not know about you.

Snively: My wife was a cheerleader, and when we first started dating, she would take me to cheerleading competitions, and to be honest, I didn’t want to go, but when I got there and saw al the things they did and all that athletic ability, I really enjoyed it. I enjoy watching competitive cheering. I feel like I was athletic, but I am not the type of athlete to be able to do all the stuff they do. It is fun to watch.

Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @twil2323.

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Sunday Conversation: Catching up with Berne Union athletic director Danny Snively