Tim Dunbar
Severna Park
Tim Dunbar has been here before. It just took him awhile to get back.
The local volleyball legend won his fourth state championship at Severna Park this season when the top-ranked Falcons defeated Montgomery County's Northwest, 3-1. The most recent championship had been in 1993.
Dunbar began coaching at Severna Park at 1987 and led the Falcons to state titles from 1991 to 1993. He gave up the job in 1999 to coach at Bryn Mawr for nine seasons, where he led the Mawrtians to an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference championship. He returned to Severna Park in 2012. Last year, the Falcons advanced to the Class 4A state championship but lost to Dulaney.
"I think [losing in the finals] drove some of the kids, but it definitely helped them focus," said Dunbar, who estimates he has won more than 400 games in his career. "It made them aware that a good team can beat them if they're not on top of their game."
This year, the Falcons (20-0) were the unquestioned best team in the area.
"They were a hard-working team," Dunbar said. "They had a lot of fun, but everything they did, they took very seriously. That hard work paid off for them in the end."