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39 seasons long enough for Price

Mirror file photo Karan Price amassed a record of 457-225 in 39 seasons at Altoona.

John Saboe has been the boys varsity volleyball coach at Altoona Area High School for the past 17 seasons.

This fall marks his first season as the head coach of Altoona’s girls volleyball team, and he is replacing a legend.

Karan Price, who compiled an eye-opening 457-225 record in her 39 seasons as Altoona’s girls coach, stepped down from the position this past spring. Price, whose Altoona teams won four District 6 Class 3A championships, will help out Saboe as a volunteer coach with the girls program this fall.

The humble Price, who declined an extensive interview request by the Mirror, said that the friendships that she developed while coaching volleyball made the past four decades very special for her.

“I’ve had the pleasure of coaching and working with so many wonderful people throughout these years, not only players, but fellow coaches and referees,” said Price, a 1974 Altoona High School and 1978 Slippery Rock State University graduate who was a junior high school physical education teacher in the Altoona Area School District for 28 years. “When I got hired (for the volleyball coaching position) many years ago, (former Altoona athletic director) Jack Ray told me that I’d never get rich coaching volleyball, but I’ve been blessed with a wealth of friends and relationships that have been irreplaceable, and with memories that I will never forget.”

Saboe, who became the girls varsity coach in June, won’t be approaching the job as uncharted territory. He has served as Price’s paid assistant coach with the girls program since 2010, and prior to that, he was a volunteer assistant with Price since 1995.

“Karan is a fantastic planner, motivator, example and role model for the kids about how to live their lives,” said Saboe, who has coached the Altoona High School boys program to three District 6 Class 3A championships. “She has had an amazing rapport with the kids, she interacted with the kids every day, building the concept of what it means to be part of a team, and how to come together as a unit to achieve a singular goal.”

Emily Albright, a three-year starter at setter for Price who graduated from Altoona last spring and is now playing collegiate volleyball at Lock Haven State University, also said that Price emphasized the concept of teamwork.

“She was an all-around coach who really focused on hard work and working as a team in our everyday lives as well as on the court,” Albright said of Price. “She was a very teamwork-oriented coach, and all of he teams benefited from that.”

Price also believed that the personal development of her players was important, Albright said.

“As a player, she influenced me by pushing me to do my best on and off the court,” Albright said. “She was always there to lend a helping hand whenever you needed it. She was one of those coaches who you knew you could trust, and somebody who helped you to develop as a person as well as a volleyball player.”

Makenzie (Wilt) Negri, now an assistant coach for Altoona’s girls junior high school volleyball team, was a three-year varsity starter for Price from 2008 through 2010. Negri remembers Price’s dedication most of all.

“I started playing volleyball for Karan when I was in the seventh grade at Roosevelt, and I played all the way through my senior year of high school,” Negri said. “She was probably the most dedicated person I’ve ever met in my entire life. She would arrive at school early and set up the volleyball mats and equipment in the gymnasium, so the kids could play volleyball if they were interested. That’s how I grew to love the game.”

Price believes that Saboe will take the Altoona girls volleyball program to the next level.

“I know that I’m not only leaving the program in good hands, I’m leaving the program in much better hands,” Price said. “John’s knowledge, experience and love of the game are evident in his coaching. He has made an immense impact and has been a tremendous asset to the girls volleyball program for over the last 20 years.”

But the same can certainly be said about Price for twice that long a period of time.

“There are a few people who have been extremely influential in my life as a coach, and Karan Price is number one,” Saboe said. “Because of her deep knowledge of the game and her ability to teach fundamentals, our kids have been fundamentally sound over the years. Her work in teaching fundamentals, and her being the role model that she has been in my life on how to interact with kids, teach kids, and train kids, has been instrumental in guiding me. It’s because of her that I am the kind of coach that I am today.”

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