Terry Funderburk is proof positive that nice guys can finish first.

The Pattonville High volleyball coach, who entered the season as the winningest
active coach in the state of Missouri and also one of the friendliest, has been
adding impresively to that total so far this year. He entered Friday night's
match with Ritenour with a 10-1 record. The Pirates then knocked off the
Huskies for their 11th win of the season. More importantly to Funderburk was
the fact that it was his 600th victory of his illustrious career.

"That was an emotional thing for me," said Funderburk. "I've been doing this
for 27 years and I've had a lot of teams in a lot of states. When I think back
to how many kids who contributed to me getting that many wins..."

Funderburk was presented a crystal plaque after recording the historic victory.
The fact that his daughter, Abby, who skipped her classes at the University of
Missouri-Columbia, was there to celebrate with her father made it all the more
meaningful for Funderburk.

"That caught me by surprise," he said. "I got a little emotional.

" I just thank everybody who has been part of this - the kids, the parents and
the administration -and I thank God I've been fortunate enough to have this
illustrious career," Funderburk added. "I just tried to teach kids about
volleyball."

Funderburk earned nearly 300 wins while coaching at two different schools in
Iowa. He came to Pattonville 16 years ago, and, after getting off to a slow
start, built the Pirates into one of the top teams in the Suburban North
Conference.

The Pirates have been particularly good in recent seasons, winning three SNC
titles in the past four years.

Heading into this season, however, Funderburk, who also is the interim athletic
director at the school this year, didn't want all the hype about him getting
his 600th win to weigh on his players' minds.

"I told the kids not to worry about any of that," he said. "I just wanted them
to play hard and let the wins take care of themselves."

Alas, the Pirates weren't able to ride the momentum from the 600th victory to
the title of the SNC Tournament over the weekend. They were able to get to the
final but fell to Hazelwood Central.

"The kids had the potential to win it," said Funderburk. "We just didn't step
up to the challenge and Central played a good match."

With the two wins in the tournament, Funderburk's win total now stands at
602...and counting.