The year 2003 was unprecedented in Village Christian School history.

Step into the Kendall Pavilion, and it’s easy to see why.

In a long line of CIF Southern Section championship banners, the first were hung in 2003 – and the first was won by a boys volleyball team led by CIF-SS Division IV Player of Year Mike Richards, now a 2023 VCS Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.

“We were hungry, and we knew what we were capable of,” Richards said of the team. “We knew we had something special, and we worked really hard to get there.”

The Crusaders built momentum through a five-set, nail-biting win over Santiago of Corona in the semifinals, cruising to a 3-0 victory over Brentwood in the finals and lifting the school’s first CIF championship plaque.

“It comes back to right place at the right time,” Richards added. “It was the right group of people playing the right sport with the right coaching in the right division. It was a perfect storm.”

However, then-VCS head boys volleyball coach Bill Schnobrich said that title was also built on something else.

“The 2003 team had character,” Schnobrich said. “Those guys were good-character kids, who deserved to be the first CIF champions. They had that family feel, that chemistry. They were committed to that goal.”

The roster was laden with seniors, some of whom Richards said went on to be in his wedding a year ago. It’s a testament to the family environment fostered within the program, and a long-term, like-minded pursuit of excellence.

“We really got along like a brotherhood,” said the Senior Software Engineer. “We were all so close with each other, and it also helped that we were good at volleyball. We put in the work. Everyone really showed up, and I think it’s a testament to coach Schno and coaches [Steve and Lisa] Levoe.”

It’s also a testament to his individual hard work.

Richards found a love for volleyball his freshman year. The outside hitter practiced 5-6 times per week, started playing club volleyball, completed jumping programs, and ran the beast with regularity.

His senior year, the All-League and All-CIF selection finished with 439 kills and led the team in aces. He tallied 15 kills and eight blocks in the title match, ushering in a run of championships that elevated VCS athletics to new heights.

“This is historic,” Richards told the Glendale News-Press after beating Brentwood. “This whole experience has just been amazing, and now we’re always going to be remembered [as the first team to win a CIF title]. We knew what we had to do, and boy, did we do it.”

Shortly after boys volleyball claimed its title, softball added another championship. Then in the fall, football beat Los Angeles Baptist to win a third for VCS.

“That stretch of athletes really had something,” Richards said. “We won, softball won, football won, then other teams started winning. The softball team had an elite level of talent across the board, and football worked really hard. I saw how everyone worked and how everything came to be. It felt like the school had our back.”

Twenty years later, VCS still feels the positive effects of the athletics culture shift.

Please join us in honoring the Class of 2003’s Mike Richards, 2023 inductee into the VCS Athletics Hall of Fame.