Galen Busch - Inducted 2012
The Huron High and South Dakota State grad got in on the ground floor of high school volleyball in South Dakota and left as the winningest volleyball coach in the state.
The first person from the sport of volleyball to be selected to the Sports Hall of Fame, Busch had a 617-305 record in 26 seasons - all at Todd County. His teams reached the state tournament 16 times. His 1982 and ’83 teams both finished as runner-up in the one-class state-tourney format in the first two years that the sport had a sanctioned state tourney. His 1993 team won the Class A state title.
He started teaching at Todd County in 1966, then left in 1972 to complete an advanced degree. When he returned to Todd County in 1973, some physical education instructors in the state were introducing volleyball in PE intramural programs and they played against nearby schools at times. Mary Stolle began the Todd County program, and she welcomed Busch’s volunteer help and asked him to learn the rules and help officiate in matches, which he did. When Stolle left the system in 1978, it was considered a girls sport at Todd County, several years before the state sanctioned it. Busch took over the program, thus beginning 26 years of learning, teaching and implementing what Stolle started into state-sanctioned season play. He retired after the 2005 season. Among the highlights was being able to coach his four daughters and two granddaughters.
Busch worked tirelessly to promote the sport of volleyball throughout the state. He continues to put on camps each summer, particularly for the elementary and middle school players.
He was named the National High School Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2002.
He was inducted into the S.D. Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005, and he was in the inaugural class chosen for induction into the S.D. Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He is a former president of the S.D. Volleyball Coaches Association and the S.D. High School Coaches Association. In 2008, he received SDSU’s Ralph Ginn Coaching Achievement Award.
At Huron, Busch won state titles in the pole vault in 1956 and ’57. At SDSU, he set the school pole vault record of 13 feet, 2 inches.
