TURNERS FALLS — The pool at Turners Falls High School officially has a new name, and it should come as no surprise who it is now named after.

Wes Snapp built the Turners swim program from scratch in 1974, just after the new high school was opened. By 1976 he had enough swimmers to compete in meets and the program took off from there.

Snapp turned the program into a Western Mass. power in the 80s, capturing their first league title in 1982. Turners began fielding both a boys and girls team in 1983 and the wins continued under Snapp, as both the boys and girls won PVIAC titles in 1983 and 1984. The Turners boys swim team won back-to-back PVIAC titles in 1986 and 1987.

Snapp continued teaching English and coaching at Turners Falls High School until 1998. The swim program is still running today and on Tuesday, the pool officially was officially dedicated as Turners held a ceremony to name it the “Wes Snapp Aquatic Center.”

“The Wes Snapp Aquatic Center sign will be a permanent reminder of how special Mr. Snapp has been to our students and the Greater Turners Falls community,” Turners Falls athletic director Jen Luciano said during the ceremony. “In my almost 20 years of working here, I’m reminded over and over again how special of a place Turners Falls is. It’s a small town with a big heart that values community and rallied around its students.

“While I have not had the privilege of meeting Mr. Snapp personally, I have been told time and time again that you’d love Mr. Snapp,” Luciano continued. “I don’t know anybody who did not like him. When the information was put on Facebook about naming the pool, the outpouring of support and love surrounding the name Wes Snapp has been heartwarming.”

Snapp was not at the ceremony in person on Tuesday but was watching via Zoom from Florida, where he resides.

The dedication ceremony was filled with former athletes and students who either swam or had been taught by Snapp during their time at Turners. One of those was Christopher Pinardi, who helped lead the charge to name the pool in honor of his former coach.

“The drive to dedicate the pool facility to Wes Snapp comes from the building blocks of the community and the building blocks of this school,” Pinardi said.“Generational teachers come and go but they provide a foundation for what you have today and Wes was one of those people. He started the swim program in 1974 and by 1976 had enough swimmers to have a team. Wes really built the pool. The community paid for it but he built what we have today.”

To Pinardi, it wasn’t just the wins that Snapp will be remembered for, rather his ability to have an impact on any student or athlete that he had the chance to teach or coach.

“This aquatic center is named in honor of coach Wes Snapp for his dedication to the swim program,” Pinardi said. “For 26 seasons, his teams consistently competed for league titles and secured many of them. Beyond the pool, Mr. Snapp was also a student favorite, having taught English in grades 7-12 from 1972 until 1998. It is with much appreciation for your commitment to our student athletes that we dedicate this facility in your honor. Thank you Mr. Snapp for everything.”

Paul Cournoyer is a longtime teacher and former athletic director at Turners Falls and noted during the ceremony the kind of person Snapp was.

“Mr. Snapp, as far as I’m concerned, is a class act,” Cournoyer said. “He’s always been a class act and I’m sure he still is in Florida.”

Snapp began swimming at Springfield College, where he competed for the Pride during his college years. Current Springfield swim coaches Howard Hinds and Peter Avdoulos were at the dedication ceremony on Tuesday, noting the impact Snapp was able to have on so many during his time at Turners.

“As a fellow alum, we want to congratulate you for a well deserved honor,” Avdoulos said. “You’ll go down in history here and have touched a lot of lives. It’s very appreciated.”

The sign leading into the pool now reads “Wes Snapp Aquatic Center,” assuring his legacy at Turners will never be forgotten.

“I know he was a teacher and coach of high quality,” Luciano said. “We are lucky to have had him shape the minds of students at Turners. We’re proud to have our pool carry on his name and legacy for future athletes and swimmers.”