Former teacher, coach and principal Tom Varney has added senior games competitor to his list of achievements. His time was good enough this year to earn him an invitation to compete in the National Summer Senior Games in San Francisco, Calif.
The physical education teacher, basketball coach and principal taught 37 years in three states before retiring from the Mingo County school system in 1997. He continued to substituted until 2002 when he went to work in the security business.
Accustomed to focusing on physical fitness, the Williamson resident who turned 74 March 27, is in good enough shape to win several medals in the regional senior games, held in Ashland, Ky., in 2008. Thrilled with his accomplishments, Varney said he had no idea his times and ratings were high enough to qualify for the national competition until about two months ago when he got a letter inviting him to compete in the Summer National Senior Games in the San Francisco Bay area August 1 through 15.
“I work out every day,” Varney said, adding he started competing in the senior olympics in 2005 as a way to keep in shape. “And, I like competition.”
Competing in the senior games at the regional level, Varney has represented Tug Valley well, winning numerous medals such as second place in the 100-yard dash, first place in the javelin throw, second place in shot put, third place in broad jump and second place in the bike ride in 2007. His pile of medals show success over the last four years, including those from 2008 which qualified him to compete in the national competition in the 5K and 10K bike ride, the shuffleboard contest and horseshoes, which he has won for the last two years at the regional level, Varney said. He didn’t compete in the running games last year, Varney said, as the competitions were a day after the biking event and he was too tired.
The competition will be fierce, Varney said about the biking event, as he will be competing with people who ride $15,000 bikes, compared to his $169 10-speed, which has 67 pounds of pressure in the tires to make it run faster. However, he is going into this event with an optimistic attitude, and already has sponsors to help him finance the trip, such as his boss Larry Tackett, who owns a Belfry security guard company. Plus, Varney said he can always count on the support from his former students, totally 800 to 1,000 in Mingo County alone.
“My children will root for Mr. Varney,” he said.
He will prepare for the event by training four days a week, but discipline is something Varney is accustomed to and was raised with, he said disclosing his father who died at 81 worked “between the rock,” which is what he called the coal mines, 45 years, and his mother who lived to be 96, spent 67 of those years as a member of the Old Regular Baptist Church.
Playing all kinds of sports in high school, including basketball and track, Varney learned the discipline associated with training for competition, and bragged of Belfry High School’s ranking as No. 8 in the state for the first and last time during his years on the team between 1952 -1954. Graduating from Pikeville College, Varney began teaching at Blackberry 1956-1957 and then went to Hardy Elementary where he was P.E. teacher, principal and coach.
“I was all of it there,” he said.
Moving to Michigan and teaching four years, Varney said he missed home and came back to teach in Wayne County West Virginia at Genia and Crum, before getting into the Mingo school system, where he was principal, coach and/or teacher at Beechcreek, Matewan junior high, Red Jacket, and Lenore, among other schools.
“I’m highly proud of my 37 years as a full-time teacher and/or coach,” Varney said. “Children, in my opinion, are the greatest gifts God gave us.”
He brought sixth-graders from Michigan to Pike County to experience the country life when he worked in that state, Varney said, and later had three sons of his own, Craig, Thomas Andrew and Jason Dale. He also had three stepdaughters, Jackie, Jennifer, and Christina, Varney said, adding, “I loved them as much as I loved my own.”
Williamson residents and visitors will see Varney riding along the flood wall in preparation for the event which he said he hoped to win.
“I never do anything to lose,” Varney said. “You might as well stay home if you go with a defeatist attitude. But I know I really have to dedicate to compete at the national level.”
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