COACH OF THE YEAR: Harding finally gets a state title

It’s been more than a month since Tom Harding finally got his hands on that elusive trophy.

You know, the shiny gold one reserved for the top baseball team in the state.

The ultimate prize that every team sets out to attain when practice begins in March.

The luster hasn’t worn off the trophy and the smile hasn’t left Harding’s face.

His Honaker Tigers are the Virginia High School League Group A, Division 2 champions.

“It’s great,” Harding said. “No doubt about it. It’s a big, big thing. People are not over that yet. This has been a great thing for the community.”

For Harding, the state championship trophy was 41 years in the making and how he earned it couldn’t have been dreamed up by the most creative of Hollywood screen writers.

On the morning of June 10 he was on the operating table getting two stents put in after suffering a heart attack. Twenty-four hours later, he was in the dugout at Radford University to see his team take the title.

“Coach Harding is a legacy at Honaker,” said Tiger pitcher Chaz Miller. “I don’t care how long Honaker exists, nobody will replace Tom Harding. … He is Honaker baseball.”

He’s also the Bristol Herald Courier’s 2011 baseball coach of the year.

Four decades of excellence

Richard M. Nixon was in the White House, Lew Alcindor and the Milwaukee Bucks were NBA champions and “Dirty Harry” was one of the year’s biggest hit movies.

Also in 1971, young Tom Harding was in his first season as Honaker’s head coach, playing games at a spartan facility and learning the ropes.

“I remember we wouldn’t let anybody slide because we played on a shale field pretty much,” Harding said. “It’s where the outfield is now at our place. You can still see a little bit of the old infield. … It was uphill to first base, then downhill to second base. When you got to third you ran uphill to home.”

The facilities improved and Harding’s team quickly became a contender.

He’s coached different generations of Tiger players.

He’s coached in three different districts – the Clinch Valley, Hogoheegee and Black Diamond.

He’s won more than 500 career games.

He’s loved every minute of it.

“It’s been a real experience,” Harding said. “Through all that, the kids have always been super and always been hard workers. I thank God all the time that I’ve been able to be where I am for this long.”

In Harding’s four-plus decades of calling the shots, Honaker’s had just three losing seasons.

There was one thing missing from the resume however. That state title.

Oh, Harding had come close before.

In 2009, his team dropped a 4-3 decision to Gate City in the state semifinals.

The year before, the Tigers lost 7-6, at home, to James River in the quarterfinals.

Many of his teams in the 1980s and 1990s were competitive but came up empty.

The Tigers finally put it all together this year, relying on a group of five determined seniors and their veteran coach.

Perfect Ending

At Honaker High School’s practice prior to the state semifinals, Harding felt some tightness in his chest.

He took some nitroglycerin tablets, but those didn’t help too much.

So late Thursday night the pain became too much and he told his wife, Jo, they needed to head to Bristol Regional Medical Center.

“They did some blood work and came back and said, ‘well you’ve had a heart attack,’ ” Harding said. “I’m wanting to know if I could get out of there pretty quick. They said ‘no, we’ll have to admit you. It could be more serious than we can tell, so we’re going to have to get in and look.’ So, getting in there and looking around; it’s not a good feeling when you hear that.”

They scheduled the procedure for Friday, around the same time Honaker played Appomattox County in the state semifinals. Alex Zachwieja, Harding’s assistant coach of more than two decades, was at the helm and the Tigers rolled to a 21-1 victory.

“I got out of the cath lab and went back to the room,” Harding said. “Of course the family was there and the first thing my wife said well, it’s 19-0. I said, ‘What?’ She said Honaker’s winning, 19-0. I said good grief, this anesthesia is getting to me. 19-0? I was really worried about Appomattox.”

Harding got out of the hospital the next day, hopped in the car and headed up Interstate 81 to Radford for Honaker’s final showdown with J.J. Kelly. He arrived in the sixth inning, waiting out a long lightning and rain delay in the press box.

He finally made his way down to the field in the seventh inning, watching from the dugout as Miller recorded a strikeout to seal the 16-9 victory.

“I’m glad we did it,” Miller said. “I was glad I’m a part of it and I could help. He deserved it. That’s all there is to it.”

The 69-year-old Harding isn’t sure if he’ll return to the bench for a 42^nd season. Right now he’s still enjoying that state title.

Quieting the critics

Honaker heard the criticisms all year, mostly from the alleged know-it-alls that frequent local prep sports message boards.

“The Tigers played in a weak district.” “They benefitted from a mild schedule.” “They never could get it done in the postseason.”

Those catcalls were heard over and over all spring.

They’ve quieted down now.

Honaker went 7-1 against teams from the highly-touted Clinch Mountain District.

The Tigers beat the Region C, Region B and Region D champions in the state tournament.

“I don’t know whether we’ve laid too much to rest or not,” Harding said. “But that’s OK.”

This much is certain: Honaker is the state champ. There’s no arguing that.

“I had all the confidence in the world in them,” Harding said.

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