Honaker’s Harding Keeping With Tradition

Coach Tom Harding and his Honaker High School baseball team are chasing history this week, but the Tigers won’t mess with tradition.

Harding approached this afternoon’s Virginia High School League Group A state semifinal matchup with Gate City like any other contest he’s coached during his 39 years in a Honaker uniform.

“We’re not going to change anything up,” Harding said. “We’ve done pretty well with what we’ve done, so we’re going to continue to do that.”

What Harding has done since 1971 is rack up victories. He’s compiled a 490-199-3 record, won numerous titles in three different districts (Clinch Valley, Hogoheegee and Black Diamond) and been bestowed with honor after honor. Perhaps more impressive, Honaker has had just three losing seasons during that time.

However, today marks Honaker’s first appearance among the state’s final four.

“Shoot, it’s great,” Harding said. “Heck, anytime you can do that, I don’t care if it’s your first year or 39th, it’s going to be a great feeling.”

Those who have played for Harding say it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. The dean of Southwest Virginia baseball coaches, Harding is respected throughout the area and has touched the lives of thousands of young men who have passed through his program.

And little has changed about Harding’s theories of coaching.

“He is the same guy I played for in the spring of 1991,” former Honaker standout Jon Boyd said. “He teaches and coaches the game of baseball the way it should be played. You never hear any chanting or silly things going on in the dugout. His teams will always play hard and with class. This is one of the many things I admire about him.”

Former players Boyd, Nathan Breeding and countless others will be in Radford today to root on their former mentor.

Even Harding’s most famous former player is well aware of Harding’s achievements this spring. Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller, who was a three-sport star at Honaker, will surely get updated on the outcome of this today’s game – nearly 400 miles away in Pittsburgh.

“I’m really excited for him,” Miller said Wednesday in a telephone interview. “To coach for 39 years and to have all the good teams and to finally get to this point, I am sure it has to be gratifying.”

Since leaving Honaker, Miller has won two Super Bowl rings and became one of the NFL’s top tight ends. He was a pretty impressive baseball player as well, earning Bristol Herald Courier Southwest Virginia player of the year honors in 2001.

The humble Miller fondly recalled the guy who called the shots from the dugout.

“Coach Harding loves the game of baseball, and he expects the team to love the game and to want to get better and be the best,” Miller said. “When you play for him, you become a better player and a better person.”

And many of his former players go on to become coaches. Boyd just completed his second season as the head coach at Patrick Henry, while Breeding has enjoyed great success as the girls basketball coach at Honaker.

“Anytime I have a question, basketball-related or not, you can usually guarantee that I have consulted with Tom Harding before a decision was made,” Breeding said.

Harding’s current team might be his best. A deep pitching staff and a powerful lineup have helped the Tigers compile a 22-1 record.

Justin Hall, David Keene, Derrick Murphy and many others have emerged as key players for Honaker.

“They just love the game,” Harding said of his players. “I think every kid we’ve got on this team just loves to play this game.”

And they have a coach who shares the feeling.