Belfry names Matt Varney head football coach

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Varney is a 1994 Belfry High School grad and has been on the Pirates coaching staff for over a decade. He has most recently been the team's defensive coordinator.



Photo Credit: WYMY Mountain News

[theguru]

Like others have mentioned, it is tough to follow an absolute legend but Coach Varney seems like an excellent choice for the Pirates.

Congrats Coach Varney!

[Watusi]

This hire is as expected and is the right one.  I can't say enough good things about Matt Varney and his qualifications for the job.  He will keep this staff intact, and the staff is full of guys who have been there 20-30 years or more.  Here is a really well written article from the local paper, Williamson Daily News...  You can just see Coach Haywood's influence oozing out of Coach Varney and the other coaches interviewed.  

https://www.williamsondailynews.com/sports/varney-chosen-to-succeed-haywood-as-belfry-football-coach/article_c50c3efe-003b-11f0-b927-efccde9ab9dc.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawJASE1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVnF1BAtk7nU9ypwavKWfUZGxPR0r-EtzqH4jeB5TFVQUAXOlAQMxqAA-g_aem_w3TUvUOzHoSvBkiSG4TVYQ

 

[TCR]

Regardless of his coaching ability (Which I will go into my experience with on that end) I can confidently state that Belfry will have a top notch human being in the position who will lead these young men in the right direction in life and that is what is most important. What I will say in terms of him as a coach, first off I have a lot of confidence in him from a leadership and knowledge standpoint and will throw in more observations based off of the couple of times I have worked with him.

We had a great conversation on the phone one week when I was scheduled to broadcast a game of his. I played on the offensive line in high school and am familiar with that and he gave me a couple of notes about Belfry's system and how they play that was helpful to the broadcast. With a coach, what separates the good from the great when it comes to X's and O's is "Coach X sure knows a lot about football!" versus "I sure did learn a lot about football from Coach X!" There are masterminds on offense, defense, and special teams that struggle to communicate. Coach Varney explained to me the process of Belfry's offensive line and how they gel over the course of the season and I can say "I sure did learn a lot about football from Coach Varney." Although defense was his specialty and we had a good conversation about that too, he had a thorough way he broke things down and there are plenty of line coaches who are very knowledgeable that I have been fortunate to interact with, but that part of our conversation stood out to me and I think that communication skill will help him the position.

Second, Belfry has a unique way they handle certain situations. What I mean by that, prior to that game - which was a mud fest - I observed the whole staff walking around the field which is common to check for certain spots. But this wasn't the typical "step in a few spots and check," I don't think I would be exaggerating to say that they covered a majority of the spots on the field and maybe even all of it. I was setting up myself and did not see it all but they methodically stepped one foot in front of the other with precision. I have had my share of mud fests over the years but have not seen a staff handle it in the manner that Belfry's did. I found it to be interesting and they might know a thing or two with eight state championships.

Third, he is very well liked in the community and there are a number of coaches on Belfry's staff who have been there for 10+ years so he is starting in familiar territory. I do not know the entire staff, or many of the coaches actually (I have only called a couple of football games and a soccer game for the school) but I do remember learning that they have several who are familiar with the program, know the system, and are highly comfortable working with Coach Varney. That will go a long way - it's not a situation where he's coming in to a new town or having to pick up the strengths and weaknesses of a new staff of coaches along with a new group of players.

From my broadcasting experience, I could tell he went the extra mile to get to know his players. For example, last season when I called an NCAA Division II game there was a Belfry player, Ethan Wolford, who played on the line for Charleston, WV. He started and their team won the Mountain East Conference that season. I reached out to Coach Varney prior to that game and he provided some helpful information to bring up which enhanced the broadcast. Ethan was only a sophomore and starting an a high level NCAA Division II program.

Lastly, I reached out to him when I told him that I hired Philip Haywood as my life coach last year and told him how excited I was. We had a great discussion about that and he was also encouraging throughout that journey. I will talk about this in a project I plan to release later on, but last year I found out one of my great mentors at the office I work at passed away. After gathering myself I called Coach Haywood and little did I know he was getting ready for a passing scrimmage. He still took the time to help me and I had to get stable enough to call a boatload of games at an NCAA basketball event over the next two weekends. He guided me through that situation and I am confident stating Coach Varney would go to that same length if I had reached out to him on it. When that nice article @Watusi shared quoted him saying that developing players with "great charater and high morals" was first before winning championships, that is an area he talked about long before taking the head coaching position. He is a kind man and again, I have not played a single down of football for Belfry but based on the multiple times we have talked and what I have seen from him, I think Belfry is getting an excellent human being as their head coach and one that I think, although it's the secondary goal (which is a good thing!) has the capability to win and win a lot.

[ATLCat]

Go get 'em Coach Varney!

Belfry's program has been built on the back of Coaches leaving it better than they found it. From Coach Vipperman to Coach Roddy to Coach Haywood, these coaches took what was given to them and built it better. Roddy took a foundation and made it something strong, Haywood took that shell and made it a palace... now the pressure is for Coach Varney to continue that trend.

He inherits a roster most coaches in the state would love to have. A ton of experience, a ton of production, a veteran QB, and experience at the Line of Scrimmage. Coach Varney and the staff cannot rest on the laurels and think just because the jersey says Belfry that teams will move over. Once this Senior Class graduates there is going to be a lot of heavy lifting so it is important to build momentum this year.

I sure know I will be pulling for him!

[gchs_uk9]

33 minutes ago, ATLCat said:

He inherits a roster most coaches in the state would love to have. A ton of experience, a ton of production, a veteran QB, and experience at the Line of Scrimmage. Coach Varney and the staff cannot rest on the laurels and think just because the jersey says Belfry that teams will move over. Once this Senior Class graduates there is going to be a lot of heavy lifting so it is important to build momentum this year.

With Belfry moving to Class 2A this cycle, is it a better or worse time for a new head coach?

[ATLCat]

15 minutes ago, gchs_uk9 said:

With Belfry moving to Class 2A this cycle, is it a better or worse time for a new head coach?

Don't think a new coach is ideal regardless, but if the situation had to play out I think 2A is probably ideal.

This is Belfry's bumper crop of talent they have been building toward for a few years but the Belfry dip in talent will most likely rival what they saw a few years ago. I think Class 2A may be tougher to win a title (although CAL is turning into a monster) than 3A, but after this season I am struggling to see Belfry in the title contention picture for at least the next three seasons.

The district and region will be much more manageable trading Breathitt for Bell. With that said, it is very important Belfry gets some good momentum with this Senior Class before they depart.

[Carlito]

Congrats to Coach Matt Varney. A most deserving hire imo. His pedigree goes back decades with his family being a staple for this program. Best of luck coach, except when you go up against my Panthers.👍

[Watusi]

 

[Watusi]

A very nice look at the passing of the torch to Coach Varney.  I think most everyone on Pond Creek knows the Pirates are in good hands. 

This was produced for the team football follies, so there is a few minutes of bloopers and such at the end lol.

[DTRaider]

46 minutes ago, Watusi said:

A very nice look at the passing of the torch to Coach Varney.  I think most everyone on Pond Creek knows the Pirates are in good hands. 

This was produced for the team football follies, so there is a few minutes of bloopers and such at the end lol.

Great video!  And I love the bloopers at the end, I think it just shows the tradition of family and comradery that was built into the Belfry program by Coach Haywood and those before him.  Thanks for sharing this.