Steve Henry is finally being honored and recognized for a lifetime of service to Soddy Daisy High School.
Henry, the personable 60-year-old coach. teacher and administrator, spent 29 years as the head coach for the wrestling Trojans where he compiled an impressive record of 515 wins, 170 defeats and three ties. During that time, his teams also won seven state championships, including three traditional titles and four duals titles.
And now, some three years after giving up his title of head coach and being promoted to athletic director and assistant principal, the Hamilton County Board of Education recently made a positive move by renaming the Soddy Daisy Wrestling Arena as the Steve Henry Athletic Facility.
If you've followed prep wrestling in the Chattanooga area at all, you have probably been to the old Soddy Daisy High School, located on Highway 27. When the school was moved to its current location on Sequoyah Access Road back in the mid 80s, Henry was just starting his program and seized the opportunity of using an old gymnasium that was probably destined to be demolished.
Spending literally hundreds of hours since that time, what had been a dilapidated old building is now one of the finest wrestling facilities around.
"It's hard to find someone at the same school as long as Steve has been at Soddy Daisy, but he's the only person at the new school who worked at the old one," said Danny Gilbert, the current principal at Soddy Daisy and one of Henry's best friends.
"Without Steve's effort, that building would have been torn down a long time ago, but a lot of folks use that wrestling building and the soccer fields down below. It's amazing the kids who have come through those doors, but Steve was never satisfied and was always looking for ways to make it better.
"Steve Henry is a wrestling legend across the state of Tennessee and that's not why we're renaming that building in his honor. It's because of the love and the sweat and the hundreds of hours he's spent making it what it is today. It's a total credit to him and his parents," Gilbert praised his buddy.
Henry just celebrated his 60th birthday on Oct. 5. He's a 1974 graduate of Red Bank High School where he lettered in football, wrestling and track. He then attended MTSU where he earned his degree in 1979 while running track for the Blue Raiders for two years.
His teaching career began with a three-month stint at Central before spending a year at both East Ridge High and Soddy Daisy Junior. He then moved to Soddy Daisy High School in 1983 and that's where he's been ever since.
He married his wife Jeannie in the early 90s they are the proud parents of twin daughters Kelsey and Kaley, who were born in 1997. They are and have been three of his biggest cheerleaders.
In those 29 years as the head man for the Trojans, Henry built a tough program built on hard work and doing things the right way. He proudly admits that he learned a lot from the late Luke Worsham, who coached at Baylor for many years, and that he also paid special attention when he was around other notable coaches like Gordon Connell and Jim Morgan.
Henry hesitates to say how many individual state champions he's coached in that time, but he's made a huge impact on thousands of young men, including current head coach Jim Higgins.
"This is something we've been wanting to do for a long time and it's long overdue to say the least," Higgins said early Friday morning.
"As much as Steve Henry has done and as much as he's contributed to the success of our wrestling program, this is for sure the right thing to do. Steve always liked being the leader and he believed in what he was doing. That's been his life work. He's always there to help out when I need his guidance and he still likes to come workout with us when time allows.
"But Steve has always tried to create something people can be proud of. He has succeeded in doing that and he changed my life. I used to be real shy and introverted, but he urged me to be the best I could be and my life has never been the same," Higgins added.
When asked about his most memorable experience as a high school wrestling coach, Henry had a hard time answering the question.
"Our team winning a state championship the first time was certainly special, but there hasn't been just one defining moment for me. I've been blessed to have a bunch of young men who made our program successful through a ton of hard work," Henry related.
"We've had a lot of state champions and I'll never forget Campbell Lewis, who was our first four-time state champ. But we've also had a bunch of studs who never won a state title," the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame inductee added.
Gilbert was hoping to keep this latest honor a secret until Tuesday when the Trojans will host Bradley in a key dual meet for both teams. Unfortunately, the word got out much sooner.
"I really didn't know what was going on at the start. Ernie McCarson called me yesterday to congratulate me on the new building and I didn't have a clue what he was talking about," Henry explained.
Finally Gilbert had to explain what all the hoopla was about as word continued to spread about the latest good news.
"It's a strange feeling for sure and I don't feel like I deserve it. My top priority has always been the kids and helping them to be their best, but this is an awkward situation for me. It's overwhelming to say the least.
"When I first went to Soddy Daisy, we practiced in that old gym and it was perfect for what we needed. We moved to the new school and we just didn't have much area in which to work and somebody suggested we stay at the old place.
"The downstairs was all locked up, but we used the top floor. I reached the point where I started painting the place to help make it ours. We've spent countless hours working over there, but it's been a community effort and that is what makes it so special for me.
"A lot of different teams have used that facility through the years and there have been some great matches where the place was packed. But it's nice to see hard work pay off as it can be such a roller coaster ride at times. But for all of the great friends I've made that have been life-lasting, it's been a wonderful experience for me," Henry concluded.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)