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A lasting legacy: Christendom names court for former AD Vander Woude
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By Jeff Nations -- jnations@nvdaily.com
FRONT ROYAL -- Tom Vander Woude was the sort of man who made a lasting impression on the people he met in life.
A selfless giver of his time to his family, his church and the school he worked for, Tom Vander Woude set an example tough to duplicate, but easy to admire. That Tom Vander Woude would give his life displaying that same sense of selfless sacrifice seemed only natural to those who knew him. He was that sort of man.
For those who didn't know him and don't know the story of his life and his death, Tom Vander Woude's former employer, Christendom College, took a step on Oct. 11 to educate the public and remember the man by naming the gymnasium's hardwood court as the Thomas S. Vander Woude Memorial Basketball Court -- a fitting tribute to the school's former athletic director and men's basketball coach who died to save his son's life Sept. 8, 2008.
Chris Vander Woude, at age 29 the fifth of Tom and Mary Ellen Vander Woude's seven sons and Christendom's current men's basketball coach and athletic director, said the family was overwhelmed when school president Timothy O'Donnell proposed the memorial.
"When Dr. O'Donnell presented me with the idea of wanting to dedicate the court to dad, obviously me and the family were blown away," Chris Vander Woude said. "It's a great honor. We're just happy, not in any sense of a twisted ego, but more of a sense that more people will know dad's story and what he did here, and more specifically the way he left the world in saving Joseph."
The way that Tom Vander Woude gave his life became national news. Working in his backyard with his youngest son, Joseph, who has Down syndrome, 66-year-old Tom Vander Woude sprang into action when his 20-year-old son fell through a metal covering for the septic tank. Tom Vander Woude dove into the tank after his son and managed usehis body to boost Joseph's head above the sewage in the tank long enough (15 to 20 minutes) for rescuers to arrive. Joseph survived, but Tom Vander Woude died that day.
That's the sacrifice that made Tom Vander Woude famous, but it was just the final selfless act of a man legendary for putting himself last.
Christendom senior men's basketball player Matt Hadro played for Tom Vander Woude during his freshman season, and remembers the man as a quiet inspiration to his players.
"I knew he was a good guy and I enjoyed playing for him, but I think I never really realized what a great man he was until he died and all the stories came out," Hadro said. "That's when it hit me. That's just the way he was. He did it in a very ordinary way, but he was just so successful at whatever he did. Looking back on his example, it seemed so ordinary at the time but it's really not, because day in and day out, he got the job done."
A former Navy pilot who served in Vietnam, Tom Vander Woude got into coaching because of his sons. He didn't know a thing about soccer when he was asked to coach the team his son played on at Seton School, but Tom Vander Woude agreed to do it. He coached basketball at Seton as well, volunteering for both positions while still holding down his job as a commercial airline pilot and running a small farm -- all while helping raise a large family.
"He was a total do-it-yourselfer," Chris Vander Woude said. "He had a John Deere 620 that was his pride and joy. He rebuilt it, tore everything down, had it separated ... he replaced engines in cars, cut his own hair, you name it. He'd do everything."
Five of the Vander Woude boys went on to attend Christendom, and Tom Vander Woude followed after his retirement as a pilot for U.S. Airways in 2002 to become the school's athletic director. It was also an opportunity to coach two of his sons, Chris and Patrick. But he never played favorites, Chris Vander Woude said.
"He was a mentor to a lot of kids," Chris Vander Woude said. "He was that father-figure that they could go and talk to. There were a number of students who grew very close to him, just because of them being away from home.
"He always cared about everybody's life and always remembered what was going on. He was a great listener."
Christendom senior Ryan Doughty, who played soccer and basketball for Tom Vander Woude, remembers a coach who never complained about the hour-long commute from his Nokesville home, cheerfully drove the team bus to away games, always showed up early for practice and never lost his temper.
"I remember we would do these two-a-days starting at 6:30 in the morning, and he'd always be here early," Doughty said. "We'd do these crunches where I was just ready to throw up, and he was doing them just as much as we were. I was like, 'Wow. If he can do it, I sure as heck can.'"
Hadro has a different lasting memory of his old coach from a day when illness left the team short of enough players to practice.
"He suited up and scrimmaged with us," Hadro said. "He was 64 years old, but he was just like that. He was fit. We'd be stretching before practice, and he'd be pumping out the crunches and stuff. If it needed to be done, he did it."
Tom Vander Woude's contributions to Christendom extended beyond his personal relationships with players. When the small school (approximately 400 students) was seriously considering doing away with intercollegiate athletics, Tom Vander Woude played a leading role in keeping sports going. He made phone calls to alumni, shook hands, traded e-mails -- whatever he needed to do to drum up support.
The success Christendom's athletics have had in recent years -- a second-place finish by the women's soccer team at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association's national tournament in 2008 is one recent example -- can be largely attributed to Tom Vander Woude's efforts to save the program. These days, the school is considering expanding its offerings in intercollegiate athletics.
"He contributed a lot," Chris Vander Woude said. "On the intramural side ... before we'd had little tournaments and stuff, but we didn't actually have leagues in different sports. He and a number of the students who worked for him really started the intramural program.
"That's been great, to the point that last year we had close to half the student body that played an intramural sport, so in five years time we go from not having anything to a lot of participation."
For Doughty, naming the basketball court after Tom Vander Woude is the ultimate motivation for the Crusaders.
"It's a constant reminder," Doughty said. "You know his story, and at least a lot of the upperclassmen [knew] him personally. When you walk into this gymnasium, you have to live up to that name and be willing to put it all on the court, work your butt off like he did, and play for Christendom."
Chris Vander Woude now walks past the photograph of his father every day on his way into work, and strides under his dad's name hanging above the doors inside Crusader Gymnasium.
"It's phenomenal to be able to work at a place that's dedicated to your dad," Chris Vander Woude said. "It's humbling, at the same [time] -- very humbling. Dad was one of those people we all hoped we could be like because he had so many positive traits.
"So it's humbling to come through the doors every day, and see the picture and see the memorial, just a reminder that he was here, he did this job, and knowing that he did it to the best of his ability because that's how he did everything.
"It's kind of a challenge to walk in and do the best you can, every day."
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