Bob Skinner remembers Tom Martin on Facebook (10/6/2019)
Mourning the loss of Dr. Tom Martin, athlete, coach, teacher, mentor, and friend. He was an All American soccer player at Davis and Elkins and he led helped lead them to two national championships.
At Wesleyan, he had a great run as a coach and led the Bobcats to National Titles in 1984 & 1985. He went on to coach 29 years at James Madison University and won over 470 games, which ranks him 5th on the all-time wins list for soccer coaches.
I first met Tom as a senior at Elkins High School, when he completed his student teaching rotation. I liked him immediately. Tom and his D & E teammates stirred my interest in soccer. D & E never enjoyed great athletic success until the soccer teams of the late 1960’s. And when they won the first national championship, I remember the crowd of people that welcomed them back at the Elkins Airport.
In 1978, he accepted the head soccer coaching position at Wesleyan. He also was an assistant professor. He and his wife, Cherylen lived in a duplex on Camden Avenue beside my cousin, Gary Skinner and me. We shared a ton of popcorn, pizza, and pasta that year and spent the summer playing golf.
Tom loved golf as much as I did so we joined Bel Meadow Country Club. Every time we had an opportunity, we drove up Route 20 to play golf. We did this for 7 years and had so much fun. We competed a little, but mostly enjoyed the walk talking about life and sports between shots. We hit a lot of shots over and into the water, raked a ton of sand, and relished over every birdie. We both had our dreaded holes. Mine was the 8th and Tom’s was the fifth. No matter how Tom was playing that day, the 5th would always seem to bite him. I would turn my back, hear the driver hit the ball, and then listen to the ball bounce off trees and into Elk Creek. Of course, I always found that stupid creek on the 8th. After every round of golf, Tom and I stopped at a little store in Romines Mills and would drink a 12 ounce bottle of coke. We would reminisce about the day and start planning on the next outing.
Tom was a great friend who picked me up when I was knocked down, brushed me off, and encouraged me to keep going. Tom was also a great racquetball player and my record against him was 1-95. Most of the 95 losses were real drubbings, which is why the one win felt like a successful climb up Mt. Everest. Of course after that one win, Tom beat me 21-0 the next time we played.
Tom Martin was a great coach. The Wesleyan title teams were a blend of players from all over the world and he was able to unite them toward one goal—winning. One of my big regrets is that Tom and I never played golf after he left Wesleyan. We talked about it, but life got in the way. But we always reminisced about our Bel Meadow days each time we saw each other at a Wesleyan Hall of Fame event. I had no idea Tom was ill. He kept it private so when I heard the news yesterday, my heart sank.
Ironically, on Friday when returning from Pittsburgh, I took the Rt. 20 exit. As I drove past Bel Meadow, my mind was suddenly flooded by memories of golfing with Tom. And as I neared the curve where the old store once stood at Romines Mills, I thought of those days drinking a coke after a great day of golfing with Tom. I will always regret not playing golf with Tom after 1985, but always cherish our days at Bel Meadow. This afternoon, at a store somewhere, I will buy a coke, and say a toast to Tom. He touched and influenced thousands of lives. He set high standards for himself and others. He lived a great life and will leave a lasting legacy.
Well done, Tom. Well done.