VerMerris, Dave (2017)

Dave VerMerris is a 1964 graduate of GRCH who excelled in cross country, swimming, and track. He was the 2nd athlete in school history to earn nine varsity letters, accomplishing this at a time when our school was only a three-year school.

In cross country, Dave earned several individual honors in helping his teams to many wins in City League, regional, and state meets. The Eagle XC team won City League championships in his junior and senior seasons, won the regional championship in his junior year, and took 2nd place in the Class A state meet in his senior year. Dave ran in the state meet each of his three years, either as an individual or as a member of the team.

As a swimmer, Dave led the Eagles to City League championships in his sophomore and senior seasons. In his senior year, Dave was the team MVP while winning two individual events (the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard individual medley) in the league championships and qualifying for the state meet in the 100-yard freestyle.

In track, Dave and his teammates brought the Eagles to the top of the City League in what was truly the heyday of Grand Rapids high school track meets. Dave recalls crowds of over 2000 fans at Houseman Field for Friday night meets, with the cinder track in pristine condition, the best in west Michigan. In Dave’s senior season, the Eagles were undefeated league champions and regional champions. Dave set records in the 440-yard dash and 880-yard relay and qualified for the state meet in the 440, resulting in his being named the MVP for track.

As a senior, Dave was the recipient of the E. R. Post Award, voted by Eagle coaches as the Senior Athlete of the Year.

Dave went on to an outstanding career in athletics at Calvin College, where he earned ten varsity letters and one minor letter. Again excelling in swimming and track, Dave joined the Calvin soccer program. (GRCH did not have soccer until 1965.) He played varsity soccer all four of his college seasons, earning 2nd team All-Region honors for the Michigan-Indiana-Illinois area in his junior and senior years. Dave also made an immediate impact on the Calvin swimming program, setting five school records in his freshman year.

Dave’s accomplishments in track at Calvin were numerous. He was All-MIAA in each of his four track seasons and set at least one school record in each of those. His best event was the 440-yard dash, in which he set a school record of 48.1 seconds that held for 32 years. Dave was named All-American in track in both his junior and senior seasons, competing in the National Track Meet in each of those years.

In his senior year at Calvin, Dave was captain of his soccer, swimming, and track teams. Dave was also selected for Calvin College’s prestigious Joe Bere Award, given to the outstanding senior student-athlete. After graduation, he was invited to tour Mexico as part of a Christian organization that competed against members of the U.S. Olympics Team that was training for the 1968 Olympics.

Dave had fellow Hall of Fame members John Warners (cross country) and Ken Zandee (swimming) as two of his high school coaches. He cites them, along with high school coaches Harry TenBroek and Ken Bokhoven and several of his college coaches, as having helped form his coaching and teaching philosophies. Dave said, “They taught the meaning of and reasons for sportsmanship, intensity, respect, dedication, commitment, and teamwork. Athletics, with the anticipation, the training, and the competition, made a huge impact on who I am today. The lessons learned were invaluable, the memories are treasured.”

Dave earned graduate degrees from Michigan State and Western Michigan, and taught, coached, and became principal at Western Michigan Christian High School. He earned several honors as a high school soccer coach, including being named to the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame and National High School Soccer Coach of the Year in 1997. His high school soccer teams won 13 District, 7 Regional, and 2 State Championships.

Now retired, Dave and his wife Nancy (Heronimus) have three married children, Mark, Kristin, and Jonathan.

“And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8