A Valpo Life in the Spotlight: Steve Kearney

steve-kearneySteve Kearney is leading by example. He has been an active, “fit and active” member of our community for over 50 years, but that is not what makes him stand out. What makes Steve Kearney stand out is that he shares his love for running with kids. Kids from his community growing up, kids in the Duneland Schools and kids involved in Striders.

I asked him when his love for running began.

“It’s a funny story,” He told me. “Just this morning, it’s funny, my wife and I were reminiscing at The Red Cup Café after we just rode 14 miles of our 15 mile bike trek when one of my former classmates walked in. I hadn’t seen him [Mike Galvin] in over 40 years. He moved to Colorado. And that’s where it began, in high school, my love for running. Freshman year we had phys. ed. (physical education) together and we had to run the mile. I had the fastest time of 6:03 and the teacher asked me to join the cross country team. I didn’t even know what cross country was but that next fall, I joined. I don’t normally remember my times but I remember my first meet, it was a triangular meet against Portage and Valpo, I ran for Chesterton. I was 42nd and ran 13:59 in the 2-mile. Later that year I ran the course again and I improved by 60 seconds.”

Kearney continued to run in high school and later ran cross country for Ball State University. He was told he had no leg speed and was better suited for marathon running but he didn’t give up and became 6th man on the team.

Kearney began his coaching informally with a track club he helped form in his neighborhood “The Wake Robin Track Club.” He and the kids in the neighborhood would run around the block and eventually have races on the 600 meter course. Kearney’s love for math and statistics meant he was the man for the job of organizing the races and running schedules. He even bought ribbons.

After graduating from Ball State in 1970, Kearney almost didn’t get into teaching and coaching, he was in line for the draft.

Kearney said, “My number was 185. We would listen to the radio to see whose numbers were called and my number was due to be called that September. I couldn’t find a job because everyone knew my number was due to be called. I applied at Duneland and the new Superintendant had a connection with the draft board. The Draft Board deferred my number one semester until September. They only got to 179 that year so I ended up not getting drafted and I’ve been with Duneland now a long, long time.”

Kearney, a math teacher, started coaching for Duneland as a statistician for the team alongside Head Coach Bill Miller for two years compiling stats and giving splits. During that time he organized their winter running program.

Kearney said, “My coach during my senior year in high school had us playing soccer. We knew nothing of the game but it was about staying active and keeping moving; continuous activity, so we could keep training in the winter. I formed a group after school, there was no roll call but a group of us would go running. We called it simply ‘Mr. Kearney’s Running Group,’ but we started getting called ‘The Kearney Commandos’ because of all the snowball fights we would get in and we often times would help shovel out cars that were stuck in the snow, but we kept winter conditioning.”

Kearney has always ran and participated in races himself over the years. One thing he is proud of is in 1977 winning a “Baby Ultra” Marathon, 31.1 miles. He was National Champion. He ran with a lot of his friends in that race and it saddens him that so many have just stopped doing what they love to do: run.

In 2009, Kearney was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. He was told not to race anymore, so he said he made a little deal. He gave up racing but not running.

He said, “I start a race in the back of the pack, I move slowly through the pack never pushing, smiling and saying hi. When someone comes up alongside of me I try to encourage them and let them pass me. I call it participating, not racing. It’s nice to be there with everyone before the race, during it and afterwards with the people. I wish everyone would keep it up, you don’t have to be in the front, just stay active.”

Kearney has not only coached boys and girls track and cross country for over 43 years with Duneland Schools, he has been involved in The Hammond Track Club, Striders and AAU working alongside coaches like Sue Brown-Nickerson which whom he believes is an instrumental person to the program recruiting for AAU, meeting the parents, organizing the paperwork.

Kearney said, “I give full credit to the administrators, I know I am not the man for that but, I get to run with the kids. I get to have all the fun. I love exploring a new cross country course and getting to get the feel of it, to see all the turns, it is a real sensory experience.”

The payback comes from former students that still stay in touch with Kearney over the years. One girl was a high jumper.

“She couldn’t even run the 400,” Kearney said, “And has now finished the Chicago Marathon several times.”

Two other students have finished the Boston Marathon and sent him pictures with their smiling faces as they crossed the finish line.

Coach Steve Kearney is a Valpo Life in the Spotlight because he has inspired kids for five decades to run, stay active and most of all have fun while doing it.