Jimmy Lawrence Retires from Virginia Tech After 40 Years
It was a little thing that got him into this work. As a high school kid, Jimmy was planning to be an engineering student at Virginia Tech. He was the football team manager for Shawsville High School, and when a coach dropped by recruiting one of their players he suggested to Jimmy that they could use him as a manager at E&H. On that suggestion, he changed his whole career path. “Forty years later here I am, and I don’t regret a minute.”
He says the two people who influenced him the most were Fred Selfe and Dave Thomas. “Dave would get really mad if I didn’t organize things right. But he taught me how to take care of things. All my jeans were white on the bottom six inches because he made us mop the floors with bleach every day.” And he remembers Fred (who, ironically, started as a player at Virginia Tech) as someone who cared about all his players. “And I remember him throwing his hat on the ground yelling, ‘Dagnabit!’”
After graduating from Emory & Henry, he went to work at Chilhowie High School, and on the first day there was a fight in the locker room. “The PE teacher said to me, ‘Why don’t you go break that up?’ That did it for me. I didn’t want to be doing that.”
He went to grad school for two years and got his certification in athletic training. When he started at Virginia Tech, he was one of only three athletic trainers – for every sport at the university. Now it’s all different. “Now we have a staff of about 20.”
He has worked with basketball, baseball and a lot of sports during his career, but he spent the last 15 years working solely with men’s soccer. He won’t admit to having a favorite sport. “I enjoyed them all.”
He’s seen a lot change, and he feels good about the progress made in college athletics. “Academic support is better, women athletes now get equal support, which is as it should be.” He says he has loved watching students grow up and leave to make an impact in the world. And he has seen the profession grow. “We are the gateway to healthcare for those athletes.”
He says Covid was tough on the profession. “We were the front line for testing, trying to follow protocols, and quarantines for travel. There were really long days, and a lot of folks got burned out.”
Although retiring, he’s working part-time for a year helping with paperwork regarding insurance. His wife, Peg, also worked in athletics at Tech, so the duo has often been running in opposite directions. “There were times when we’d literally pass in the airport!” They’re looking forward to seeing each other a little more often now.
When we first asked Jimmy about his favorite moments, he mentioned a couple of big wins. But he came back later to say that Peg said there was really only one answer to that question. “My favorite moments were anytime and anywhere Virginia Tech beat Virginia…in any sport!”
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Emory & Henry Class of 1979