By Eric Lusk
Sports Editor
elusk@elkintribune.com

HAMPTONVILLE — Donnie Livengood stands watch over West Yadkin’s boys basketball practice Tuesday afternoon, dressed head to toe in gray sweats.

His players are spread out across six goals, shooting 50 free throws each and then reporting their results back to their coach.

“Hey, 34 out of 50, that’s 68 percent,” Livengood tells one of the young men, doing the math in his head. “Good job.”

Livengood has spent nearly 50 years of his life in West Yadkin’s unique gym, a mini dome that features wooden floors and a rounded wooden ceiling.

Twelve of those years came as a student in the late 1950s and 1960s. The last 37 have been as a teacher and coach at his alma mater — the only job he’s really ever wanted.

“My aim after college was to come back to West Yadkin and spend my life here,” Livengood said. “I thought it would be so neat to teach and coach here.”

This will be Livengood’s last year at the school, however, and Thursday will be his final time coaching West Yadkin’s hoops team in the friendly confines of the home dome.

One of the byproducts of the opening of two new middle schools in Yadkin County is the abolition of school-based sports for seventh- and eighth-graders at community schools like West Yadkin, Boonville, Yadkinville, etc.

Livengood plans to be on the staff at the new Starmount Middle when it opens in the fall (Forbush Middle is the other new school). But he’s not sure yet what the move will mean for his coaching career.

“Going to the middle schools in Yadkin threw a kink in my plans,” Livengood said. “I wanted to finish here. I have a grandson who is in sixth grade. I was going to coach him at West Yadkin and then maybe stop and follow him around as he plays.

“But I still want to coach. I have told (Starmount Middle officials) that I would love to coach baseball and basketball or however else they want to use me.”

West Yadkin officials hope to make Livengood’s final home basketball game a tribute to their long-time sideline skipper. Anyone who is ever played for Livengood is invited to the doubleheader, which starts with the girls contest at 3:30 p.m. and then follows with the boys action around 4:30.

“He has meant so much to the community,” said Bradley Shore, a guidance counselor at the school. “There has been school ball here for how many ever years and he has been a part of it.”

Livengood remembers when the current West Yadkin gym was built. The previous one burned down on a weekend, and the current structure opened in 1958. The wood ceiling makes it one of the more unique school structures around.

“It’s a beautiful little gym,” he said. “It’s a dome type gym and it doesn’t have the steel beams that come way down low. People love to play here because there is nothing to hit on the ceiling. It’s just a neat place.”

Livengood was part of the last high school graduating class from West Yadkin in 1967, along with 60 other students. Starmount and Forbush high schools opened that fall.

Livengood went on to Lees-McRae and then to Appalachian State University to get his teaching degree and coaching certification.

He had the chance to take a job at another school after graduation but held out for an opening at West Yadkin. The door opened and as they say, the rest is history.

“He just wanted to be here,” school secretary Andrea Pinnix said.

He got into coaching immediately, taking over as West Yadkin’s football, basketball and baseball coaches. All three teams went undefeated his first year.

“I thought, ‘Hey, there is nothing to this coaching thing,’” Livengood quipped. “That first year was just great.”

Livengood coached all three sports for the next six or seven years, obviously having some tough times mixed in as well. He’s also coached girls basketball, volleyball and whatever else needed a coach over the past three decades.

“I’ve had several chances to go to Starmount (High) and coach,” Livengood said. “But I love this middle school age, and I feel I relate well to them.”

Livengood served as West Yadkin’s principal for one year, in 1985-86, but realized that job wasn’t for him.

“I had a good year but I just didn’t enjoy it,” he said. “I felt like I was worth more to the kids in this building (the gym) than sitting in the principal’s office. I resigned and things just worked out. On the same day, a PE teacher came to see me about moving to Starmount.

“I came right back in my old room. It’s neat the way things work out.”

Livengood is still coaching two West Yadkin teams, boys basketball and baseball.

His hoops team has lost just twice and trails only Boonville in the conference standings. A win over Yadkinville on Thursday likely would sew up the runner-up spot heading into the post-season tournament.

Livengood-coached teams thrive on hustle and playing good defense. This year’s group is no different, he says.

The West Yadkin baseball team went undefeated last season and should be strong again this spring.

Ultimately, though, Livengood doesn’t get too caught up in win-loss records. “My records of success are how well the kids do later in life,” Livengood said.

There are several who have gone on to follow in their coach’s footsteps. Of the eight elementary schools in Yadkin County, five have teams coached by Livengood disciples.

“And they love to beat me, too,” Livengood said with a laugh. “They show no respect.”

These days, Livengood is coaching and teaching the grandkids of his first students, who are now in their early 50s.

One of Livengood’s tallest proteges on the hardwood never actually played for him at West Yadkin. Victor Davila, who rewrote numerous records at Starmount High from 2005-08, came to live with the Livengoods heading into his freshman year.

The Livengoods eventually gained legal guardianship over the 6-foot-8 Puerto Rican native and consider Davila as much a part of the family as their two daughters.

Davila has started the last seven games as a freshman at Virginia Tech, extending the Livengood legacy to the ACC.

“We used this gym here a lot, to come up and shoot and work on things,” Livengood said. “I’ve really been blessed.”

It’s not clear if Davila will be able to attend Thursday’s home finale at West Yadkin, but plenty of Livengood’s family and friends will be in attendance. It could be tough to find a good seat in the West Yadkin dome, in fact.

“Just thinking right now about the last game and thinking about leaving here is very emotional,” Livengood said. “It’s been a really, really unbelievable life.”