Trinity Athletics is happy to announce the hiring of Coach Tony Verenna (pending clearances) for our new Girls Wrestling Program!
Coach Verenna has a lifelong dedication to athletic and mental performance. A former four-sport high school athlete in wrestling, baseball, football, and track & field, he earned 13 varsity letters. In 1992, he won a PIAA-AA Team State Wrestling Championship in 1992 while individually placing 4th. As a wrestler, he was a District 11 and Southeast Regional Champion, as well as a two-time state qualifier with 109 career wins.
Coach Verenna continued his athletic and academic journey at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was a Division I wrestler and a member of the historic team that broke a 36-year losing streak to Navy, earning the honor to “Sing Second.” He graduated in 1997 with a degree in Systems Engineering and was commissioned as a U.S. Army Aviation Officer.
Over the next 27 years, Coach Verenna served with distinction across the globe as a helicopter and fixed-wing pilot, ultimately retiring as a colonel in the United States Army. His military career took him to 10 duty stations and nearly every continent, amassing 2,500+ flight hours (half in combat), qualifications in eight aircraft, and extensive operational experience from the DMZ in Korea to counterdrug missions in Colombia. He served in intelligence operations in Africa and in assignments at the Pentagon, where he supported the highest levels of U.S. government. His final assignment was as a faculty member at the Army War College, where he prepared the nation’s future senior leaders to embrace discomfort as a path to growth and resilience.
Coach Verenna holds three graduate degrees:
–M.S. in Defense Analysis – Naval Postgraduate School
–M.S. in Strategic Studies – U.S. Army War College
–M.A. in Management and Leadership – Webster University
Living in Boiling Springs, Coach Verenna continued his mission of service and leadership by serving as the Boiling Springs Head Junior High and Varsity Assistant Coach for Girls Wrestling in their first two years of official competition. He also served as the Public Address Announcer for the Bubblers. He is also a Certified Mental Performance Coach with Top Mental Game. As a parent of two competitive athletes, Coach Verenna brings a deeply personal understanding of the athlete’s journey. His daughter, Adison (22), is a graduate student at James Madison University. His son, Alex (19), is also a student at JMU and a member of the ROTC program. Coach Verenna and his wife, Suzanne, share their home with two beloved dogs, Champ and Gremlin.
Coach Verenna is committed to helping athletes, teams, and organizations overcome obstacles, develop mental toughness, and reach their full potential. His coaching is grounded in confidence, resilience, and positivity — tools forged through decades of athletic and military experience. He is ready to lead and put the Inaugural Trinity Shamrocks Girls Wrestling Team on the PIAA wrestling map! GO ROCKS!