West Catholic’s Bernie Varnesdeel is a QB on basketball court

West Catholic senior Bernie Varnesdeel drives to the basket against Holland Christian on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. He scored 15 points in a win. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Troy Dudas said Bernie Varneseel is like having a quarterback on the basketball court.

That would make sense since the senior is the QB at Grand Rapids West Catholic High School.

“I love that he’s a student of the game,” said Dudas, the first year boys basketball coach. “He’s such a smart player. You can tell he’s a coach’s kid. He understands things before the other kids get things.”

Varnesdeel, a senior guard, transferred to West Catholic from Wyoming High School after last season.   

“Me and my family made a decision in the spring to move near West Catholic to play football and basketball,” Varnesdeel said.

It turned out to be better than he expected. Varnesdeel would become the starting quarterback on the football team as the Falcons went on to win the Division 6 state championship after beating Negaunee 59-14.

“It took me about a month to learn the playbook, get to know my new teammates and build relationships with my coaches,” Varnesdeel said. 

He said he wasn’t handed the starting job. He had to earn it.

“Coach (Landon) Grove was tough on me from the get-go,” Varnesdeel said. “That made me a lot better.”

So what was it like to win a state title?

“Playing at Ford Field was a dream come true,” he said. “The ride back home was crazy. We had a celebration at the school. It was a good day.”

It’s translated to colleges offers from four schools. Varnesdeel announced on Sunday that he will attend Davenport University.

It almost didn’t happen. He said basketball was his main sport. But an injury turned out to be a blessing.

“Before my ACL injury, basketball was my favorite sport,” he said. “I love basketball. “But during my injury, I worked out and gained 20 pounds and I told my dad that I want to be a quarterback. He supported me.” 

Varnesdeel, the son of Bernard and Ronda Varnedeel, is having a strong basketball season for the Falcons. He’s averaging 10 points per game and had a season-best 30 points on Dec. 13 against Godwin Heights.

“Football translates really well to basketball,” Dudas said. “He’s an underrated physical athlete. He’s strong. When it came to football, he was never afraid to get dirty.”

Varnesdeel, who has a 3.8 GPA, is a starting guard on the West Catholic basketball team.

“We’ve got a very young team, a new coach … we’ve got a lot of talent on our team,” he said. “But we’ve lost some close games to some really good teams.”