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Posted: 7-27-2009
Holden Takes The Reins
• High School Football •

- He may look young, but new Whitehall head football coach and Athletic Director Dan Holden believes he's up to the challenge


The newly hired Whitehall Athletic Director and head football coach Dan Holden, reclined briefly in his large office chair before sitting up like a bolt of lightning and then settling back again.

"I've been here pretty late every day," Holden said, running his hand over his unwrinkled brow before setting it at rest on his desk. "But it's been a lot of fun so far. I like being here, and if I didn't, this probably wouldn't have been the right move for me."

Moving has been the name of the game for the 29-year-old Holden, who graduated from Spring Lake High School in 1999.

Holden's transcript reads a bit like a travelog. From Spring Lake, where he played quarterback for the Lakers, he attended Adrian College for one year before moving on to Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill. While there, Holden still under center, became a team captain by his senior year.

"Then I went looking for a job," Holden recalled.

He landed a job as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for a school in Florida before moving on to coach at a high school in Atlanta, Ga., for one year. Then he got a chance to come back to West Michigan, to Orchard View High School, which is where he was hoping to land the entire time.

He got the opportunity that first year to be an assistant coach at Orchard View and coach with his father, Tom, under Hal Holman, before the elder Holden moved on to help coach Pat Collins and the Montague Wildcats to last season's Division 6 football title, the school's first such title.

Prior to landing the job at Whitehall, Holden ran into a bit of controversy when he accepted the head coaching and athletic director posts at Routt Catholic High School in Jacksonville, Ill. He then declined the job when the Whitehall position opened.

"The chance to come here to Whitehall was just too great an opportunity for me to pass up," Holden said. "It's allowed me to stay close to home, coach with my dad."


That's right, Tom left the Montague staff to coach with his son at Whitehall, making the switch a smooth one. "It's been a real easy transition," said Holden the younger. "The coaching staff seems to have come together pretty quick."

Holden replaces Andy Malbouef, who helmed the Viking football squad for five years, as well as long-time Athletic Director Dick Morley.

Though he didn't grow up here, Holden has had Whitehall in his sights for some time.

"I always thought this would be a place that I wouldn't mind ending up," he said. "I've been to all sorts of schools, some nicer than others, and I just love the town and family atmosphere here. I've always wanted to be in a town like this. Whitehall has the opportunity to the the kind of place where I can stay, when I have kids, raise them here. We want to build the whole (athletic) program around this community, really get the community involved."

It's Holden's belief that a strong community is very important to successful schools. He said Whitehall has already started to rally around him.

"We haven't won any games yet, so who knows," said Holden with a laugh. "But the community has already stepped up and are helping to make this thing a success."


Approaching football

Holden lists character, discipline, integrity and helping kids understand, through football, how to be a better person, as the main tenants of his coaching philosophy. "That's why I wanted to be a coach in the first place," he said. "I want to get that across to my teams that how you succeed in life is as important as how we do on the field."

But strength and speed are football realities, which is why he's been happy with the number of kids he's gotten into the weight room this summer.

"We've averaged about 70 participants a day, four days a week," Holden said "They're working pretty hard to make sure everyone is stronger this year." He also will be implementing a hour study table everyday following school. "We're emphasizing academics and life beyond football."

The offense will be tuned to what fits the team's strengths this year, while Holden slowly implements techniques (particularly blocking-wise) and terminology that will be tied into similarities each season. "We don't want to change the offense every year, but we have to be flexible with the changes we do need to make year-in and year-out. We'll adapt to what we have this first year."

On the defensive end, intensity will be the focal point of the team, regardless of scheme. "We want to get these kids fired up and playing fast and playing hard on every down, and not quitting on plays, playing through adversity."

Approaching AD

Holden won't hesitate to tell you how excited he is begging working with the rest of the school's coaching staffs.

"We've got some pretty good coaches, and we're successful in a lot of different sports," he boasts proudly. "With all the leadership and knowledge already in place here in Whitehall makes me, frankly, look forward to tapping into it. I will seek out and use their advice sometimes, because that's going to make things easier for all of us.

"My job as AD is to make all my coaches' jobs easier, not harder.," he continued. "I want to look ahead, take care of some problems before they become problems, and change the things we need to change. We're going to be pretty bold on that front."

He also praises the administration, particularly Superintendent Darlene Dongvillo, Assistant Superintendent Christine Annese and High School Principal Curt Babcock. "I don't think I've been around a group like that, as supportive as they are of our kids, of academics, getting everyone what they need to be successful. If you don't have the support of the administration, it's hard to get anything done, let alone an athletic program. We're pretty lucky."


http://www.whitelakebeacon.com/sports.php?story_id=19385