Holt to return to collegiate coaching

What started as a breath of fresh air, an optimistic outlook for Salemburg-Roseboro area football fans, and a leadership change at the helm of Lakewood Leopard varsity football has come to an abrupt halt, as head coach John Holt officially resigned from his role Monday.

Having taken the job with a short turnaround last June, Holt went to work immediately, looking to change the culture after the previous coach, Barrett Sloan, left to take the open position at Midway, his alma mater.

“Lakewood is a better program now than it was when I started,” Holt shared. “It’s a great program, with a great community.”

In previous interviews, Holt had shared — and even emphasized — the community and culture that surrounds the Lakewood athletics programs.

Coming from positions at Appalachian State — his alma mater — and Georgia Southern, Holt was an “out of the box” hire for the Leopards not even a year ago, with many in the community wondering exactly who he was. And yet, he got the residents of Roseboro and Salemburg, and their kids, to buy-in almost immediately.

That buy-in, which comes from a trust built between the coach and players, usually takes months, if not years to build. That same buy-in took Holt and the Leopards to the third round of the NCHSAA playoffs this past fall before falling to Wilson Prep.

John isn’t the only Holt that is — or was — a member of Sampson County Schools and Lakewood’s varsity coaching tree. His wife, Krystle, was the head volleyball coach for the Lady Leopards this past season. John, Krystle, and their children will be heading to the Show-Me State, as John took a position with the Southeast Missouri State University Redhawks as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Never shying away from complimenting or giving credit where it’s due, Holt continued his praise for Lakewood and its administration before his physical departure from Sampson County. “From Coach Hulen to Mr. Chabot to James Lewis, I cannot thank the administration enough,” the departing coach said. “It’s great for my wife, Krystle, and our children. The community is awesome.

“When we came here, we knew this was something we wanted and it’s still something we want,” he continued. “But the timing of this job offer makes things difficult.”

One of Holt’s assistant coaches, Michael Ammons, has a very vested interest in the program, as his son, Reed, took over as starting quarterback for the Leopards deep into the season as a freshman.

“Coach Holt was more than a football coach,” Ammons said, about the departure. “He was a life coach. He pushed every player and coach on this team to be the very best person that they could be — it didn’t matter how big or small they were, he pushed them every day.

“He elevated the program and got the buy-in from the players and coaches to work just as hard in the offseason as they did during the season,” the coach and football parent continued. “Every conversation was about football or hunting — even when I would catch him at Carlie C’s picking up the pre-game meal for the team.”

Those meals, Ammons said, were an integral part of Holt’s culture that he created.

“He always made sure those boys had a pre-game and post-game meal,” Ammons said. “He would always say, ‘Wait till you see this player or that player next season.’ He would explain how they were working so hard and that they were going to make a difference. He loved to see and watch the players develop and grow into a sport that he truly loved.”

Getting the players on board with the new program isn’t the only thing a head coach needs to concern himself with. A vital part of instilling a new program is also having the assistant coaches on board as well. Add that to the list of things Holt excelled at in his short time at Lakewood, per his coaching staff.

“Recently, all the coaching staff had the opportunity to attend football clinics to listen and learn from other collegiate and high school teams,” Ammons elaborated. “This is where I saw how much Coach Holt was known and respected in the football world.

“Football is a community sport and without a doubt, whoever fills this position will have big shoes to fill. However, we have some local candidates that can take it up and continue to build on this new Leopard program,” he continued.

When the news broke on social media, the responses from the community were overwhelmingly positive, something that usually doesn’t happen when a coach leaves — especially not as abrupt as this. A testament to how well Holt built in his program in his short tenure with the Leopards, fans of the team flocked to give their praise to the departing coach.

“This man was sent here for a purpose…one being my son…I will forever be grateful,” read one Facebook user’s comment. “Sad for the Leopards…but good for the coach,” read another. Part of another read, “He had an impact on our church. We were proud to have been asked to prepare a meal for the team and were impressed with the young people. We were blessed to have had the opportunity. Hopefully what was learned will carry on in Lakewood’s future. Let us be excited and thankful for what and who is involved.”

For now, while the Holt family packs up its things, athletic director Darren Hulen and his staff will have to find their second coach in two years, for someone to pilot a 10-3 Leopard team with plenty of returning players into next season.