No holiday for Holliday family
The first pitch hasn’t been thrown, and Kathy Holliday’s nerves already are frayed.
“I’m just not happy about this — at all,” she said.
Her husband, Tom, is associate head coach and pitching coach at North Carolina State. Her oldest son, Josh, is in his third season as the hitting coach at Vanderbilt.
No more than one of them will be happy when the NCAA baseball regional in Raleigh, N.C., is over, and it’s a good bet father and son will be in opposing dugouts this weekend.
“The NCAA did not consult me on this,” Kathy said.
The regional in Raleigh is one of 16 starting today across the country as the field of 64 is whittled to eight for the College World Series beginning June 15 in Omaha.
The Hollidays could be considered modern-day baseball royalty.
Tom raised his sons, Josh and Matt, around an Oklahoma State program that dominated in the 1980s during his 26-year stretch in Stillwater, the last seven as head coach.
Josh, 35, played for his dad at OSU and, after two pro seasons, bypassed further play in order to follow in his father’s footsteps as a college coach.
“Even in pro ball, I had more fun helping my teammates with their game than I did playing,” Josh said. “I could feel myself being drawn toward it. I’ve always known who I am.”
Matt, 32, is an All-Star outfielder for the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals and Josh’s most notable pupil. Matt calls his brother frequently for pointers.
“It’s one of those things where my role in this . . . I don’t really have one,” Matt said with a laugh. “Mom, she’s probably the one torn the most and not looking forward to this. I’ll just hope the one who wins it moves on to Omaha and wins the championship.”
Tom and Josh usually speak once or twice a week during the season, bouncing ideas and advice off each other and discussing trends with their respective teams.
The conversation will be less detailed this week.
“I think it’s very uncomfortable for Josh and I,” Tom said.
The family clash has hap- pened twice — in 2004 when Josh was at N.C. State and Tom at Texas, and in 2007 when Josh was at Georgia Tech and Tom at N.C. State — but never in the postseason.
Should Vanderbilt and N.C. State both win — or lose — today, there will be a Holliday showdown Saturday.
“If we get to that point ... there is a quiet understanding about competition,” Josh said. “I’m sure (N.C. State) will sit in the stands and watch us, we’ll watch them and the battle begins.
“For our team, these boys are the story. If you’d sat in our locker room for some of the tough moments early in the year, and to see where they’re at now — these guys are awesome. These kids pulled themselves back up and put themselves in the position we’re in.”
That position, it seems, is better than the one Kathy Holliday faces.
“I guess I need one of those fancy T-shirts or jerseys with a team on one half and a team on the other half,” she said. “I want both to win so bad.”