Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Holland’s Football Legacy
FORMER PLAYERS TURNED COACHES RECALL HIS INFLUENCE
FARMINGTON — One of Allen Holland’s most successful former players turned coach, Danny Abshier, of Prairie Grove, was one of the few people he figured would never get into coaching.
When Abshier was in high school Allen Holland recalls he liked to grow long hair. Allen Holland doesn’t use the term in a derogatory sense yet remembers Abshier as sort of a free spirit.
“He has done a bang-up job at Prairie Grove. He’s still old school, they play block and tackle and execution. Used to Prairie Grove turned over coaches every two or three years and Danny’s been there I guess forever. He’s doing a great job,” Allen Holland said.
Another former player, Randy Osnes, speaking during his retirement celebration on April 23 which both Allen Holland and his son, Jay Holland, attended, agreed, saying “The tree is phenomenal as far as how many different coaches [ learned the trade from Allen Holland]. Danny Abshier, from Prairie Grove, is a great football coach. He played over here, great linebacker, if you look him up his senior year, had a heckuva an Afro.”
After Abshier graduated from high school they rarely talked except for an occasional golf match. Allen Holland points out Abshier drew a lot of influence from another legendary Arkansas high school football coach, Tommy Tice, who gave Abshier his first coaching job when he hired him at Harrison.
Still Allen Holland’s made a point to go by and congratulate Abshier once in awhile as he guided Prairie Grove to more than 200 victories since 1993 with appearances in the state semifinals in 1997, 2012, 2016 and a Class 4A State Runner-up finish in 2015.
Allen Holland’s driven by in the summer catching Abshier when he’s out watering the Prairie Grove football field or tending to off-season chores but other than that they didn’t have a lot of communication.
Abshier described his experience playing high school football for Allen Holland as a linebacker in the 1980s at Farmington as “priceless.”
“There’s no one like him. He’s a unique individual. His expectations of you are great, but so is his commitment of himself. He’s a fantastic guy a lot of people owe a lot to including myself,” Abshier said.
Abshier measures himself against Allen Holland and Tice’s accomplishments, both who have state titles on their coaching resumes saying it would be nice to have a state championship on his record like those of his mentors. Holland led Farmington to back-to-back state crowns in 1972-1973, the second of which featured an undefeated 12-0 season while Tice led Harrison to the 1999 Class 4A State championship and went 14-0.
Abshier credits Holland with helping shape the type of expectations he prioritizes as a head football coach.
“The work ethic he develops in young men, the self sacrifice he instills, it’s far reaching even later into life. He’s a very dedicated individual,” Abshier said.
Allen Holland’s convinced Osnes would have become a successful head football coach if he would have been given that opportunity. Osnes served as Farmington head junior high football coach for 15 years and retired last summer after a storied 25-year career with nearly 600 victories as head coach of the Lady Cardinal softball team highlighted by state championships in 2000, 2005 and 2011 and state runner-up finishes in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2018 and 2019.
“Randy Osnes was a great coach, great motivator. Well, you can tell by his programs. He was very good with kids. He understood the game and the kids motivated to him, flocked to him,” Allen Holland said.
Allen Holland’s son, Jay Holland, followed in his dad’s footsteps, serving as Farmington head football coach from 1992-1999.
“When I took over for him he’d forgotten a lot more than what I knew. To be able to follow him was a great honor,” Jay Holland said.
Jay Holland then went down the road to Lamar where he was pretty successful in his second stop as a head football coach before going into administration.
“He wound up at Lamar and did a really good job. They went to the semifinals one year and lost to Charleston, which was a perennial power,” Allen Holland said. “He’s been a superintendent I think now for nine years. I can’t keep up with it, the time goes by so fast. I’m very proud of him.”