Dear Players, Parents, and Fans,
Words cannot express how excited I am to begin the journey of being the Head Baseball Coach at Lewis County High School! Since I left Vanceburg to continue my baseball career at KWC, I have dreamed of returning here to coach the Lions baseball team. I know that many have their doubts about a young kid taking a job with so much pressure – here’s my promise to you: You will not find someone who is more passionate and willing to work hard for his players. The first few years will be a challenge, but it’s a challenge I am willing to take head on.
The motto around this county is “Roll Pride” which sounds similar to “Roll Tide” used by the athletic program at Alabama. I love the motto and love seeing it tied into our football program. Since taking over, I’ve been working on a motto specific to baseball that we can use as a program from little league to high school. After seeing Coach Mike Bianco’s speech to his Ole Miss Baseball team – I knew I wanted to run with his message. The story tells the role of the oldest lion when hunting their prey. The oldest lion lets out a huge roar to let the prey know he is near. What the animal doesn’t know is the youngest group of lions is waiting behind them when they run away from the old lion. The moral of the story is when things get scary and obstacles gather in the way of us, we choose to run away and look for an alternative, or easier way out. This isn’t what Lewis County Baseball will do – ever. The motto/slogan I want adopt is “Run to the Roar” and use the hashtag #RTTR. We will face challenges head on and we will never be scared of the enemy that lines up across from us.
One of my favorite post-game interviews is from Dan McDonnell, head coach of Louisville Baseball. After a loss that cut them short of the College World Series, he challenged his seniors shortly after the loss with a short excerpt from the book “The Lion Chaser’s Manifesto,” which also fits the “Run to the Roar” slogan we are adopting. The excerpt said, “Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Run to the roar. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-given passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Stop pointing out problems. Become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past. Start creating the future. Face your fears. Fight for your dreams. Grab opportunity by the mane and don’t let go! Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Live for the applause of nail-scarred hands. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. Dare to fail. Dare to be different. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion.”
As we look to begin this new baseball season, our guys will read this and study it. I want them to not only know what this excerpt means, but also to live this way. I believe we have special things in store for this program, not only this year, but in the years to come. I hope to see you in the stands supporting us and I hope you’ll join us in our journey of running TOWARDS THE ROAR.
Chase the Lion,
Sammy Holder
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