The following is the transcript of the speech given by Cliff McCrath at the NSCAA Coaches Convention in January in Philadelphia for Bill Holleman, the 60th recipient of the NSCAA Honor Award. The 60th Annual NSCAA Honor Award By C. Clifford McCrath Speeches honoring special people usually end with summary descriptives — adjectives and adverbs and action nouns and phrases — that make us laugh or cry or both. TonightÆs honoree has achieved so much for so many at so many levels in seemingly such a short time that endearing terms can be used in the beginning the end and throughout any tribute to his accomplishments. In addition, he has had so many tributes and received so many accolades that the thesaurus may be taxed to its limit. A former player, student and colleague used most of the good ones to describe our selectee when he was inducted into one of the three Halls of Fame recognizing his success. The friend said he was honest, innovative, dedicated, committed, goal-oriented, fun-loving and a master communicator. Most importantly, he was a leader of young men and women. That same person cited the recent White House Conference on Teenagers where Karin Pittmen of the International Youth Foundation spoke on the Five Cs her program attempts to instill in teens: Confidence, Competence, Character, Caring and Contributor. He chose these words because of the traits this yearÆs Honor Award winner instills in the lives he touches. Although there is ample evidence that this is his modus operandi in all areas of his leadership, it is at the coaching level his former player saw it most vividly. He said, ôHis simple approach to soccer practice, consisting of repetitive work on technique, skill development and tactical understanding, helps all of his players acquire these traits. His teams have always consisted of competent players, playing with confidence as they contribute to the goals of the team. ôHis guidance insured that they showed character in winning or losing and they cared about their team as well as the game of soccer. ôHe is also a peerless administrator, an honored teacher, a visionary and a successful businessman.ö Another colleague declared that ôhis true success is not measured by the winning teams he has coached, the organizations he led or the successful events he has staged, but by the players he has guided and taught over the years. The impact he has had on their lives goes beyond the lessons he taught them as players; it carries over to the successes most of them now enjoy in life.ö It all began in Durham, N.C., on Dec. 13, 1945 where Robert and Ruth Holleman welcomed their third of five children into the world. William Tucker Holleman was the middle child with older brother Jim (an accomplished soccer referee), Robert Jr. and two younger sisters — Beth Muirhead and Carol Walther rounding out the family of five. In the words of BillÆs wife, Kay, being the middle child made him a ôscrapper — always fighting …ö both of which are hard to believe. What isnÆt hard to believe is that as a candidate for the football team at Durham High School he was told he was too small and there really werenÆt any other sports looking for young men who were vertically challenged. Not easily discouraged he turned his boundless energies to working with patients at Duke University Hospital. After high school he matriculated at Campbell College, in Buies Creek, N.C., where neither he nor the founder of the ôFighting Camelsö soccer program was prepared for what was to come. Bill was watching soccer practice one day when the infamous and lovable James ôCatfishö Cole turned to him and said: ôDo you think you can play this game?ö Bill said: ôYes!ö And play the game he did — so well that the next season ôCatfishö rewarded his efforts with a scholarship — still under investigation with the NCAA, (just kidding) –and the rest, they say, is history. Soccer history. NSCAA history. Our history. And our legacy. BillÆs talents surfaced early and in addition to stellar performances in soccer he was an A student in a triple major in Social Science, Health and Physical Education and History. He also was a student leader. He served as a liaison with the athletic department where he was influential in starting the schoolÆs gymnastics team and still found time to develop his love for surfing. After graduation in 1968, he entered the University of North Carolina where he obtained a Master of Arts degree in Teaching in 1971 while simultaneously serving as Athletic Director and Assistant to the Headmaster at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh. His teaching career actually began in 1969 at nearby Sanderson High School. Before the ink was dry on his contract he was agitating the administration to initiate a soccer program. He was told: ôWe donÆt want that wimpy sport at Sanderson!ö Bill said, ôThanks, but no thanks!ö and after fulfilling his contract left for Ravenscroft, where he was one of only two male teachers. The school had a couple of buildings and no sportÆs program but the administration assured him they wanted to start not only a soccer program but other sports as well. Anyone who knows Bill, knows what that kind of encouragement means and in the next 10 years he conceived and organized health and physical education programs for the entire school, administered athletic programs for 11 sports, spearheaded facility design and development programs, aided in numerous school promotions and served as coach of both the boys and girls soccer teams. And, oh, by the way, won two state championships with his boyÆs teams in 1977 and 1978. In his ôspareö time he founded the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association and served three years as the groupÆs president. Incidentally, in 1997, a loss — in boyÆs soccer at Sanderson School — ended the longest winning streak in U. S. Interscholastic soccer history. (Rumor has it that the word ôwimpyö is no longer permitted at Sanderson School.) In 1979 Lovett School in Atlanta, Ga., wooed him away and it was there where Bill and Kay Holleman became the widely recognized couple the National Soccer Coaches Association of America has come to know and love. Kay Barnes Holleman is one of a long list of well-known and well-loved spouses of Honor Award winners. From the time Bill first surfaced in any leadership capacity, Kay has been at his side. In an era before NSCAAÆs budget allowed full-time management, Kay and Bill were seen at every turn. She has stuffed envelopes, licked stamps, organized committee functions and carried more than one share of the load over the years. Kay was born Dec. 21, 1946 in Fairmont, N.C. She attended Fairmont High School where she was captain of the cheerleading team, a position she also held at Campbell College. At Campbell she majored in history but faced a larger challenge trying to figure out how to cheer at a soccer game. The third day at Campbell she met Bill Holleman, who asked an attractive blonde he was dating to introduce him to Kay Barnes and on July 7, 1968, Bill and Kay were married in the Fairmont Baptist Church. Kay later earned her masterÆs degree in counseling from Georgia State. The Hollemans have been blessed with two sons, Todd, born March 13, 1972 and, Chad, born August 8, 1976 and both boys played for Bill at Lovett School. Todd graduated from the University of North Carolina where he played soccer for the ôotherö national champion. He attended Wake Forest Law School and currently practices law with King and Spalding in Atlanta. Chad, majored in business at the University of Georgia where he also kicked for the football team. Upon graduation he was signed by the New England Patriots, suffered a leg injury and currently is rehabbing with aspirations to kick for the Atlanta Falcons, who desperately need him. At Lovett School, Bill served as Director of Athletics and coached both boys and girls soccer. As usual he became immersed in the local soccer scene and in 1981 co-founded the Concorde Soccer Club, which has had the most successful record of any classic league program in the very competitive Atlanta area. Along the way he coached Georgia State Championship teams at the U-12, U-14 and U-16 levels of play. His 1986 team competed in Rochester, N.Y., for the Niotis Cup in the U-16 national championships. Meanwhile, Lovett soon became the power in Georgia, winning successive titles in 1984, f85 and æ86. Bill — and KayÆs — work with the NSCAA began when Bill chaired the Region III All-American Committee and continued as chair of the National All-American selection process. His administrative skills and his attention to detail led to his position as Secretary to the Board of Directors, followed by two years as First Vice President. He then assumed leadership of the annual convention, presiding over the most successful convention ever conducted in the organizationÆs history and, in 1988, became the associationÆs 42nd President. As NSCAA President he laid the groundwork for hiring a full-time Executive Director and elevated the NSCAA to what is now the largest professional sports organization in the United States. He did what he said he would do but he wasnÆt finished yet. In fact, he was just beginning. In 1993, Bill left Lovett for Los Angeles to become Director of Sports Planning for FIFA and the U.S. World Cup Organizing Committee. He successfully completed his tasks of implementing competition policies and procedures with respect to competition, training sites and liaison duties with U.S. Soccer and all other national associations. Before he could draw a long breath he was appointed Executive Director of the 1994 World Cup Detroit venue. He developed and cultivated relationships with state and local government, supervised Host Committee initiatives and functions, successfully managed a venue budget of $4,5 million and produced net revenue of over $1 million. At the conclusion of the World Cup, Bill was appointed President of the Birmingham Soccer Organizing Committee responsible for day-to-day operations of the Olympic Organizing Committee and their efforts to host eleven pre-medal matches of the 1996 Olympic soccer competition. He conceived, organized and implemented marketing plans to promote ticket sales and corporate sponsorships required to raise the $10 million budgeted for the Birmingham matches. He not only did that, he brought the event in under budget, recruited and supervised over 1,800 volunteers, sold over $3.1 million in corporate donations; $9.3 million in ticket sales that brought in over 311,000 spectators for eight days of competition — the best average attendance of all sites — and produced net revenues of $5 million. And guess what? When it was all over, he did what he was created to do all along: He went back to coaching and teaching. After a brief stint as womenÆs soccer coach at GeorgiaÆs Clayton State University, Bill and Kay returned to public school coaching and teaching. Currently, Bill is girls and boys soccer coach at Shiloh School in a nearby Atlanta suburb where Kay is Director of Counseling. Truly they are the All-American soccer family. Along the way Bill has amassed an amazing coaching record and is the recipient of more recognitions and awards than a tribute of this kind has time to recite. For those who keep score some, but certainly not all, are recorded here. His career coaching record is 437 wins, 78 losses and 22 ties. During his tenure he also coordinated and supervised 60 interscholastic teams in 15 sports guiding and motivating teams to 44 state championships. In addition to the aforementioned administrative accomplishments, he has chaired health and physical education departments with responsibility for curriculum development, staff recruitment, evaluation, budgeting, planning and organization for school life programs as well as construction and renovation of new and existing facilities. He is the winner of four Georgia high school state soccer championships and numerous coach of the year honors. In 1989, he was named National High School Coach of the year and in 1990 was named Georgia High School Athletic Director of the Year. He is a recipient of the coveted Lovett School Surdyk Award presented to the person providing exceptionally high degrees of individual attention and concern for students in all areas of life and is one of the few people ever to be nominated as Birmingham Citizen of the Year in 1996 as a temporary citizen. In 1986 he was awarded The NSCAA/NISOA Merit Award and in 1992 was presented the association’s prestigious Letter of Commendation. In 1994 he was an inaugural inductee into the Ravenscroft Hall of Fame and early in the year 2000 was enshrined in the Georgia State Hall of Fame followed by his July 4, 2000 induction into the North Carolina State Hall of Fame. But back to the descriptives and the summary statements of this special man. He is nothing if he is not a walking, living model of an educator, innovator and peerless motivator. This quiet man is indeed a talented teacher, coach, administrator and businessman of executive caliber. But he is also a loving husband and beloved father who puts his family first. As an active member of the Gainesville Baptist Church he is a man of faith who quietly walks his talk. What remains, however, is his unequivocal commitment to people. A commitment that is seen vividly and multiplied daily in the hundreds of lives of students and colleagues whom he has imprinted with a living legacy of honest values and sterling qualities. When Kay was asked to sum him up she didnÆt know where to begin or end. She did say that we are not to be fooled by his quiet demeanor because the man really likes to ôboogie.ö She also said, ôHe is the most honest man I have ever met. He loves his kids and his wife and his players and his friends. He strives to make them better people and they respect him for his values. HeÆs a good writer, very creative, very sensitive. HeÆs a poet!ö One of his former players, Steve Nielsen, may have said it best: ôHe taught me to love the game of soccer and he taught it well. But more than that, he taught me about living and values and what I should be doing as a person.ö No thesaurus in the world can improve on that. And I canÆt either. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America is proud to present the Honor Award Recipient for the year 2001, a true icon of The Great Game, William Tucker ôBillö Holleman.