HOLMES AT THE HELM

Athletic Leader Aims To Improve Student Outcomes Beyond The Field

In celebration of the strong, capable women leading Gibbon’s charge toward an ever-brighter future, Gibbons Magazine invites readers to get to know Director of Athletics Tonya Holmes. Holmes, the first female to lead the school’s athletic department, has a way of responding to students that embodies sports as ministry.

Participation in Gibbons athletics is about cultivating the connection between mind and body to best leverage the talents and gifts students have been blessed to receive. For Tonya Holmes, it’s also about the personal connections that carry over to the rest of a student’s life for years after the final season ends.

When Holmes received her college degree, her career path was uncertain. Thinking she wanted to pursue education, Holmes aimed her efforts toward working with kids and began coaching volleyball.

“I like community-building; I like getting to know people…and once I started coaching, I got why coaches coach,” she said. “It’s not for wins. I get to connect with a group of athletes, I get to know them and what they’re experiencing in the world.”

Dean Monroe, assistant head of school for mission, and the Gibbons athletic director for more than two decades, shares Holmes’ ability to foster excellence. It was Monroe who urged Holmes to teach at Gibbons. “I have had the opportunity to work closely with Tonya for the past 10 years, observing her in a variety of leadership roles, and I am confident she is the right person to take our program to the next level,” Monroe said.

Whether it’s her easy going manner or quick smile, students respond to Holmes, who possesses that unteachable talent for gauging a player’s skills in relation to their personality, disposition, and physicality that elevates a coach from proficient to amazing.

She notes that through athletics, “you can challenge students in ways that you can’t in the classroom.” It’s