For Holmes, It Isn’t Merely Academic

Alex Holmes, a teenager who has immersed himself in the study of classical Greek, chemistry and the violin, also speaks of the “exhilaration” he feels upon making a particularly violent tackle on the football field.

He draws rave reviews for his intelligence and personality, yet in a game last week he could be heard quieting teammates with the following order:

“Shut up and get back in the huddle!”

Though he has spent the past four months living out of a hotel room while his family searches for a permanent residence, Holmes has made himself at home on the Harvard-Westlake High football team.

The Wolverines (2-2), who play host to St. Bonaventure (3-1) today in a nonleague game at 3, are happy to have a versatile tight end and hard-hitting linebacker with a 6-foot-3, 265-pound frame.

Holmes, a transfer from La Jolla High, has emerged as a leader and the Wolverines’ best player less than halfway through the season.

But how long will they have him?

Viewed as a Division I college prospect by his current and former coaches, Holmes, 16, and listed as a sophomore, is in his third year of high school.

Next year will be Holmes’ final year of high school competition unless his family and Harvard-Westlake present a successful appeal for a fifth year of athletic eligibility to the Southern Section.

Holmes faces a difficult decision if his appeal is denied. Does he remain in high school for a fifth year without football, or, having the credits needed for graduation after his fourth year, proceed to college football and academics?

Holmes, a gifted student who has visited several Ivy League campuses, said he will seek input on both fronts.

“I would have to talk with the universities that I’m interested in . . . and do whatever their academic and football people think is best,” he said. “I’d love to play college football but I’m not going to college just for football.”

Holmes has at least the pedigree to play high-level college football. His father, Mike, was a starting lineman at Michigan in 1975. But Holmes’ mother, Katrina, said that was not what she had in mind when she requested La Jolla High officials allow Alex to repeat ninth grade in 1996.

Katrina Holmes said a lengthy illness in seventh grade meant her son did not perform academically as she hoped he would and she wanted him to have an additional year of schooling.

She said she was not advised of the athletic eligibility complications such a move can cause.

“I was never thinking about athletics and whether he’d be seen by college coaches his senior year,” Katrina Holmes said. “Now I’m thinking that I’ve done something horribly wrong.”

La Jolla High principal Dana Shelburne said Tuesday he denied Katrina Holmes’ request that her son remain a ninth-grader and the school considered Alex Holmes a sophomore during the 1996-97 academic year. However, a copy of Holmes’ 1997 report cardlists him as a freshman.

Harvard-Westlake Athletic Director Gary Thran said school officials were aware of Alex Holmes’ eligibility when he arrived from La Jolla, and he was placed in 10th grade after consultation with academic counselors at Harvard-Westlake.

Thran said he would support an appeal by the Holmes’ family for a fifth year of athletic eligibility.

Southern Section rules allow for a student’s athletic eligibility to be extended beyond eight semesters in cases such as serious illness, injury or “exceptional hardship”.

However, Southern Section Assistant Commissioner Bill Clark said it is “extremely rare” for such waivers to be granted and Thran and Wolverine football Coach Dave Bennett each said they are not optimistic Holmes will receive one.

Opposing coaches and players may come to wish Holmes was leaving at the end of this season.

Calabasas Coach Larry Edwards, in his 18th season, came away a believer after his Coyotes narrowly defeated Harvard-Westlake last week.

“He gave us fits,” Edwards said. “He’s large but he can move and he’s got soft hands. We tried to run at him early to tire him out and then run away from him in the fourth quarter but he still caused a lot of problems.”

Last year at La Jolla, in his first varsity season, Holmes was the starting nose guard and the second tight end in a double-tight end set. He caught one pass.

This season, Holmes has caught 14 passes for 370 yards and three touchdowns. His display of spontaneous joy over his first scoring catch led to a taunting penalty and a vow by Holmes to immediately place the ball on the ground on any subsequent trips to the end zone.

“In La Jolla, all I did was block,” Holmes said. “I’ve never had catches before and it’s great to see the ball coming to me.”

Holmes credits his offensive success to a summer of workouts with Wolverine quarterback John Terzian, who befriended him upon their first meeting.

“We got a lot of timing down,” Holmes said. “If we see something in a defense, we’ll notice it and can change a pattern to make it work.”

On defense, Holmes is a formidable hitter. Last week, he was moved from the defensive line to linebacker and named defensive captain.

Despite his easygoing nature, Holmes wasted no time in making the huddle his domain.

“That’s good; that’s what we want him to do,” Terzian said. “It’s unusual to have a sophomore captain but you can tell by his intensity that it’s a smart move. I told him to take control and not worry about it. There are times people have to listen.”

Valley sports fans will likely be hearing about Holmes, even after football season. He also excels in basketball and track.

Holmes is an accomplished linguist and musician but Harvard-Westlake, unlike La Jolla, doesn’t offer his specialty of classical Greek as a language and five previously broken fingers on his right hand have temporarily curtailed his playing the violin.

“It just became too hard to play because my fingers are really gnarled and sometimes I can’t make a complete fist,” Holmes said.

It doesn’t matter. On the field, Holmes is a hit.

* GAME DAY

A look at today’s high school football games. C11