Josh Holt's passion runs deep

Josh Holt is a man of many talents and experiences. One of his talents happens to be running, which is what makes him a perfect fit as the new head coach of the Havre High cross country teams.

Holt, who will be replacing the departed Darci Heninger, was offered the position by HHS activities director Dennis Murphy and was then given a vote of approval by the Havre Public School Board recently.

Holt, who is a Havre High alum who graduated back in 1998, is excited about the opportunity to coach for his alma mater and is looking forward to the task of preparing the Blue Ponies to run with the best that Class A has to offer.

"It's definitely a pride thing for me," Holt said. "They say once a Blue Pony, always a Blue Pony. I don't think I could see myself coaching for any other school. And I am excited to be a head coach of a Havre High sport, especially one that I am so passionate about."

There is no question that Holt loves running as a smile creeps across his face whenever he is speaks about it. And in terms of his job as head coach of the HHS boys and girls teams, he is already hard at work spreading that enthusiasm down to his runners.

Holt has already met with his team and has worked with them to develop a workout regimen for the summer that will include not only running but weight training as well, which Holt says is a key component to being a successful runner.

"There is a lot more to being a good runner than just running," Holt said. "You need to have good core strength and good body strength. So that is something we are really going to focus on. The other thing about running, is that it's not something you can just do a couple months out of the year and be good at. It's something that you constantly have to be working on if you want to improve."

Holt, who spent 10 years as a Marine in the United States Military, is obviously no stranger to running. In fact, it was his first years of military training when he really discovered his talent for running and his overall love for the sport.

"I joined the Army in 1999 and found out that I was a pretty good at running," Holt said. "I was one of the top runners in the basic training, so I was actually assigned to help some of the guys, who weren't quite as good with running and that kind of started my coaching in running. I moved to my regular unit and again was a pretty good runner. There are always guys that are faster, but I was identified as a good runner and started with my platoon and my company and then pretty soon I was helping all the guys in my battalion that weren't as good at running.

"One of the things I learned is that a lot of guys didn't know how to run properly," he added, "They had bad technique because no one had ever taught them how to run. So I worked with them a lot on the proper technique and then a lot of strength work. A lot of guys went on to find out that they could run and run well."

Part of the reason Holt discovered his love of running later in life, is that during his time attending Havre High, a boys cross country team did not exist. And in the spring, he played golf instead of running track. Yet, his persistence to stay in shape paid off and he excelled as a wrestler for HHS, earning a third-place finish at the Class A state wrestling meet as a junior at 135 pounds, followed by a fifth-place finish his senior year at state at 130 pounds.

But even though Holt didn't get to compete as a runner in high school, doesn't mean that stopped him from running competitively later in life. He said he has competed in multiple marathons, a couple in St. Louis and then in a marathon in which he ran against other marines. Holt may not run competitively anymore, but he is still active in the sport, running anywhere from 3 to 15 miles three to four times this week.

Holt is excited to pass on his knowledge to his teams and he hopes over time to help the Ponies compete at the highest levels of Class A cross country. The girls team, which has won three state championships (1990, 2000 and 2004), has a history of success but hasn't won a state title in over a decade and the boys program is still in search of its first. And while Holt said he would love to win a state championship some day, his primary goal is building a program that can be competitive year after year. That's why Holt, who served two separate tours of duty in Iraq and has been a member of the Havre Police Department since 2009, decided to take on the job.

"I want to build a program that lasts," Holt said. "I did my research and I have looked back on the team over the past two years. And it all just worked out that the position came open and I was able to throw my hat in the ring and see what I can do. Obviously, I would love to win a state championship, but I want to build a program that the kids enjoy participating in and want to come back to because they know their coach cares so much about it."