Rips Brewers program lost a coach last week

Tres_arboles, thank you for posting this. I check in on the Northwest Forum every now and then, but it has been a while. I actually meant to post this myself.

I knew Ian Holding a little bit. He was the father of a catcher who is (or at least used to be) affectionately known as "Lumpy" and who is the same age as my son. We regularly saw his teams in local league and tournament play (though not this year, as my son chose to "play up" a year and Ian and his son did not). Both were a big part of the Kent Bulldogs program before moving to RIPS last year. My son's team had quite a few games with that Bulldog team in tournaments and faced off against that RIPS team 2-3 times last year in 14U ball. I remember my first impressions of Ian as this a loud, gruff-voiced coach whose teams teams sort of rubbed me the wrong way. That is, until I spent a couple of hours between games at a tournament in the parking lot talking to him about baseball, family, and how much fun it is to get to experience all this with our sons.

Despite a tremendously tragic loss, Ian Holding was one of those lucky people who died doing exactly what he loved more than anything else - coaching his son and his son's friends on a baseball field. The story repeated on the one of the stations' news coverage was that, in the last moments before he collapsed, the umpire had been looking down his way (remember, this was a fairly loud coach) and one of his players asked him why Blue kept looking down at him. Ian replied that it was because 'ol Blue must've thought he was good lookin' and then he laughed a hearty laugh. If I have to go early, I'd sure like it to be doing what I love, right after sharing a good laugh at a bad joke.

But that is really no consolation for his family. I can't imagine playing in a game my father was coaching and watching him die on the field (or watching from the stands - Ian's 7-year-old son, as well as his wife, was also there when this happened). For that matter, I can't imagine the trauma that ANY of these players experienced that day - and I knew and/or had coached at least four of them. Words cannot express how deeply felt my sympathies are for ALL of them.

Tres_arboles has already mentioned this, but there has been a memorial fund set up for Ian and the Holding family at Key Bank here in the Puget Sound region (I think the Ian Holding Memorial Fund is mentioned at the end of the link tres_arboles linked to). Like many people, the Holdings struggled to make ends meet as the economy turned in recent years, and the younger boy has some special needs. In addition to dealing with unimaginable grief, they can really use the help of the Greater Baseball Family to get back on their feet and move on as best they can.

He was a good man. I can't imagine the pain and sorrow his family, and the RIPS family, must be going through and my thoughts are truly with them. I hope that all of you will join me in sending your good thoughts, sympathies, good wishes, and prayers to the Holding family as well as the RIPS Baseball community.

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I'm so glad to read that you got to know Ian. If he had passed without you having that conversation with him in the parking lot you would have only a memory of a "loud, gruff-voiced coach whose teams rubbed you the wrong way." You advanced from that image to "He was a good man." I know Ian would be proud of your description of him. He earned it.

If you're like me it's worth getting to know people isn't it EdgarFan? Especially someone, who on first impression, you didn't care much for. This game of baseball produces some very strong bonds.

Thank you for your thoughts about Ian and his family.

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quote:

Originally posted by gotwood4sale:
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I'm so glad to read that you got to know Ian. If he had passed without you having that conversation with him in the parking lot you would have only a memory of a "loud, gruff-voiced coach whose teams rubbed you the wrong way." You advanced from that image to "He was a good man." I know Ian would be proud of your description of him. He earned it.

If you're like me it's worth getting to know people isn't it EdgarFan? Especially someone, who on first impression, you didn't care much for. This game of baseball produces some very strong bonds.

Thank you for your thoughts about Ian and his family.

Yessir. That's actually the only reason I mentioned that - the pleasure of moving past first impressions, and having the time and opportunity at various tournaments to do that, is one of the treasures of a life filled with baseball games.

I'm really glad we had that opportunity to chat that day, and really sad that we won't have an opportunity to renew that conversation the next time my son's team and his son's team cross paths.