Hiley Mazda Key Athlete of the Week: Hartselle bowler Briar Holt
HARTSELLE, Ala. (WHNT) – Hartselle’s Briar Holt has always dreamed of competing at the next level but sometimes dreams don’t always work out as you originally hoped they would.
After years of trying to find his main sport, and dealing with some setbacks along the way, Holt recently rediscovered his passion for bowling. Just last week signed his letter of intent to compete at Drury University, becoming the first bowler in Hartselle High School history to sign a bowling scholarship. For that, Briar Holt is the Hiley Mazda Key Athlete of the Week!
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“Once I discovered there is scholarship opportunities for bowling, it kind of relit that flame for me. It was hard for me emotionally to do it because it was on the back burner, it really wasn’t anything on my list anymore, and then when I actually signed that paper I kind of teared up a little bit, it was a good moment for me, it meant a lot,” Holt said.
“Briar really had a passion, he wanted to see if there was somewhere he could go in college. It shows the younger boys that if you work for the next two years, if you keep getting better, you can get money to help you in college,” Hartselle bowling head coach Shanna Coan added.
Briar’s journey to the collegiate level started as a kid.
“It kind of started two years ago in the summer, my friends and I decided to go bowling and I fell in love with it. It’s been in my family forever, on my dad’s side they actually built the one in Decatur, AMF, it actually used to be called Perry Lanes. It’s been around me my whole life,” Holt said.
Growing up, Holt played football, wrestled and also ran track, but a knee injury forced him to find a new sport. Lucky for him, bowling felt pretty natural.
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“It’s very intense, especially on the competitive side of it. The parallel between so many other sports is really fascinating,” Holt said.
So, he joined the Hartselle bowling team for his senior season and then was able to find his next home at Drury.
“The coach reached out to me and he specializes in my style, I’m a two-handed bowler. My coach has been working with me a little bit and my form has actually changed quite a bit. With a coach that specializes at my style, it really helps me be able to be better at that style,” Holt added.
Now Holt believes that it’s kind of crazy how things can work out exactly how they’re supposed to.
“I have fond memories growing up like 3, 4 years old, going to the bowling alley and watching my dad and mom bowl in league and just being surrounded by it. It kind of disappeared for most of my life but once it resurfaced I was like this is pretty cool. I started out at the same bowling alley where I grew up at, it’s where I practice most of the time. It really is full circle. and I really like that,” Holt said.
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We are always looking for standout student-athletes in the Tennessee Valley to feature! If you have a high-school-aged athlete that you would like to nominate for Hiley Mazda Key Athlete of the Week, you can email olivia.whitmire@whnt.com, claudia.chakamian@whnt.com or sports@whnt.com.
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