Former D-I Head Coach Larry Holmes Takes On Cooper Coaching Role

Holmes landed a boys’ tennis coaching job at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix to become the first black tennis head coach at the high school level in Arizona. He had a successful eight-year stint that included two regional titles and selection as Region Coach of the Year.

While at Mountain Pointe, Holmes got his college coaching career kick-started by being named Benedictine University Mesa’s inaugural men’s and women’s tennis head coach. After three years at Benedictine, Holmes spent a year and a half as interim men’s and women’s tennis head coach at Bethany College in Kansas. And that’s when Holmes said his “big break came in tennis.”

“That summer I did the University of Michigan tennis camp,” he said. “I started talking to the men’s head coach, Adam Steinberg. I shared my goals and dreams with him. I said I wanted to be a Division-I head coach. He gave me the best piece of advice ever. He said, ‘If you want to be a Division-I head coach, you need to go out and be a volunteer assistant.’”

Holmes did just that. In 2019, he was chosen as a volunteer assistant for Virginia Tech University’s women’s tennis program. A month into the role, Holmes was promoted to the paid full-time assistant position for the remainder of the semester. Holmes credited Head Coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Holdren for mentoring him in what it takes to be a quality D-I head coach.

In January 2021, Holmes reached a long-held dream by becoming the men’s and women’s tennis head coach at NCAA Division-I Norfolk State University in Virginia. He guided both teams to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern Division championships — the second regular-season titles for both programs. He was picked MEAC Coach of the Year for both the men and women.

In October 2021, though, Holmes made the difficult decision to exit college coaching, as he accepted a job as director of junior tennis at Towpath Tennis Center in Akron, Ohio. He ran all the junior programming at Towpath for a year and a half prior to landing at Cooper.

“It’s been a very fun, enjoyable ride for me,” Holmes said. “With the uncertainty of Covid and college sports — there was uncertainty in terms of our tennis programs and if they are going to stay — I had a come-to-Jesus meeting.

“I had to really sit down and think about, ‘OK, I need some long-term stability.’ At a tennis club, there is some stability. That’s what ultimately led me to pivot and start getting on the management side of tennis a little more. I’m still coaching, but being that administrator a little bit.”

Holmes called it “an honor and a privilege to have this platform,” as he has loved his time in the tennis realm and is excited about what’s to come in his role at Cooper.

“Tennis has given me everything,” Holmes said. “Tennis has given me a life. It has provided for me. It was something at a very early age I was drawn to and gravitated toward. I always looked forward to going to tennis.

“Even outside, playing in the street; not a lot of kids in my neighborhood played tennis. I just loved it. I enjoyed it. It’s something that sits very, very deep in me. I wouldn’t change it at all.”