Brendan Holler is a throwback.
At a time when high school athletes increasingly focus on one sport with personal coaches and year-round club teams, Holler is a jack of all trades. In fact, Gilroy High’s football, basketball and baseball coaches might consider the senior a king of all trades.
“It’s pretty well known that he’s one of the best athletes in the entire school,” said Mustangs boys basketball coach Tim Jones, who also coached Holler as a freshman football player. “Athletically, he’s just gifted. He can run, he can jump, he’s fast, he’s strong. He’s got a lot of natural ability.”
That explains how the 6-foot-3 Holler is able to transform from an all-league receiver in football to a versatile forward in basketball to a face-of-the-program outfielder and pitcher in baseball.
“It keeps me busy all the time, and it’s fun playing all three all the time,” Holler said. “It’s hard work.”
Baseball was Holler’s first love, and it remains his favorite sport. Holler, after all, comes from what his father, Gilroy High baseball coach Billy Holler, calls a “baseball family.”
Billy and Amy Holler have already raised a multi-sport Mustang. Jordan Holler, a 2010 Gilroy High graduate, played football and baseball.
Billy Holler has watched with pride as Brendan excels in three sports.
“I don’t know a lot of kids who do that anymore,” Billy Holler said. “It’s hard for him to do each sport because it is so demanding. The biggest part for him is being around his teammates. He’s definitely gained a lot of relationships and friendships.
“I just think he’s a special kid. He’s never been ineligible, he’s held his grades solid. I just think it’s rare.”
Holler first went out for football in eighth grade, and it took time to develop into the fluid route runner and over-the-middle target he became for the Mustangs.
“It was difficult. I wasn’t that good in eighth grade because it was the first time I had ever played,” Holler said. “Just getting used to hitting people and getting hit was the main part of adjusting to it.”
Holler adjusted just fine. He was named a second-team all-league receiver in the tough Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division as a senior in 2012.
But Holler might have been even more explosive on special teams, as he had four kickoff returns for touchdowns in 2012. He also made an impact at running back and safety.
“We’re kind of a baseball family. He loves it more than the other ones,” Billy Holler said of his son. “But I think he might be a pretty good (college) football player, too.”
In basketball, Holler gives Jones an “X” to move all over his dry-erase board while drawing up plays.
“He’s not pigeonholed into a position,” Jones said. “That athleticism allows him to run the floor, face the basket, attack the basket. He shoots 3-pointers. He does just about everything you ask of a basketball player, and it’s nice to have that ability.”
Holler flashed his all-around talents with nine points and nine rebounds in a 57-53 win over Watsonville on Nov. 30.
Holler helped Gilroy (4-9) win its MBL Pacific Division opener, 55-51 over Watsonville on Jan. 4. The Mustangs continue league play against visiting Pajaro Valley at 7 p.m. today.
Baseball could shape up as Holler’s best season this year. Last spring, the right fielder led the Mustangs with a .365 batting average. The hard-throwing right-hander also compiled a 3.91 ERA and struck out 26 batters in 28 2/3 innings.
“It’s just the one I love the most,” Holler said of baseball.
Holler is glad he went out for football and basketball even if baseball is his life’s passion. So is his father.
“Kids who do it are better athletes, I think,” Billy Holler said. “And we play baseball year-round. I’m beyond proud of him.”
