Troy Holland '20 Recruiting Profile

A body size of 6’4” 260 lbs is the definition of a pro football defensive end. Getting a 1400 SAT score (700 math, 700 ELA) is the average for admission to most ivy leagues. And having a 3.9 weighted GPA while taking 4 AP courses, playing 2 sports, participating in 2 clubs, commuting over 30 minutes a day to school, and participating in community service is a very active person. Growing up I often wondered what kind of person could do all of that, or what kind of person would want to do all of that. It wasn’t until I started writing this personal statement until I realized that person is me, Troy Kelly Holland Jr, class of 2020.

I have loved playing sports ever since I was younger, but I never truly loved to play sports until I started playing baseball. I was always a big kid and I towered over the others, but I couldn’t control my size. My parents put me in Karate where I would come to be just 1 belt shy (Black/Brown) of being a black belt. Being a tall African American also meant I was supposed to play football and basketball. I did and excelled at both sports. Despite my success in basketball and football, I never really loved to play either sport. Due to my size I had to stop playing pop warner football, and never went back to the sport until my 8^th grade year, when I was 12 years old. Basketball stopped being fun for me. I took up baseball around the age of 11 and have never looked back.

Luckily for me, both of my parents have always put my academics before sports. My mom and dad are steadfast in their academic beliefs. On the way to football games and karate competitions, my father would quiz me on multiplication tables. After I finished my homework, I would spend an hour practicing my writing skills and grammar. Thanks to the preparation I have gone through throughout my childhood, I now consider my education to be one of my strongest skills, and one of the most important things to me when considering anything with schooling.

If I am considered for your baseball program, you will find someone who thrives in any kind of environment. I can take direction and coaching well, no matter how the information is sent out. I respect my coaches and teammates and carry myself well outside of the field. In the classroom, I always believe in respecting and following the rules of my teachers and doing the most I can to keep my grades up.

When you consider me for your program, I also believe that you should know my strengths and weakness. I personally believe my greatest strength lies in my academic abilities and my ability to respectfully take in information, no matter who presents it or how. I also multitask very well and can focus on multiple things at once. My greatest weakness is my occasional laziness, which ends up forcing me to work harder to catch up on things I didn’t do. However, this laziness normally disappears on the baseball field.

I swear to you that if am accepted into your program, I will fully commit myself to both academics and baseball. It would be an incredible opportunity to play baseball at the collegiate level. Thank you for in advance for considering me to be a fit for your program.