Holgate resigns CdA post after 10 years

Brian Holgate resigned Monday after 10 years as Coeur d’Alene High’s baseball coach, saying it’s time to start coaching his two boys.

“It’s something that at the beginning of the year I decided in my mind that this was going to be it,” Holgate, 37, said. “I have two boys coming up and I want to coach and watch them play ball. It might seem selfish, but it’s just the right time.”

Holgate took four teams to state, including a state runner-up finish in his first year. Another team took third and his 2001 team captured the State 5A championship before it was discovered a couple of weeks after the season that a starter had falsified a grade. The player was ruled ineligible and the Vikings were forced to give the state trophy to runner-up Lewiston.

Holgate told his players about his plan to resign following a season-ending 9-6 loss to Centennial in a play-in game Saturday.

“I wanted them to know that it had nothing to do with them and that it’s all about my family,” Holgate said. “It’s one of the toughest things I’ve had to do. There was some unfinished business, but at the same time I’m young and I can always come back and coach another day.”

CdA athletic director Larry Schwenke would welcome that. He also understands why Holgate decided to step down.

“He’s a quality guy,” Schwenke said. “I’m so happy with what he’s done for our program. I’m happy for him because this is what he wants to do. This is a family decision.”

Holgate said he will miss many things.

“I’m going to miss the players,” Holgate said. “It didn’t matter which group of kids were coming in the next year, we were always going to be competitive.

“I’m also going to miss my assistant coaches and the coaches I coached against in the league,” Holgate added. “I think I had good friendships. I’ve known Cory (Lake City coach Bridges) for a long time. I wouldn’t have accomplished anything without his tutelage and mentoring. And I’ve known Tom (Lewiston coach Grunenfelder) a long time. Certainly, it was adversarial at times when we played. But I think we got the best out of each other’s teams. I’ll miss those relationships.”