Antioch's Holm also a hit on the gridiron

Relatively speaking, Vinnie Holm hasn't done a ton of living yet. He's just a senior in high school.

But for much of his lifetime so far, Holm has been a soccer player. He grew up playing the sport. He spent years on a local travel team.

Soccer is what he had always been known for. Year after year after year.

“I played for 14 years,” said Holm, who had barely left toddlerhood when he joined his first soccer team. “We're a big soccer family. Everyone in my family plays soccer. My sisters, my brothers.”

It wasn't until four years ago, when he was in eighth grade, that Holm was introduced to football. He didn't even know if he wanted to play at first.

He needed some heavy persuading.

And yet, ironically, for the rest of his lifetime, it's football that this Johnny-come-lately may be remembered for most.

The Antioch football records book could keep Holm in the community's consciousness for many years to come.

Holm, a three-year, standout running back for the Sequoits, recently set the school's all-time scoring record with his 103rd point of the season.

Fittingly, there was a little bit of soccer involved.

Holm is also Antioch's placekicker. The Sequoits had just scored a touchdown in their Week 7, 28-14 win over archrival Lakes.

When Holm booted through the extra point, he scored his 285th career point, one better than the previous record of 284 points scored by former star running back Cameron White over the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Of course, Holm, who has 16 touchdowns and 32 extra points on the season, has since added to his total and now has 310 career points with at least two more games remaining.

“Vinnie's record should be around for a long, long time,” Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said. “Until we get another running back/kicker combination, at least. And those players are rare.

“Vinnie is a rare kind of player anyway. He's a great player but he's also a winner. We've won a lot of games over the last three years with Vinnie. He's been very good to me. He's part of my first freshman class. We came in together.”

So, Glashagel wanted to send Holm out in style. He made sure to alert everyone when Holm was within reach of the scoring record.

When the big moment arrived, Holm said he got a little choked up as he was hugged by teammates, acknowledged by the public address announcer and showered by the wild cheers of a crowd that had come prepared with special signs to commemorate the new record.

“My dad was holding a sign that said, ‘You rock, #6.' My girlfriend and a bunch of other fans had signs that said ‘All-time leading scorer.' It was pretty cool,” Holm said. “I never expected to get emotional like I did, but once it happened, I realized it was a pretty special moment.

“It's a good feeling because that's a big achievement and it's something that I can always remember and look back on. I'll have a story to tell my own kids.”

Holm's football story starts when he was wrestling in seventh grade and the eighth grade football coach came to watch a practice.

“He came up to me and told me that I had good potential for football,” Holm said. “He said he was watching me wrestle and he liked my strength and speed. I had never even thought of playing football before. I was busy with soccer.

“I thought (football) was an interesting idea, but I wasn't sure about it.”

Sure enough, though, Holm wound up being a sure thing on the football field, so sure that Glashagel couldn't wait to move him up to the varsity as a sophomore.

Even with such little experience, Holm was a double-edged weapon: a speedy, elusive runner who had a nose for the end zone and a razor-sharp kicker whose leg was strong enough to boot 40-plus-yard field goals at practice like it was nothing.

“When you bring a kid up as a sophomore, you want to make sure he can handle it and Vinnie was able to hang with the older guys,” Glashagel said. “He's a very talented player. And the fact that he could run the ball and also kick it made him even more valuable. He's had games where he's scored a ton of points for us because he's also kicking extra points and field goals. It's not a surprise that he's got the scoring record now.”

Along with all of his points, Holm has also racked up the yardage at Antioch.

He currently has 1,643 career rushing yards, which puts him fifth on the school's all-time rushing list. Glashagel says Holm is well within reach of the No. 4 spot, which is 1,794 yards.

Meanwhile, Antioch's kicking records aren't safe either.

Holm already holds Antioch's record for consecutive extra points. He booted 44 in a row in 2008.

Next up is the field goal record.

Holm's longest field goal is a 42-yarder that he kicked in 2008 against North Chicago. Antioch's longest field goal of all time is a 43-yarder kicked by Adam Jordan in 2001.

“I'd love to break the field goal record, too,” Holm said. “In practice, I've kicked 55-yarders into the wind. I know I could kick a 44-yard field goal.”

The ideal scenario would be if he could kick it in a state title game.

“The best part about the scoring record was that it came against Lakes and we beat them,” Holm said. “I don't make all these records a priority, I just want to win games.

“But if the records come along, then that's a pretty nice perk.”

pbabcock@dailyherald.com