Holland named ‘Administrator of the Year’

The last year has been a busy one for Tommy Holland in many roles at Neshoba County School District.

Holland is the student services and maintenance director for the Neshoba County School District. His athletic director duties fall under student services. He is the district hearing officer and works closely with the alternative school. He is over the coaching staff and the maintenance staff.

In addition his regular duties, he oversaw the construction of the new football stadium. He is now overseeing the construction of the new high school cafeteria.

Recently, it was announced Holland was named the school district's Administrator of the Year.

Holland said he felt honored by the recognition but pointed to the people he works with as the key to success.

"I have been fortunate enough to hire good, hard working people here who were the right fit," Holland said. "That's why our programs have succeeded the way it has.

"When they come in as an assistant (or head coach), they are highly motivated people and they are going to want to progress. They have that drive of being better every day and that's what you have got to have."

Holland added that the big part of his job is making sure his people have what they need to succeed.

"You can't expect someone to build a house if they don't have a hammer," Holland said. "They have to have the tools to build a program. And when you have that, it gives our kids the best chance to develop and become a great student athlete who will go on and hopefully prolong their careers.

"I have a full plate with my job and it keeps me busy but I enjoy it. I'm not here to tell someone how to run their program. I don't get bogged down with one thing," Holland said.

His dual roles often fit well.

"When we were building the stadium, it was kind of good that I was athletic director and oversaw maintenance," Holland said. "It was easier to coordinate. I enjoyed watching it grow and materialize, going from where to where are out there. Currently, we are building the new cafeteria."



Holland was born and raised in Neshoba County. He played baseball while attending Neshoba Central. After graduation in 1992, he played baseball while attending East Central Community College. Afterwards, he finished his Bachelor's degree at Mississippi State University in 1997. He got his master's degree from Mississippi State in 2008.

After college, he coached basketball and baseball a year at Macon Central Academy. He then went to work at Meridian High School was he was an assistant baseball coach for three seasons. Then he went work at Neshoba Central. At first he was assistant baseball coach. Then he became the softball coach where he led the Lady Rockets to two fast-pitch softball state championships.

In 2008, Holland became the assistant principal at Neshoba Central Middle School. In 2012, he was the principal at the middle school for a year. Then he became the athletic director.

Similar to the way he works with his coaching staffs, Holland also spends time with his maintenance staff.

"We have four maintenance men," Holland said. "We stay organized and they work hard. We meet regularly and discuss how we can do things better. We talk about ways to improve."

You can look back at the results of Holland's leadership with the athletic program, the football stadium and responsibilities. The football teams has put together two 10-win seasons and made it to the third round of the playoffs in November. The basketball teams have brought back a state championship and played for another. The softball teams have won nine straight state championships. The powerlifting and cross-country teams have been competitive Baseball is the two-time district championship. The girls soccer team beat Ridgeland this year, possibly for the first time. To Holland, that was progress.

"Six or seven years ago, I said I believe we can be competitive in every sport," Holland said. "Right now, I believe we are.

"It all goes back to good, hard working coaches. And our kids buy into the program. We have really good kids. It's a recipe for success and not one person makes it happen."

He is married Sharon. They had two children, Haley and Tyler.