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Hernando Today

Making the Grade

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

SHS senior Bryce Hollingshead (10) collected 4 INTs and returned a fumble for a touchdown en route to an All-County selection in 2007.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: September 4, 2008

Updated: 09/04/2008 09:23 am

Had Bryce Hollingshead continued on the pace he set forth his freshman year at Springstead High, the Eagles would be minus their best defensive back this season.
More importantly, Hollingshead could have found himself heading down the wrong path in life.
In 2007, after sitting out his sophomore year because of academic eligibility, Hollingshead paced Springstead with four interceptions and returned a fumble for a touchdown.
"I think I did good, but I'm not really satisfied with last year," Hollingshead said. "I plan to have a bigger year this year. I think I'll be more aware this year of what I'm doing."
An awareness of his surroundings has helped the 17-year-old son of Spring Hill's Wayne and Sandra Hollingshead not only turn things around on the field, but in the classroom.
Hollingshead, 5 foot-9, 163 pounds, begins his senior year with a 2.3 GPA. That may not seen overly high, but compared to where his grades were two years ago, it shows how far he has come academically.
"I fell off not doing the right thing with the wrong the crowd," Hollingshead said.
"I loved the game of football, not even just the football part. I wanted to bring my education back to the level it should have been at the whole time I was in high school and the players were just encouraging me to come back and play.
"It took a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work. You usually don't find people in that situation that come back like that. A lot of my friends in that situation unfortunately were unable to bring that back. You have to be dedicated. You can't be intimidated."
 
Cutting social ties
 
Hollingshead admitted that he didn't truly realize how bad his grades had gotten until the end of his freshman year, when he played on the junior varsity football team.
Unable to play as a sophomore, he attended games and could only watch as his friends performed on the field.
"That made me want to push myself more to bring my grades up and play football," Hollingshead said. "It was kind of my motivation.
"I probably would have brought my grades up (anyway) but I'd probably still be trying to bring them up right now. That really helped me a lot."
Aside from regular classes, Hollingshead had to attend night school and "basically had to cut off all my social life."
He said he has surrounded himself with better people, and credited his teammates, coaches and family for their support. He believes the experience helped him grow.
"I feel I'm a better person," Hollingshead said. "I definitely make better choices now.
"I try to talk to younger kids in JV coming up about how important it is to keep your grades up at a certain level. They don't want to fall off like me, especially if they want to play football and have good grades."

A humble young man
 
The soft-spoken Hollingshead has certainly left a positive impression on his coach.
"He's such a humble young man, which is so refreshing for the amount of athletic ability he has," Springstead Head Coach Bill Vonada said. "He's very fast, very coachable. On the rare occasion he does make a mistake, he's very easy to correct with it.
"He's going to go all out every single play, every rep. You know what you're going to get from Bryce. He's going to be full speed and he'll play whatever role you ask him to play to help the team."
Though also listed as a running back (he ran four times last year for 69 yards), Hollingshead will primarily stay on defense. He had 35 tackles in addition to his work defending the pass.
"I think I need to get better at tackling," Hollingshead said. "I need to get better at being aware of where the receivers are even if they're not to my side of the ball. Be more conscience of my surroundings."
 As for his grades, though has gotten them back up to a more respectable level, Hollingshead knows he still has work to do on and off the field.
 "I really would like to go to college," Hollingshead said. "I want to go on and play football."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: BRYCE HOLLINGSHEAD
YR SOLO ASST TTK FR INT
2007 20 15 35 1* 4
* Returned for a touchdown

Sports writer Chris Bernhardt Jr. can be reached at (352) 544-5288 or cbernhardt@hernandotoday.com.

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