Honesty Holt Takes Over Har-Ber Softball Program | Varsity Vibe

Former assistant coach Honesty Holt is now the new head coach for Har-Ber Softball, after Randy Osnes decided to retire at the end of the 2026 season. 

A former player for Har-Ber and Bentonville West, she excited to take over and lead the program in their next chapter of success.

Transcript

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Welcome in at the Varsity Vine, presented to you by First Security Bank. I'm your host, Alyssa Orton. It's always great to be with you. Always great to share another conversation. And this is what I'm really excited about because I think, as you guys know, we've talked about it before. I grew up playing the sport of softball, and it's been really fun this past spring to cover it on the high school level. I've also had the opportunity to do the play-by-play for the state finals game the last two years, a game in which the Harbor Wildcats played the Bentonville uh Tigers, lost those games. In fact, they've lost the last three years, but that's not why we're here. It is a brand new era for Harbor Wildcat softball, as head coach Randy Asines deciding to retire and in steps his assistant coach, Honesty Holt. Not only did she play for Harbor as well as Bentonville West, but she also was able uh to really get her teeth into the coaching world and learn from Coach Asinez as well as uh Coach Cantrell, who she played for at Bentonville West. And now she has an opportunity to build her own program at Harbor and put her own stamp on the game of softball. So I had some time to sit down and kind of talk to her about what this transition has been like over the last really like two weeks and what she is hopeful for for the future. So enjoy this conversation with Harbor softball head coach Honesty Holt.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

I actually started playing softball for the Springdale Parks and Rec. So it's kind of full circle that I've made my way all the way back to Harbor High School. Um I graduated from Bitonville West, played under uh Coach Cantrell, and then I went and played D2 softball out in West Virginia at Davis and Elkins College for my four years. Graduated with my bachelor's in sport management, and then um came back home, started coaching with Coach Osnus at Harbor that fall after I graduated, and then during my first year, I was getting my master's. So I have my master's in sport administration, and then I've been with him the last three years. So I've been at Harbor my entire high school coaching career. I coach travel ball every summer of college. Um so I did that for four summers, and then as soon as I started high school ball, I stopped coaching travel. So yeah, and now we're here, head coach of Harbor High School.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

So here we are. Yeah, let's get back up there. When when you found out that Coach Osnus was gonna retire uh again, um what was that conversation like?

SPEAKER_02 3:57

Um, it started off. So he I've known for a while, and I took some time to think about it and really reflect on my capabilities and kind of what my goals were. Um, just like taking a step back from not even not only the softball aspect of it, but just the responsibility aspect and just thinking, can I handle this? What are my capabilities? And so I really just took a step away, reflected on it, had a lot of conversations with him about kind of what he does behind the scenes that maybe I don't know about, I don't see. Um, and he slowly just started delegating more and more tasks to me to see what I could handle, and it kind of never stopped. Um, so there was a lot of things that I did that I didn't know that he was doing these things on purpose, um, with a lot of intention behind it. And I finally came to the conclusion that I was like, this is I'm gonna pursue it. Um, hopefully everything works out the way I want it to, and got had the opportunity to interview and do all of that. Um, and then got the call last week that I got the job. So it's really, really crazy couple of weeks with him announcing his retirement to the kids. Interview started happening the following week. Um, so it was just quick turnaround because they want to get everything done before the dead period. But it was kind of a whirlwind.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Right. Yeah, when you're going through that interview process, uh, I'm I'm sure that obviously um what you've done and and how you've been able to be an assistant coach under Coach Osnis has helped, but those conversations of just you know what you bring to the table, uh, because you're you know, you're young relatively and and coaching and taking over a six A program.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

Um, so in my interview that I we talked a lot about, you know, what Coach O taught me and things that I learned from him. And um it was just funny because whenever they were asking me um what all what all were you responsible for this past year? And I was like, I can't even tell you. Everything that he's taught me, everything I was responsible for. Um I was like, we might be here for a few hours because the wealth of knowledge that he kind of gave me, but at the same time, I knew he was guiding me and teaching me, like these are all the things that you're gonna be doing. And so I know I am young, um, and that was something that I think that I bring to the table is the longevity consistency to these kids. Um, the relationships I built with them is a huge, huge, huge thing for me. Um, I've gotten close to these kids over the last three years, and this senior class that we have right now, they were freshmen whenever we started. So just being able to ride it all the way out with them, and they have somebody that you know they've been with the last three years and they're able to trust, and they're not having to come in their last year of high school softball and have a new new person to kind of learn from and learn a whole new, you know, system. Every coach has their systems and it's more of like a consistent change for them.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Yeah, you know, I I would love to know. Describe to me what that that meeting with the players was like on Wednesday when they announced it to the team.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

So at first, for some reason, there was a door behind us. There was me and our other two assistant coaches. I'd called Coach O that morning and I was like, Hey, can you come to this meeting? I really want you to be there whenever they, you know, officially passed the torch. Um and for some reason the kids got really nervous that there was a door right behind us. And they thought that for some reason we were gonna do a big show, and the head coach was gonna magically walk through this door behind us, and so they're all sitting there on edge because they're like, there's no way. They, of course, they had the idea, they were like, Oh, is it gonna be Coach Holt? And when he finally announced it, they all started cheering and clapping, which you know made me feel really good. But whenever they told me, they were like, I thought somebody was gonna walk through that door, and it was gonna be like this huge introduction, which I thought that was hilarious. Yeah, no, but it was cool, and a lot of the parents were really excited, so it just it was very reassuring to know you have that. Not only did the administration have that faith, that belief in me, but a lot of the parents and the athletes were very, you know, excited about the decision that our admin made. So it made me feel very good.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

Yeah, yeah. You talk about how you know everything you've learned from Coach Osnis would probably take us forever to sit here and talk about. But when you did finally have that torch pass you, what are some maybe some words of advice that he's given you these first couple of days and and through that transitional process that have that have really been the most impactful?

SPEAKER_02 8:35

I think the most impactful thing that he said is that I have to be myself. I can't pretend to be somebody that I'm not. And just because you know I'm wearing a different hat, I still need to stay true to my values and everything that I kind of stand for. Um, because I'm at the end of the day, I'm not gonna be Randy Osnis. If I could be half of what he is, I will know that I have done an amazing job um in this career because he has made such an impact on the sport. Um, but I think just staying true to myself would be the biggest thing and not trying to, you know, change myself because I'm in a different role and because, you know, I'm kind of wearing all the hats rather than just helping out Coach Osnis, you know.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Have you thought about the fact that 10 years ago you were playing in this league and now you're a head coach in this league?

SPEAKER_02 9:24

Yes. So I actually found a photo um the other day because in high school we would always go to and play in the Farmington tournament. Um, and I found a photo of me playing third base, and Coach Osnis is coaching third while we're playing Farmington, and I showed it to I had printed it out and put it in a little book for his um, I gave him like a retirement gift, and it was the very first page when he opened it. It was a picture of me playing against him, and then the next picture was a picture of us coaching together. Um, and I was like, it's crazy how we've come full circle. I would have never imagined that we are here, and the fact that he came over to Harbor after retiring for two years, it's just crazy how things kind of work out.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

You talk about how much he's impacted the sport. How have you watched the sport evolve over the years um in the high school level and and the level of talent that just continues to grow in the state of Arkansas?

SPEAKER_02 10:19

Oh, absolutely. I would say whenever I was growing up, it felt like there wasn't very many kids that were competitive in the sport. And it felt like whenever I was in high school, I felt like the only one, one of the few that wanted to play college whenever I was a freshman and sophomore. And then junior and senior year, it's felt like a lot of people started. My signing, my class from high school, I think we signed I think six out of eight of us signed to play college softball, which at first I started off playing high ball at um Harbor in Springdale, and then there I was the the only one that wanted to play college. I knew as a freshman that was my goal. Um and then my parents moved from Tawnytown to Bentonville, so then I went ended up switching over to Bentonville West, and there the amount of travel ball players and people who wanted to play college was insane. And then once um I came back, I started coaching travel ball, so then I was kind of in that area where kids are trying to get recruited and helping them in that recruiting process, and then stepping into the high school, you get there's kids who you know just want a team to be a part of, and then you have those kids who we have Sierra Dots who wants to play at the highest level, so it's um it's cool to have a space that welcomes all of them, and we are able to, you know, make something happen with the kids that we have, um, and how many kids that want to play the sport. I remember high school rosters used to be maybe 15 kids if you were lucky, and now we just had tryouts a few weeks ago, and our roster is gonna be closer to 40. So it's just it's cool to watch how many kids want to be involved in the sport now.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

That's crazy to me. We had I played softball my whole entire life too, and we did caught like high school tryouts, I think like two weeks before practices were allowed to start. Like things have changed so much, and and the level of competition, um, I think is what's been really fun for me to see and experience being around it the last couple of years, is just the level of competition is so much higher than it used to be, uh, which makes the sport a lot of fun, which is why I think it's gotten a lot of attention, not just on the high school level, but on the collegiate level as well. Agreed. So, so when you look at you talk about being yourself, right? And that's a big piece of advice that you got. What does that mean? What when you look at the kind of head coach that you want to be, what are the first kind of few things that really uh stand out to you?

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Um, I think in relation to you know having Coach Osnes as a mentor, I know there was a lot of things that we were very, very similar on. Um, I would say the biggest thing that I know that I'm not is I he always told me that I was probably the most even keel person he's ever coached with. Like the kids, I kind of have it, it's not necessarily that I don't show emotion, but like when it comes to umpires, um very as I mean everybody knows Randy Austin is he's a little he's a little more out there than I am when it comes to things like that, but I'm always gonna have the kids back, you know. I'm just gonna there's I think there's gonna be situations that I handle differently um just because of my personality type. Um but the kids I'm not gonna be that coach that has to yell whenever I am talking to the kids. They they'll they know whenever you know that moment comes and they're like, oh, we've we've made a mistake here. Um and usually they'll come together on their own and kind of talk to each other and those leaders take over and they're like, guys, we need to, you know, kind of get it together, which is nice that I can just give them a look and they know. I don't have to, you know, say anything all the time. Um and just you know, trusting that the things that I do know, I'd I have a very softball softball IQ is something I always took pride in myself on whenever I was playing, um, and being able to share that with these kids is I think a really cool experience. Um, and just trusting myself and staying true to what I do know, and but also incorporating the systems that we've put in. I just need to continue adding to those things and you know, modifying, making them better and better every single year.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Yeah. Well, it's no secret that the last three years um have ended at the state championship game, unfortunately, uh not the result that you guys wanted. Uh, but to have those kind of experiences, to know what it takes to get to that championship game to try to win a state championship. Um, I I think the question is what does Harbor continue need to do to continue to develop and put out a really high-level quality product every year?

SPEAKER_02 15:06

Absolutely. Um, I would say that this past year, um, we got over that hump, you know, of finally winning one of the two games that we needed to prove to ourselves that they are capable. I think for us, we just need to keep they just the kids have to just keep proving to themselves, you know, like we can only believe in them so much. They have to believe in themselves. And I think just continuing to instill that belief in them, you know, you got you got over a huge step this past year that we've been trying to do over the last two years. Yes, the state championship game didn't give us the result we wanted, but this past year was we got over that hump, you know, and it sucks to be playing the same team three years in a row and not getting the result that we want, but I think that we're one step closer now. And so just continuing and building up their confidence um is something that I think we'll continue to do, you know. They've got the softball aspect part of it down, and we're returning a lot of kids who were starters for us this past year.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

So I think just the mental side of it, just keep building on that, and that helps you out too, knowing you've got a lot of returners who know what to expect from you, but also know how uh to handle themselves in game situations. Absolutely. So you talk about obviously that's the goal. Um, but as you as you look at taking it day by day, uh you said you just had tryouts. I mean, like what's next as you continue to put these pieces together? What is the rest of the summer look like as you guys get into the fall?

SPEAKER_02 16:39

Absolutely. So unfortunately, you know, the dead period starts this weekend. Um, so they'll have the next two weeks.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

We get to take the break. That's not a bad thing.

SPEAKER_02 16:47

I know. I know either. That's I had to explain to them. I was like, the facilities are closed, you cannot use them, they are locked away. Um, you'll have to find somewhere else to go practice because a lot of the kids do use the field over the summer, and we have an indoor that they have access to, but um, they'll have the dead period for the next two weeks, and then as soon as dead period's over, that Tuesday we'll start summer workouts. So lifting, doing field, um field workouts out there, and then um we'll do that a few times a week, and then once school starts, we'll be lifting in the mornings and then starting field practices in the afternoons. So we'll hit the ground running.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

Yeah. How excited are you?

SPEAKER_02 17:29

I mean, I think that that's a good question, but that's anytime people have asked me, I just can't stop smiling. You know, I'm really excited about the opportunity, and um, I'm excited to with this. We have quite a few freshmen coming in that seem like they're gonna make an in you know, immediate impact kids. So I'm really excited to see how this season goes for the seniors and this fall. Um I just excited. I'm I can't even stop. I haven't stopped thinking about it. People have asked me how the last week has been, and I'm like, I haven't stopped anything, you know. It's just I took a day to kind of let it soak in, and um, you know, and right after the meeting, I hung out with Coach O for a few hours and just kind of decompressed from the day. I was whenever I got the call, I was at PD actually, which is I was in a room full of people and I had to walk away, take the phone call, but it was a really cool experience. And the kids' reaction, I think, is what made it that much better and seeing how excited they were, it just filled my cup.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Yeah, yeah. Well, congratulations again. Uh, it's just the start, I know, and it's so excited to see how it all comes together for you. I appreciate the time.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Yeah, of course. Thank you so much for this conversation.

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