Sometimes, when the right person is at the right time and place, opportunity and talent snap together.
New Hope High School Athletic Director Holli McBrayer will tell you her job just fell in her lap — that she was in the right place at the right time.
“The former AD retired, and I was already going to all the games anyway because my husband, Drew, is a coach and my kids play,” said McBrayer, who became the school’s first female athletic director four years ago. “When the job opened up, I said, ‘I’m already here. I’m already involved. Why not get paid for it?’”
Of course, getting to where she could merely fall into a demanding job took some doing.
That path started with softball. McBrayer said her dad got her playing when she was about 7. She loved sports immediately, but it was later that she discovered her true love: basketball.
“In seventh grade I had to pick an elective, and I picked basketball,” she said. “That was really the first time I had ever picked up a basketball. It was a lot of work, but it was definitely something I fell in love with.”
McBrayer, while still a student at NHHS, would go on to coach the pee wee team.
“I really enjoyed coaching those little girls,” she said. “That’s probably where my interest (in coaching) came from. I like the early stages, the fundamentals. I like to see them grow, and those are things you can see soon.”
When McBrayer went off to college, she knew she wanted to stay involved with athletics.
She went to East Mississippi Community College to pursue a degree in PE, but while she was there was hooked by psychology after becoming fascinated with a general psychology class. That led to a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Delta State University.
“I knew I needed a master’s degree, and pursuing school counseling kept me in the loop,” she said. “I could still work with kids and be involved in sports.”
McBrayer and her husband both got jobs at St. Aloysius Catholic School in Vicksburg, where she and her husband both coached basketball.
“He coached varsity boys and girls and junior high boys, and I was the assistant coach for those teams and coached the junior high girls team,” she said. “I was also a part-time counselor and a part-time secretary.”
McBrayer came back to New Hope in 2006, first as the ninth- and 10th-grade counselor, and eventually moved up to 11th- and 12th-grade counselor. In 2013 she became assistant principal at the high school, and took on the mantle of AD four years ago.
“I still do a lot of academic counseling with my athletes,” she said. “It means a lot to see someone go from an immature little freshman to a successful student athlete on the college level. You see the potential of the kids as they come through, and then seeing it play out is really cool.”
Quite a few of those kids stay in touch, she said.
“I have former basketball players that still call me throughout college,” she said. “I love it.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 29 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 29 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion