Sparkman Sprinter Johnny Holloway Is On The Move
HARVEST- Johnny Holloway is on the move and is leaving everyone in his dust.
The senior sprinter for the Sparkman track team is taking the 100 and 200-meter events to new heights by staking claim to being the best sprinter in the area and one of the best from throughout Alabama. He’s also among the top three in the 60-meter indoor sprint. For the 5-foot-7, 155-pound athlete the success begins before the start gun goes off. His mental structure enables him to prep for a race in the starting block.
“Yes, I do get nervous just before a race, but once I get in the block, I clear my mind and look straight ahead down my lane,” said Holloway. “I go through a mental checklist to prep myself. Once the gun goes off, I use big arms, stay low and use high knees to get me going.”
Holloway was once a basketball player for the Senators, but gave up that sport to concentrate on the sport he was best in. His trek into track came in two time frames. He started track as a nine-year old with the Huntsville Metro Track Club. His efforts made him feel he was sort of onto something as made the Jr. Olympics his first season of running track.
“I knew I was good as I finished eighth in the country in the 100-meter and 12th in the 200-meter races at age nine,” said Holloway.
His stint in track was short-lived as he exited the running efforts for the basketball courts from the sixth to 10th grades. He put forth every moment he could to play his favorite sport, but two years ago he chose to move back to the sprints in track as he knew he belonged there. “It was a difficult decision to make, but I knew I was better at track,” added Holloway.
The son of Johnny and Carla Holloway, said he knew he was in the correct place in athletics at the end of the sophomore season when he set a good personal record in the 100-meter which assured himself he made the correct choice. Today, he carries a 3.4 grade point average and is being recruited by many colleges. He continues exploring his options as he has received several offers and is looking heavily at attending Jackson State where he’s undecided on what type of education he wants to pursue, but knows all too well, running track will be his ticket to whatever college degree he will earn.
Running track or playing basketball hasn’t always been easy for the fleet-footed speedster. Since his years as a young boy growing up in the immediate area in Harvest, Holloway has dealt with asthma. At times the severe asthma nearly keeps him from participating. At track meets he uses his medicated inhaler 15 minutes prior to a race and he assists the inhaler by taking deep breaths and relaxes his body and his emotions as much as possible.
Holloway has posted impressive times in his three major sprints. His personal best times are, 100-meter: 10.86 seconds; 200-meter: 21.91; 60-meter: 6.95.
Besides his daily workouts at the superb track facilities at Sparkman, Holloway also works with local track trainer Eugene Frazier who has refined Holloway’s talents to near perfection. The determination to excel in his craft is beyond belief. When he feels he has had a bad performance in a race he draws upon the efforts to overcome a sloppy performance by taking his workouts into his own hands.
“There is a huge hill near my home and I run that hill hoping to erase the poor performance and instill better efforts in the next race,” said Holloway, who remains on the move.
