He was once the player on the court and has now been a beloved coach for nearly five decades. Someone who has seen the team through many players, thousands of games, handfuls of championships and who truly represents the love of the game, but ultimately his love for our university.
Head basketball coach Dave Holmquist started his coaching career as an assistant basketball coach at Biola, then went to Fresno Pacific University to be a head coach for three years. He then ended up back at Biola where he has been a head coach since. Even though his calling to be a coach is now apparent, there was a time in his life that he did not see that path for himself.
“I didn’t really have plans to be a coach. The coach who was here at the time asked me to be an assistant for him, and so I did that, and I enjoyed it a lot,” Holmquist said. “And between that experience and then my junior college coach. [He] lived here in La Mirada, and had been all-American for John Wooden at UCLA; he was a real successful player and coach and we had become close friends. So those two influences got me thinking about coaching, and that’s how I ended up doing it.”
Holmquist got his undergraduate degree in Public Health, his Masters in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling and Masters in Theology all through Biola. He noted that the wide variety of education has helped him connect more with people, especially with his players.
“Whenever you study any field, everything’s connected in terms of knowledge, so I think it helps you to understand people and human nature the more you learn,” Holmquist said. “I think the degree in Marriage, Family and Child counseling helped me to understand backgrounds, family backgrounds and helped me to understand the importance of listening and just relational skills.”
Starting at 24, Holmquist became the head coach at Fresno Pacific University. He noted that during that time in his life many of the players that he coached were either his age or older than him. Despite this obstacle, he was able to learn a lot during his first year of being a head coach.
“You learn more in the first year in coaching as a head coach than any year, everything’s new and different. Even if you’ve been an assistant, it’s still very different being a head coach,” Holmquist said. “And when the players were so close in age, it forced me to kind of establish a philosophy and have conviction about that right away, which I think was good for me in the long run.”
Holmquist has been the head coach at Biola for 46 years. During that time he’s achieved over 1,000 career wins, has led the team to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championships, and after Biola transitioned to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), he led the team to the championships there as well.
Despite seeing the team through many victories and losses, different eras of his own life and the life of Biola, he noted that the essence of Biola’s basketball team never truly changed. When comparing the players he coached at the beginning of his career to now, he said that they are very similar. Every year they prioritize recruiting and training good character athletes, and will continue to make that a priority.
“People ask sometimes, are players different today than they were back then? And I don’t notice much difference. I think I had some hard working players in my early years and a couple who could work a little harder, and then that’s always the case,” Holmquist said. “We’ve got great character guys on our team this year. In the last number of years, I felt like we’ve had terrific groups, teams and characters. And so I don’t think it’s changed too much.”
However, this season did look different than previous years. The team introduced 10 new players, which makes up over half of the men’s basketball team. With bringing in so many new players, it can be a difficult task ensuring that the team will work well together.
“They’ve continued to work very hard and stayed together emotionally as a team very well. So I’m proud of this team, I think it’s a bunch of good people, and I feel fortunate to coach them,” Holmquist said. “Our record isn’t as good as it’s been the last few years, but in terms of effort and caring level, it’s been great.”
In the office of head basketball coach Dave Holmquist, the walls are covered with team photos from over the years. He’ll point out players from the photos that he still keeps in touch with and has created long-lasting friendships with.
Coaching requires you to pour into your players, and to teach them to your best ability. Holmquist noted that coaching has also allowed him to learn alongside his players. From learning on the court it has given him valuable life lessons that also allowed him to learn more about his faith.
“Being a Christian, you’re reminded constantly that humility is the most important quality of life, that your dependence upon God is tied to that so completely,” Holmquist said. “It was Augustine that asked, ‘What are the three most important virtues? Humility, humility, humility.’ And I think coaching humbles you at times.”
Reflecting on his time at Biola, Holmquist kept saying the word blessed. Blessed for the career he’s been given, blessed for the players he’s got to coach and blessed for the school that he gets to work for. This sentiment is an inspiration to both his players and to the student body of listening to what God is calling you to do.
“First of all, I’d say I can’t imagine a better career. I’ve heard people say that they just love being a coach, and I felt that way. That’s not to say there weren’t disappointments along the way, but I would tell new coaches that this is a great career,” Holmquist said. “There’s going to be some real hard times with it. But blessings far outweigh the difficulties, and you just have to persist and believe that good things will happen, and they usually do.”
