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Photo by Jim Craven Tim Holmes, right, regularly takes part in windsprints with his South Medford High girls `C' team players. On the court or off, he delivers Panther coach Holmes doesn't often slow down By DON HUNT Tim Holmes distinctly remed1mbers his father telling him to get to bed early prior to a fishing trip in the summer of 1990. But Holmes, feeling as immortal and carefree as the average 19-year-old, didn't listen. He stayed up beyond midnight, dragged himself out of bed at 4 a.m. and hopped into a car with his father, Thurman, and uncle, Patrick. Fishing excursions to the Rogue River from their home in Klamath Falls were always enjoyable for the younger Holmes, regardless of whether he hooked a salmon or not. Photo by Andy Atkinson On Sundays, Holmes joins the praise and worship team as a drummer. But this trip took a bad turn. On their way back to Klamath Falls, Tim fell asleep at the wheel and the car careened off the highway, bounced into the ditch and slammed into a stump. No one was killed, but Tim suffered a separated shoulder and collarbone, his father badly damaged a knee that had required surgery only weeks before, and his uncle needed multiple stitches to close a wound on his arm. "My whole life flashed before my eyes during that wreck," Holmes says. "I prayed and prayed that my dad and uncle would be OK.'' Sometimes it takes such an event to alter a person's outlook on life. This was one of those times. Holmes, who is now a husband, father, student, pastor, musician, coach and United Parcel Service driver -- accomplishing more in one week than many people could get done in a month -- grew much closer to his father and his faith on that fateful night. "The Bible says you don't know the time or the hour when Jesus comes to get you," Holmes says. "I knew right then it was time to get my business straight." These days, the 26-year-old Holmes is known as one of the hardest-working coaches at South Medford High. He is an assistant in the football and track programs, and is currently coaching the girls "C" team in basketball. Prior to a recent practice, he stood by the doorway leading into the gymnasium and greeted players -- boys and girls alike -- with a big smile and a big hug. "He's real positive with the kids and he's an excellent role model," says Andrea Wegner, head coach of the South girls varsity team. "He's real patient with the girls, and he jokes with them quite a bit. But it's not like they walk all over him. He can be serious when he needs to be." When asked about that philosophy, Holmes shrugs and says, "The best coaches I've had were the ones who were demanding and yet kept your interest up. I think you can motivate kids without getting in their faces all the time." Holmes' interest in his players extends beyond the gym walls. "He's always talking to us on road trips, asking us what's going on at school and stuff like that," says Hilary Lewis, a sophomore guard. "He has a genuine interest in how your life is going." As for Holmes' life, it's zipping along at about 200 mph. He is up by 3 a.m. each weekday morning for his part-time job with UPS. Two of his nights are occupied by classes at Southern Oregon University, where he is studying to be a high school health teacher. He is the father of a 1-year-old son and has another child on the way. And each Sunday at the Calvary Temple Pentecostal Church in Central Point, Holmes is either at the podium giving a sermon or in the church band -- known as the praise and worship team -- playing drums. His wife, Tracey, plays the piano in the band and is the backup pianist for the regular church services. "These are some of my happiest moments," Holmes says of his time at the church, where he is also associate pastor. It wasn't always this way. The youngest of four children born to Thurman and Opal Holmes, Tim was somewhat of a rabble-rouser as a youngster. "I was one of those wild PKs (preacher's kids)," he says with a smile. "I didn't do anything that bad, but I did some things I'm not real proud of. Drinking, smoking, stuff like that. "And I was always the class clown. I could make people laugh." Because Tim was a good athlete at Mazama High in Klamath Falls, starring in football, basketball and track, he had something in common with his father, who was an outstanding football player at Atwater (Calif.) High and later at Oregon Tech. Thurman Holmes, in fact, was drafted by the St. Louis football Cardinals in the late 1960s, but turned down the offer to join the ministry. But it wasn't until that fateful night in 1990 that Tim truly began to appreciate his father. And for reasons more than spiritual. "My dad never knew how to read or write until he was a grown man," Tim says. "They just pushed him through high school and college. "God gave him a great ability to speak but he had to take night classes as an adult to learn how to read and write. "And he wasn't ashamed of taking those classes. He encouraged others to do the same. I really respected him for that." Thurman Holmes had hip surgery in the fall of 1997 and a couple of weeks later developed a blood clot and died. He was only 51. The younger Holmes is thankful his father made it through the car wreck seven years earlier and to have had the chance to grow closer. In a sense, he is carrying his father's torch by spreading goodwill and encouraging others, whether it's at the pulpit or in the gym. "One of my goals is to be a varsity coach," he says, "but if that never happens I'll still be happy. I just love being out there with the kids." And, rest assured, they with him. 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