PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — He is a coach.
But not on with his daughters on the golf course.
“I try not to do a lot of coaching out here,” said Elmwood football coach Todd Hollis. “There’s enough frustration on the golf course. Mostly I’m the golf cart driver and try to make it fun and have the wind go through our hair.”
His daughters are Meg and Alina, each 16, each with Down Syndrome. Both love playing golf in the weekly Heart of Illinois Special Recreation Association golf league at Kellogg Golf Course on Wednesday nights in the summer.
Last year Meg, who plays on the Elmwood High School golf team, qualified for the Special Olympics state meet.
“I really like this sport,” Meg Hollis said. “It’s my favorite thing to do.”
Hollis has coached both his sons, Noah and Caleb, in football. And sometimes it’s his wife Anne that plays the role of caddy for the girls.
But he loves being on the golf course with his daughters on a weekly basis. And next week he’ll have to turn his attention to coaching his football team which begins fall practice Monday.
“I will miss all of Meg’s (high school) golf meets, I missed their cross country meets in junior high. That’s the deal with being a football coach,” Todd Hollis said. “But this gives me the opportunity to hang out with them in a sports environment.”
Meg and Alina will play in the Special Olympics regional meet in Edwardsville on Friday. But the scores really don’t seem to matter when It’s daddy/daughter date night on the golf course.
“Through the summer, we know for sure Wednesday night what we’re doing together,” said Todd Hollis. “Sometimes there’s a milkshake afterwards.”
