Coach Ricklan Holmes pats football player on the back of his helmet

Ricklan Holmes, proud Tyler High School Head Football Coach, is passionate about the Tyler ISD community and coaching his athletes to success. Named Director-Elect for Region 6 at the Texas High School Coaches Association, Coach Holmes said, “I am excited to be part of a more in-depth role and represent not only Tyler, but East Texas as a whole and help be part of major discussions coming up that affect our community and athletics.”  

The Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) was founded in 1930 with the goal of “providing the highest quality representation, education, and services to Texas high school coaches and affiliate members.” (thsca.com) Originally, the organization was only to serve high school football coaches, but in 1941 they welcomed all coaching staff at Texas high schools to their ranks. The primary mission of THSCA today is to help coaches help kids.   

Moving forward, his main goal is to still see his athletes use their high school experience to enter higher education and college, but now to also impact other coaches and athletes across the state. “It means a lot that my peers trusted me to be in charge of matters relating to not only high school sports, but also athletic decisions and how coaches and educators work together for the success of our students,” said Coach Holmes. Coach Holmes will assist in maintaining athletic standards and conditions, creating better relationships between school educators and athletic coaches, and maintaining the THSCA mission. 

Ricklan Holmes is a product of Tyler ISD schools. While in high school, Coach Holmes played football and ran track, which led him to attend Oklahoma State University and eventually ending up in the NFL. In 2007, Ricklan Holmes returned to Tyler following his NFL career as an assistant coach for Coach Dereck Rush. Now, 14 years later, Coach Holmes, with almost ten years of head coaching experience under his belt, is the new Director-Elect of District 6 for the THSCA. 

Tyler ISD congratulates Coach Ricklan Holmes on his additional role as Director-Elect, and we are excited to see how he contributes to athletic programs across the state!