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Spotlight on Former Athlete: Kyla Hall Holas Softball 1991-94

Bruce Brown
Special to the Athletic Network

Bruce Brown  BBrown@smgpo.gannett.com  June 17, 2011

This story is a copyrighted enterprise by Bruce Brown

Kyla Hall hasn’t changed much from her days as an All-American softball pitcher at UL.

She’s Kyla Holas now, and she’s coaching the University of Houston instead of playing, but you get the feeling she would suit up today if given the chance.

Holas will be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 25, the first in her sport to be so honored, but she downplays her role as pioneer.

"When you’re in the heat of the moment, that kind of thing doesn’t seep in," Holas said, one day after coaching Houston past her alma mater in NCAA Regional play. "It’s the kind of thing you realize in hindsight.

"It (pioneer status) was never my intention. It was what I loved to do."

She still loves growing with the game, years after her playing career.

"You keep learning," Holas said. "You have to find different ways to reach athletes. You have to get to know them and understand them. As long as they’re learning the game, you can be flexible. But there are certain things that have to be done correctly.

"If you do those things, you can do other stuff that’s yours. You have to be flexible, yet firm."

It’s the flexible part that some former teammates might find amusing.

"The players around her played better, because she demanded that they did," said Yvette Girouard, who created the UL program and retired this year as LSU’s coach. "If you dropped the ball, you’d better field it."

Girouard recalled one event that illustrated Hall’s legendary intensity.

"Lynn Britton couldn’t hit a curve, even though she was a four-time All-American," Girouard said. "So one day, Kyla threw her curves until Lynn learned how to hit it. They worked until we turned the lights on at the park.

"Finally, Lynn hit it. But then she said something about it, and Kyla hit her in the back with the ball! Kyla wanted to raise that performance, and she was willing to help, but she’s still got that fire inside her."

That fire hasn’t changed. Holas led her Houston team to its second NCAA Super Regional in 2011, capping a 10th straight winning season for a UH program she built from scratch, much as Girouard did at then-USL.

The latest Cougar team has tested flexibility for the famously intense coach.

"This team had to do a little growing," Holas said. "They are a loose, fun-loving bunch, and that wasn’t the type any of us coaches were as athletes. We were aggressive. If you punch us, we punch back. At first we didn’t realize this difference. These kids love the game, and still have fun."

Tempramental differences aside, the Cougars have a perfect role model in Holas, a three-time All-American (twice first team) and led the Ragin’ Cajuns to the school’s first appearance in the Women’s College World Series and a third-place finish in 1993.

In Hall’s four-year career from 1991-94, she compiled a 104-20 record (.839) for the best career winning percentage in state history and one of the nation’s top 15 all-time marks. She compiled a career 0.50 ERA, including an 0.23 mark in 1992 which ranks in the NCAA’s all-time top 20, when she had a 30-4 record. She topped that with a 31-3 record as a senior in 1994, which also ranks in the NCAA’s top 20 all-time marks.

The Cajuns had a combined 155-24 record her final three years, and she had a win over top-ranked Arizona in the 1993 WCWS. Hall also hit third in the batting order and ranked second on the team in hitting as a senior.

More than half of her career wins (56 of 104) were shutouts, and she holds school records for no-hitters (17) and perfect games (five).

"She was a bulldog," Girouard said. "She had a take-no-prisoners attitude. She was an incredible athlete who could hit in the No. 4 hole for us. She could have been a shortstop. She was an athletic pitcher, not just a thrower. She simply refused to lose.

"She was one of the premier pitchers in the game, and I think these days she would be just as good. She’s still the best player I ever coached."

"I remember being obsessive about the details of the game," Holas said. "I would study film and break things apart until Girouard would tell me to stop. I truly think that separates good from great. That negative, breaking that down — that’s where I live, where I work. I want to make sure it doesn’t happen.

"I used to love to practice. Working hard is exciting to do. I loved and hated every minute of it. Even now, I can’t wait for practice."

The Cajuns’ breakthrough to the national stage was not repeated in 1994, reflecting the transitory nature of success.

"That was clearly the high point," Holas said of the 1993 squad. "I wish we could have repeated in my senior year. No matter how many times you go, the World Series is special, unique. That experience changes lives.

"Getting there is not something that can be measured or boxed. It takes the ‘it’ factor, a timely hit, the right 10 people in the lineup. It’s not always the 10 you’d choose, but it’s the right 10. When it’s right, you know it."

Holas majored in psychology at UL, a perfect field for getting inside athletes’ heads. She never had a doubt about her own mind.

"She wasn’t too tolerant of players who couldn’t match her talent," Girouard said. "I told her, ‘You’re special; you have to be patient with others.’ I’m sure it’s still hard for her. I guess she’s found that balance."

As long as her players play the game the right way, balance can be a part of the game for Holas.

This story is a copyrighted enterprise by Bruce Brown.

Pictured above are Kyla and her 1992 teammates. 

Click here for the Softball Photo Gallery, then the year you wish to view – from 1991-1994 for Kyla’s years.

Click here for Kyla’s Athletic Network profile, including stories about her induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame on June 25, 2011.

Our rich athletic traditions were entrusted to the vision, hope, loyalty, and dedication of those former athletes and we will forever owe them a debt of sincere gratitude. May God bless each of them and their families.

Anyone with information, materials, pictures, memorabilia, etc., of the university’s former athletic program participants is requested to contact Ed Dugas at athleticnetwork@louisiana.edu   Thank you.

The Photo Gallery Link located on the left side of the home page at www.athleticnetwork.net contains over 10,000 pictures of former and current athletes and support groups.  Just click on photo gallery and when the menu appears, click on the sport or support group you wish to view. The years of pictures posted for that team or group will appear and you may click on the year you wish to view. One click on a thumbnail picture or narrative and it is enlarged; a click on the enlarged photo and it reverts back to the thumbnail.

The Athletic Network seeks to post pictures of each team and support group for each year they represented the university.

The stories of the 2009 and 2010 honorees featured in the Spotlight on Former Athletes are still included in the News Page and may be viewed by clicking on "more news" at the bottom right of the News Box, scrolling down, clicking on the title of the story. Those spotlight features which are no longer shown in the News Page, have been moved to the Lagniappe Link of the "History of UL Athletics" located on the left side of the home page.

The Spotlight on Former Athletes announcement has also been placed in the profile of each honoree, excluding the pictures.

2011
Bruce Brown continued as feature writer.
January – Ashley Rhoney and Bret Garnett 1988 Tennis
February – Craig Perks Golf 1989 & 90
March – Eddie Baseball/Basketball 60-63,Coach 67;Ross Mouton Basketball 03-07
April – Kim Eisnaugle Chaffin Softball 1983-86
May – Grady Labbe’ Hunt Track & Field 1989-1994
June – Mike Heinen Golf 1986-89
July – Kyla Hall Holas Softball 1991-94

2010
Bruce Brown became feature writer.
January – Andrew Toney Men’s Basketball 1976-80.
February – Orlando Thomas Football 1991-94.

March – Rocky Guidry Football 1990-93, Track & Field 1991-94.

April – Track & Field Network & March 20, 2010 1st Annual Track & Field Reunion.
May – Keisha Ray Owens Williams Track & Field 1991-96.

June – 2000 College World Series Baseball Team.

July – Thirty Years of UL Softball.
August – 1970 Cajuns Measured Up (Football). 
September – Boxing Program (1930-1947).
October – Dr. Sam Foreman Baseball & Basketball 1940-42
November – Rhonda McCullough, Women’s Basketball 1986-90
December – Athletic Network-from concept to reality-its mission and practices

2009
January – Tim Thompson  Men’s Basketball 1957-61.
February – Gene Bacque  Baseball 1956 & 57.
March – Dr. Louis Bowers – Tennis 1956-58, Track 1955, Coaches 1964-66.
April – Dr. Carter Lomax, Jr. Tennis 1974-76.
May – Johnny Morris, Jr. Football 1927-29,Men’s Basketball 1927-30,Track & Field 1928-30, Golf 1927-28, Coaches 1947-49 .
June – S.L.I.I. Athletic Pioneers I
July – S.L.I.I. Athletic Pioneers II
August – 1912 – A Special Year – First L’Acadien
September – Glenn Davis Lafleur Football 1966-69
October – Bill Bass – Boxing 1938 & 39, Football 1938-40, Coach 1971-75 & 1983
November – Tom Nolan – Cross Country & Track & Field 1971-76, Coaches 1978-83
December – Military Personnel – Military Page posted


2008
January – Alvin Dark  Football, ’43; Basketball, Baseball, Golf, Track, ’44; Coaches, 1947.
February – Alyson Habetz  Women’s Basketball 1991-95 and Softball, 1991-94.
March – Ron Guidry  Baseball 1968-70.
April – Edgar "Glynn" Abel  Baseball 1939, Track & Field 1937-39, Football 1937-39.
May -Christian Keener "Red" Cagle  Baseball 1925-26, Basketball (M) 1922-26, Football 1922-25. 
June – Paul "Buddy" Short  Golf 1962-65.
July – Louis "Louie" Campbell  Boxing and Football 1940-41.
August – Dudley Wilkins  Track & Field 1933-35.
September – Brad Hamilton  Football 1963-66. 
October – Brian Mitchell  Football 1986-89.
November – Kimberly "Kim" Callaway Morvant   Volleyball 1988-91.
December – Kenneth "Mike" Stansbury  Weightlifting 1956 – 1957.


2007

Ed Dugas served as the initial feature writer and continued until Bruce Brown began writing in 2010.
June – Michael Langston Football 1973-77;
July – Hollis Conway Track & Field 1986-89;
August – Leigh Hennessy Gymnastics/Trampoline 1976-1980;
September – Dean Church Basketball (M) 1961-65;
October – Dr. David Fisher Football 1946-49 Track & Field 1947-50;
November – Kim Perrot Basketball (W) 1986-90;
December – John McDonnell Cross Country/Track & Field 1966-1969;

Peace, Ed Dugas

Ed Dugas, Coordinator
Athletic Network
athleticnetwork@louisiana.edu 
(337)482-0999