Ryan Aughavin

2023 PLL Champion, All-American, Academic-All American, NEILA Player of the Year, Unanimous 1^st Team All Ivy League, Team Captain

When looking back at my 5 years playing for Coach Holm, I am beyond grateful for having that opportunity. From coming in as an 18 year old, to graduating at 22, Coach Holm played a pivotal role in my self-maturity and becoming a better person overall. While I could speak about his impact on the field for days, I am more appreciative of the incredible impact he had on me off the field. He continues to be a resource for me, and his advice and guidance is something I never take for granted. His influence on the team is truly immeasurable, and not just for me, but for every team player. 

After playing multiple seasons of professional lacrosse, I firmly believe Coach Holm has the highest lacrosse IQ of any of these coaches. In addition to his incredible intelligence of the game, he has a unique ability to simplify information to make it effortless to digest.

Devon McLane

2 x All-Ivy League, 2 x All-American, National Champion

“I have known Coach Holm from the beginning of the recruiting process through my time at Brown and Notre Dame. He played a pivotal role in elevating my lacrosse game to new heights. His passion and determination were apparent in every practice, film session, and team meeting. He consistently motivated me, and my teammates to achieve our full potential. With his personalized coaching and strategic insights, I developed both as a player and a leader on the field.”

Connor Theriault

Brown 2024 Graduate, All-American, 1^st Team All Ivy, Tewaaraton Watch List

For the past four years I have gotten the opportunity to be coached by coach Holm. Coach Holm has been instrumental in my development as a person and lacrosse player at Brown University. When I first arrived on campus, Coach Holm greeted me with open arms and was the perfect mix between a mentor and coach. What I most admire about coach Holm is his ability to coach all players differently to get the most out of them. For example, throughout my career at Brown, coach Holm has always coached me to be my best: if my confidence was low, Coach Holm brought it up, if it was too high, he brought it to a level that I would play my best at. Coach Holm was not only great on the field but off as well. If I needed someone to talk to, Coach Holm was there at all times. I cherish Coach Holm’s ability to not only have the fun and lighthearted conversations, but the tough and necessary ones as well. Coach Holms competitiveness and desire to win stands above any of the coaches I have been coached by. Not only is Coach Holm trying to win games, but he knows that winning is infectious. From the time I have gotten to campus, Coach Holm and I have competed, from warmups, to lifts, to bikes, coach Holm has always pushed each and every player to be their best.

On September 1st of 2018, Coach Holm was one of the first coaches to reach out to me. After numerous phone calls and emails back and forth with Coach Holm, I made the trip to Providence to visit. What drew me to Brown over schools like Yale, Harvard, and Notre Dame was the moment I walked on campus, I was asked about more than lacrosse. Coach Holm set the expectation of where we expect to be in regards to lacrosse but also as students and people in general. My tour around campus with Coach Holm was fantastic, he asked me about my family, school, and my personal hobbies. Coach Holm’s recruiting was very impactful to my decision to commit to Brown because he emphasized the importance of lacrosse but also stressed the significance of being an outstanding human first and foremost. I cannot thank Coach Holm enough for the last four years. Coach Holm has allowed me to be my best on the field and off the field. His drive, desire to win and understanding of what players need to be at their best is exceptional. If I were to do the process again, I would choose to come to Brown and play for Coach Holm.

Player Development Both ON and OFF the field

Brown Graduate 2024

My time at Brown has been filled with ups and downs and a different path than most. While graduating high school, I believed that O was all grown up. To me, entering the college world meant I was now an adult and knew everything. I was quick to learn that this was not the case. As I am sitting here writing this, it makes me proud to sit where I am now. However, I would only have Mae it to this moment with the coaching staff. One of the critical elements of the coaching staff is developing young adults into becoming what they will be for the rest of their lives. Respectable-hard working, honest men. One that will own their mistakes and take no opportunity for granted. Being a thumb guy is what you want to call yourself.

When I arrived on day one, I was not a thumb guy. I would show respect, have manners. And would listen when being told. But those are minimum standards. Through time, I learned to slow down and respect the opportunity I had to be at this school. A perfect example of growth for me is our senior meetings. Every week, starting at some point in the fall, the senior class would have the chance to stand in front of the team and talk about their experiences in like and what/why they were who they were. I listened to those experiences and soaked them in. As a Freshman, I would ask myself, “Am I going to have to go up there and do that? There is no way I will be able to because I am so unprepared?” Suddenly, you are in the crowd, and it is time to take the microphone. I was nervous and worried about going up and telling my story, but I had learned how to craft and tell my story throughout  those years. That experience is just one of the many that this coaching staff has allowed me to have. They have allowed me to grow and molded me into something that does not resemble what I was five years ago. I am not a rare case as well. Every player coached by Mike Daly, Brett Holm and John Svec has become a better person than when they first came to school.

I have had my hardships at Brown. COVID happened twice: being kicked out of school for a semester for my academics and tearing my ACL my junior year. But through it all, I had the backing and support of the coaching staff, who helped me overcome these obstacles and use them for the better. If I could do it again, I would because I know what it is like for hard things to happen, and now I have those experiences and knowledge forever. Deep down in my heart, I know that if the coaches were not there to help and develop me, I would not be where I am now.