Small-School Talent Has Thrived Under The Mentorship Of Coach Jim Feeney

By Joe Zochert for DyeStat

Zach Holland went from small-school Oregon state champion to ninth place at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in two years. 

And with a strong start to the 2022 season competing for Umpqua Community College, its seems the sky is the limit for the 21-year old from Glide, Ore. 

Holland won in the men's javelin April 1 at Hayward Premiere with a throw of 228-7 (69.67m) in cold, rainy conditions. Prior to that, he threw a lifetime best 258-6 (78.80m) for second place at the 94th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin.

Holland said the improvement is a result of hard work.

“Working hard in the offseason," he said. "Every other day, (being) out there throwing as far as I can to build that muscle.” POST-MEET INTERVIEW

The UCC thrower is a unique prospect as he has only been throwing the javelin since his junior year in 2018 at Glide High School, a 90-minute drive south of Eugene.

Holland, an outfielder on the baseball team, was talking with the Glide track coach, who was also his wrestling coach, one spring afternoon after practice. He remembers telling his coach, “I can throw a baseball. Want to see me throw this?” 

After picking up a javelin for the first time and throwing it a few times that day, he quickly became hooked on trying to throw it farther. He joined the track and field team for the remainder of the season. In his senior year, he won 11 meets in a row, including the Class 2A Oregon state championship. He improved from 164 to 197 feet in two months.

Umpqua Community College, located in Roseburg, re-started its track and field program in the fall of 2018. Coming out of high school, it was an easy transition and he could commute from home. It also kept him in the orbit of coach Jim Feeney, who has 50 years of experience with the javelin to draw from. 

Feeney, who volunteers at UCC and also coaches at Douglas High, 20 miles from Glide, traces his history with the javelin to the early 1970s in Southern California. He learned the event from 1968 Olympic decathlete Rick Sloan, who would later become the head coach at Washington State for 18 years. 

Feeney broke the NCAA Division 2 javelin record and won the 1972 national title competing for Cal State Fullerton. After moving to Southern California College (now Vanguard), he added an NAIA title in 1974.

Feeney spends a lot of time studying video with Holland, analyzing the greats like Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway and Johannes Vetter of Germany.

“Videoing (throws has) become one of the best ways for me to learn and (understand) what I’m doing wrong and make that right, to improve my distances,” he said. “Seeing how your body changes (and) is affected by the javelin throwing, and doing different things to try to make it (fly farther) helps.”

Feeney's coaching has been instrumental to Holland's success as he worked in obscurity during 2020 and then emerged at a community college with a very small track and field profile.

In 2021, Holland took his first collegiate throws and won events at the Oregon Relays and Oregon Twilight meet at Hayward Field, and had season's best of 239-10 (73.11m).

“I’ve got a really good coach. He’s very knowledgeable,” Holland said. “He breaks down all the professional throwers. He understands how they throw and the mechanics of their bodies.” 

Feeney pointed out that Holland is a “speed thrower” and compares his fast approach on the runway to India’s Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic champion last summer in Tokyo.

Without overwhelming size and strength, speed is what sets Holland apart from other throwers. Feeney believes that Holland is going at about 85 percent while he continues to perfect his technique and that when he reaches his maximum velocity on the runway his throws will take another big step forward. 

“I'm not the biggest (or) strongest, but I think I am one of the fastest and I am able to control that power and direct it into the javelin,” Holland said.

He is pursuing his goals with a combination of natural speed, work ethic and coachability. 

“He is really driven for this, let's put it that way,” Feeney said. “I really think he is going to break the 80-meter mark this year.”

Holland is on an unusual path without the structure and support of a top-tier NCAA program, but he has his eyes set on making the U.S. team and qualifying for the World Championships in July, less than two hours from his home. It's a tall order. The qualifying standard is 85 meters (278-10), which is 20 feet beyond his best.

Feeney said he believes Holland has what it takes, and would benefit from some additonal time, to contend for a spot at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

“In fact, I already have made plans to go to Paris whether he goes there or not," Feeney said. "I have been there a couple of times already. I sure hope to meet him there and show him around after the Games.”