Brown, Hollmon help athletes through recruiting process

Edwina Brown stood at the front of the multi-purpose room at the San Marcos Activity Center on Saturday discussing what it takes to play on the collegiate level. John Hollmon was excited to hear from his friend.

“I work in extremes. I’m black and white, I’m hot and cold, I struggle with the gray (area),” Brown said. “If you are not making 300 shots a day, you’re not serious about getting a scholarship. You’re not serious about it.”

Brown and Hollmon were both serious about it. Brown grinded her way to the University of Texas Hall of Fame, hooping for the Longhorns from 1996-2000. Hollmon played for the Langston Lions from 2004-08. After college, the pair went on to play professionally – Brown in the WNBA and Hollmon in the American Basketball Association, and both overseas.

The two finally met in 2010. They were both working with Dexter Young, a mutual trainer, in Austin and admired each other’s work ethic. The duo began training together and quickly formed a friendship.

“(Brown’s) demeanor (stood out),” Hollmon said. “She carries herself very professionally. She’s a stand-up person.”

The next year, Brown became an assistant women’s basketball coach at Texas, and later coached at New Mexico, TCU and, most recently, SMU. Hollmon founded Sports Total Athletic Training Professionals in 2011, a personal training company based in San Marcos that coaches athletes of all sports. 

As Brown learned the ropes of being a college recruiter, Hollmon began finding recruits. Hollmon constantly leaned on Brown for tidbits of advice to give his players on earning a scholarship.

“She’s a wonderful mentor,” Hollmon said. “Ever since (we met), I latched onto her and always picked her brain and harassed her when we had things going on.”

On Saturday, the opportunity arose for the two to cross paths again. 

Brown was visiting family in Lockhart, her hometown, and posted on Twitter that she was holding a presentation on the college recruiting process at the high school on Friday.

Hollmon saw the tweet and asked if she would come to San Marcos to do the same for his STAT Pro athletes the next day. Brown agreed.

“She was excited,” Hollmon said. “We had been talking about it for a while, but we just didn’t get a chance to do it. And now we finally got a chance to make it happen.”

Brown spoke to a group of about 40, made up of student athletes and their parents. She broke down topics such as what coaches look for in a prospect, the parent’s and recruit’s role in the process and most importantly – according to Brown – how to use social media appropriately.

“(It’s important to plan) now to make it happen or give yourself opportunities down the road,” said Mike Miller, who attended the event with his son Ethan, a sophomore at Hays High School. “(It was good for Ethan) to hear it from someone else, that to do these things to help yourself, (you need to) have all the opportunities you can as you go through it.”

Brown is currently taking a break from coaching, but plans to continue educating others on the recruiting process. Hollmon hopes to host more events down the road.

“Kids don’t know,” Brown said. “They don’t understand how the process works. They have these high expectations with no information.

“And it’s important for someone who has been on the collegiate side to give back and give back my information in order to give them a step up, or help to propel them towards their dreams.”