Rob Hollway looks comfortable and thriving as ODA football's CEO

Rob Hollway dons darkly-tinted sunglasses as he peruses the sun-soaked Out-of-Door Academy campus in Lakewood Ranch.

His go-to shades are complete with a neck strap, for those times when the sun doesn’t shine so bright.

Thunder logos embroider his hat and polo shirt in a manner which screams school pride. His outfit appears carefully coordinated, featuring some combination of navy, blue and white. Even the lanyard and whistle adorning his neck fit the color scheme.

His brand-positive attire might be comparable to something a mascot would wear, but he’s not here to entertain. Hollway is here to work.

Rarely does he casually stroll around the Out-of-Door Academy grounds. More often than not, he’s on a mission from place to place as the associate athletic director and football coach.

“I want to be here forever," Hollway said. "My kids are in first grade, and I’ve got to find a way to stay long enough for them to coach me. I’m here because it’s not the easy path – it’s a worthy path.”

He looks comfortable where he is, at the helm of a football program that’s blossoming because of him. It’s a program that, not so long ago, was in dire straits.

Before Hollway’s arrival, the Thunder went winless after players quit, forcing a premature end to the 2021 season. He recruited talent from all over campus –– beginning with the ODA baseball team, the 2021 FHSAA Class 2A state champion. His hope was to bring the school’s best athletes to the football field.

Results were immediate, and overwhelmingly positive in his first year.

Image courtesy of Rob Hollway

His rag-tag team of not-so-football players put together a 9-1 record and reached the then-SSAC Class 5A state semifinals. Hollway guided his players to a whole new level a year later, claiming the then-SSAC Class 4A state championship in 2023.

Last fall, defense shined like never before, as the group allowed the fewest points per game in program history en route to a state semifinals berth.

“The biggest thing was changing the culture and making football fun," Hollway said. "That’s why we’re here –– to play with our best friends and have a great time and beat our rival. So I invested in having fun, and I think that’s attracted a lot of kids to the program.”

Success is palpable in the present. ODA football enters its Friday battle with Sarasota Christian at 3-1 and with fresh legs coming off its bye week. 

The group has clobbered teams in victory, outscoring Halifax Academy, Cambridge Christian and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal by a staggering 111-7 combined. In defeat, its lone result came 27-20 against reigning SSAA Class 2A state champion Santa Fe Catholic.

But “The Hollway Effect” has yielded far more than big numbers on the scoreboard.

It also attracted an eight-deep staff of assistants, including associate head coach/offensive coordinator Nate Strawderman, defensive coordinator Zach Hammond and director of recruiting and football operations Josh Medeiros.

Mike Zaloga, a former scholarship player at New Hampshire, is back in the trenches and coaching the Thunder’s offensive line.

Shaping the perfect staff can be a grueling process, and for Hollway, it took years to find those who align with his vision. But he’s assembled the dream team that can properly prepare ODA football for Friday, and hopefully, many more Fridays to come.

“I always say, ‘Get the right people on the bus, and get them in the right seats,’ and that took some time,” Hollway said. “It’s nice to watch practice in the individual periods and watch us getting actively better.”

Image courtesy of Rob Hollway

A staff loaded with football minds coaching the positions they once played has also eased the day-to-day operations for Hollway. He doesn’t need to have much of a say in playcalling –– at least, not as much as he has in the past.

There’s beautiful freedom in not stressing about all those finite play-by-play details. Make no mistake, he’s very much involved, but he’s also happy to sit back and trust his assistants to tackle problem areas as they arise.

Hollway has more time to put his players under a magnifying glass, finding ways to get the guys involved who deserve to be involved. On a roster of 45 kids –– constrained by the private school’s smaller enrollment –– that’s something he thinks about more often than most.

For the first time in a long time, the staff backing him and the player success in front of him has Hollway feeling the way every head coach should feel.

The program feels like his. It feels like home. And if things keep going the way they’re going, this is a home he can inhabit for as long as he desires.

“I don’t ever feel like when we walk away from a game, that we didn’t put enough in,” Hollway said. “I really feel like I’m the CEO of the program.”

His love for the role is evident in the smiles he flashes in the hallways during the school days. It’s evident in the way he parades up and down the sidelines, watching the program grow into something greater with each victory.

But it can also be seen during those moments when he sits back and allows his assistants to course correct, keeping the faith in both them and his players as proponents of this thriving new era in ODA football history.

After all, Hollway himself is thriving like never before.