Voice of the Bronchos
Teacher 2000-2023
MS Swim Coach
Anthony Coggins came to Holly HS in the fall of 2000, hired to teach social studies and language arts. It was over the next 23 years that Tony placed his fingerprints over so many different elements of our school, academic programs, athletic programs, and our community. As one of his colleagues shared within the last couple of months, Tony was “the heartbeat of Holly HS” and the passion and pride that he had for our school district was unmatched. During his tenure at Holly HS, Tony was the public address announcer for Holly Athletics serving various sports such as football, basketball, volleyball, swim and dive, competitive cheer, dance, baseball, wrestling, soccer, and track and field. Tony was also actively involved as the voice of the Holly Broncho Marching Band, advisor of Rho Kappa (social studies National Honor Society), actor in many Holly Theatre Department productions, and many other activities. It is fair to say that if something was happening at Holly HS, Tony was there and wanted to be involved as he knew what it meant to his students to see him there supporting them.
If you ever attended an athletic event at Holly High School between 2000-2023, there is a good chance you were familiar with Tony’s work as the “Voice of the Bronchos.” Whether it was the creative nicknames that he would have for each of the Broncho Athletes, the rapport that he had with opposing coaches and officials, or the way in which he sang the National Anthem, Tony was one of the best public address announcers in the state. Tony embraced the PA role wholeheartedly and took that position to a whole new level for Holly Athletics. His personal nature in which he would conduct this duty was unmatched and what made him so endearing to all that attended our athletic events. As one media member shared, “Tony has a great way of making his announcing meaningful and personal to all that are in attendance.” Tony took immense pride in his role as the “Voice of the Bronchos” and there is not one athlete that donned the Red, Gray, and White over the last 23 years that does not have very fond memories of Tony on the mic for their games.
The art of being a public address announcer was a craft that Tony loved and his work in this profession was not just limited to Holly High School. Over the last 10 years or so, Tony branched out in this role working as the public address announcer for the Michigan High School Athletic Association for their state finals in football, boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball. In addition to his work with the MHSAA, Tony was also honored to lend his services to his alma mater, the University of Michigan, working volleyball, softball, field hockey, and gymnastics events for his beloved Maize and Blue. Tony also spent some time calling games for Central Michigan University, mainly with their volleyball program.
One of Tony’s other pride and joys was the Holly Middle School swim program that he coached from 2020-2023. Tony took over the middle swim program and never looked back. He was often found on the deck of the pool cheering and encouraging every swimmer in the pool, regardless of whether they were on his team or the opposing team. Tony loved coaching this group of athletes and instilling the values of sportsmanship, competition, and teamwork. As one middle school swimmer said, “he was the one coach that has taught me how to be confident in myself, no matter what I am doing.” His goal was to make swim and dive a sport that all athletes were welcome to be a part of and over time fall in love with it, just as he did with coaching it. Many of the current swimmers in the program would attribute their love of swimming to Tony and that has driven them to where they are at today.
Tony will never be forgotten by anybody that had the opportunity to work with him and call him their friend. He was a very special person and someone that’s impact on Holly will live on forever.