Krause: Holland softball tournament looks to keep going strong this year

Last May, the family of the late John Holland, which had run the softball tournament in his honor since his death in 1996, spread the word that it would no longer be actively involved.It was a decision similar to the one made by the Clancy family a couple of years earlier. In the case of the Clancy baseball tournament, the four schools involved (Classical, English, St. Mary?s and North Reading) decided to take over proprietorship and spread it among each of them.As for the Holland, a committee consisting of officials from Lynn Babe Ruth (Jim Beliveau and Jeff Earp), the City of Lynn (Dave Raymond), Lynn sports cable (John Hoffman), the Lynn Journal (Cary Shuman) and The Item (yours truly) will assume directorship. The goal is to keep the tournament running with as few glitches as possible.All of us who have committed our time to making sure the transition from the family to this particular committee is as seamless as possible feel the cause is vitally important … for a number of reasons.The biggest, obviously, is the man himself. John Holland was a giver. If your organization needed help, advice, support, whatever, John was there to provide it. When the Challenger Little League came close to not having a place to play, Holland offered the Babe Ruth facilities, and allowed the group refuge until it found a home at East Lynn?s Volunteer Field.Whether it was soccer, softball, baseball … life … John Holland was there ready to roll up his sleeves. He was the president of Lynn Babe Ruth when the complex down at Breed came to fruition. And even though it was his skills at managing projects (and cajoling people) that got the job done, Holland was never the type of guy to take bows. He was content to let you take the bow while he stood in the background.Those of us who worked closely with him (and I was fortunate enough to have been one of them) know John loved a good argument, and was at his happiest when he was fiercely defending his opinion against yours … and then springing for the refreshments afterward.His is a legacy that cannot be retired, and for that reason, all of us involved in keeping his name alive take over this tournament gladly.The other reason for keeping this going is more practical. As with the Clancy, there have been few Hollands in recent years that didn?t include at least one team needing to win at least one game to become eligible for the MIAA tournament. That was one reason, back in 1982, that Chip and Jim Clancy instituted their tournament. It allowed teams another shot at qualifying without having to scrounge around for games, and it provided quality competition to prepare the players for the tournament.The Holland is the same. Teams needing that extra win have the perfect vehicle to go for it, and they?ll be playing good teams to prepare themselves. It?s the proverbial win-win situation.So as I say, we are only too happy to do our part to keep an important part of the local sports landscape intact.The Holland this year will be played May 24-25, with Classical, English, St. Mary?s and Swampscott participating. Please patronize it and show your support for just one more thing (among many) that makes Lynn special.