News Releases

Twin brothers and MBA students run youth basketball camp

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

BY LAURA WOLFE

Two years after completing their collegiate athletic careers for the Yale Bulldogs, twin brothers Caleb and Nick Holmes still make basketball part of their routine. The brothers, both in the full-time KU MBA program, have started Three Point Basketball Academy, a program for young players from elementary school to high school seniors.

The program is still in its beginning phases, but Caleb and Nick hope to get it off the ground in the near future. This summer the brothers, along with colleague Joe Mundweiler, wrote a business plan and began creating workouts. They are currently working with a small group of basketball players ranging in ages from third grade to high school.

"There'll be three 10-week periods throughout the year," said Nick, who is in his second year in the MBA program. "August to mid-November, which is right before high school and middle school basketball tryouts; a winter session for younger age groups; and one that would start after the regular season to get everyone back at it, probably in April."

Caleb and Nick have been playing basketball together since they were young. They both played on their high school team, winning the state championship for Olathe South High School in 2004. In college the two played in the Ivy League, at Yale, and even played twice in Allen Fieldhouse against KU.

"It was a lot of fun to play in Allen Fieldhouse with so many friends and family in the stands," said Caleb, who is in his first year in the MBA program. "Coming in we all knew that they were going to be tough games, but we just wanted to try to be competitive."

Both brothers will complete the MBA program with concentrations in finance, but down the road they may want to coach basketball full-time. "Coaching is something that I can definitely see myself doing in the future," said Caleb. "Basketball has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and coaching at the college level would be a great way to continue being around the game."

Nick may also want to coach eventually, but for the time being he enjoys finance. "If I went into coaching I'd want to coach college," Nick said. "It's really hard to get into. You have to start pretty small, so I want to make some money first." Nick recently completed an internship with Tortoise Capital Advisors and is looking forward to working in finance when he graduates.

While Nick began his MBA studies immediately following his graduation from Yale, Caleb took a year off to play professionally in Iceland. "The club I played for was in a small town in the countryside, but it was near Reykjavik so I didn't feel too isolated," Caleb said. "My dad had played there and it was cool to meet a few of his old teammates and hear stories about when he played."

After playing in Iceland, Caleb decided five years away from home was enough. He decided to come back to Kansas and continue his education. "Nick had a great experience last year with the KU MBA program and it was definitely something that I wanted to pursue, so I thought that I would enjoy going back to school near home," Caleb said.

Nick will graduate in May 2010, and Caleb will graduate in May 2011. "Finance can also be competitive," Nick said, drawing a parallel between finance and athletics. "It involves teamwork, and you can always measure your performance. You can always see where your portfolio is."