Get to know James Bowie HS soccer player Holden Rabb
AUSTIN, Texas — Get to know Holden Rabb. In addition to being a senior at James Bowie High School this year, he has been a soccer player for 14 of his nearly 18 years. Though early on he tried out baseball and football, soccer was always his preferred sport- and with good reason! His dad, John, played when he was young and is a member of the Austin Men鈥檚 Soccer Association, playing locally. One uncle was a collegiate soccer player and another a high school soccer coach. So, it鈥檚 fair to say soccer has always been very present in Holden鈥檚 life.
Holden began his soccer career at the age of four with Lonestar Soccer Club (rec) and played with them for ten years through Junior Academy and into Select. As he got older, he continued to develop at a competitive level and once Select Soccer started at 10 years old, the intensity really increased- in competitiveness, training and travel.
Holden joined FC Westlake as a freshman and has played with the same group of boys for the past four years. Nearly half of his club team are on his high school team as well and they have built a strong camaraderie. 鈥淏eing a part of a team has taught me how to work well with others. We will have different ideas about certain game tactics and views, and it鈥檚 nice to hear differing perspectives, even if I don鈥檛 always agree,鈥� he says. He鈥檚 also found that this element of teamwork doesn鈥檛 just apply on the soccer field- it carries over into other elements of his life as well, in school and at work.
One of the biggest challenges in playing soccer is staying athletically fit. It is not easy to run, move, and sprint for 90 minutes but if you want to be successful you have to be able to outrun and outlast your opponents. One piece of advice Holden has learned is that maintaining cardio health is key to being a successful soccer player. 鈥淩ecently, my coach told me that I am at the beginning of my prime athletic years, so I need to take advantage of my youth and talent while I still have time to develop and improve, remembers Holden. 鈥淚 continue to keep that in the back of my mind as I train.鈥�
The discipline required to consistently train in order to stay in shape all season is immense, but there is a tremendous amount of mental strength involved as well. No matter how well prepared you may be physically, mistakes still happen. It鈥檚 how you respond in those tough spots that makes all the difference. That takes showing up time and again, brushing off the setbacks, and staying committed, consistent, and open to learning. Holden contributes so much of his success to his coaches, Marco Gutierrez and Brian Young (鈥淏Y鈥�).
When he鈥檚 not on the soccer field, you can find Holden studying, watching his favorite shows (Band of Brothers and Peaky Blinders) or spending time with his family and girlfriend. But for the Rabbs, soccer is a center point. Younger sister, Sam (15), also plays for Bowie as well as FC Westlake. Of the sport, mom, Alexa, says 鈥渟occer is what we do! Through the years the teams and leagues get significantly more competitive. The travel increases- we are in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio on any given weekend and travel out of state often. But both Holden and Sam absolutely love playing and we love watching and supporting them.鈥� The Rabbs are also Austin FC super fans and are season ticket holders. Listos Verde!
Already, Holden has had the opportunity to play in Spain on two different occasions through Inspire Soccer. Both were amazing experiences for him and he was able to watch an El Cl谩sico match at Camp Nou in Barcelona where he watched his idol, Lionel Messi, win. He loves how the sport brings people together from all over the world. The recent World Cup frenzy this past December is an excellent example of that as he saw people who never really watched or followed soccer become absolute fans.
In addition to always improving, Holden鈥檚 personal goal has always been to play soccer at the collegiate level. It鈥檚 a goal that he will be achieving later this year as he has recently committed to play at St. Edward鈥檚 University in the fall of 2023! He turns 18 later this month and dreams of playing soccer at the professional level one day. Holden has accomplished so much already, and family and friends that know him well can鈥檛 wait to see what still lies ahead.
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