MUST WATCH: BULLPEN SESSION with NICK HOLMES - Former Marine turn international coach and MLB scout

“Sports kept me out of trouble.” Nick Holmes
Nick Holmes, originally from Des Moines, Iowa, grew up immersed in sports, exploring various athletic pursuits throughout his formative years. While initially following in his father's footsteps as an ice hockey player, inspired by his father's college days at Drake University, Nick's passion shifted at the age of 7 when he discovered organized baseball.
In high school, Nick moved from Iowa to Texas before eventually settling in Jackson, Mississippi during his sophomore year. He discovered that football was too physically demanding for his 5'7", 140-pound frame, and baseball became his refuge and means of integration into new environments.
During the summer before his senior year, a Division III coach approached Nick and offered an honest assessment that went against his aspirations of being drafted. Realizing that his chances of playing baseball beyond high school were diminishing, Nick understood the writing on the wall.
A chance encounter with a Marine reservist after his senior year sparked a conversation that led Nick to consider his next steps. Intrigued and impressed, he quickly realized that joining the Armed Forces was the path he wanted to pursue. The experience ingrained important character traits like honor, time management, self-discipline, and integrity, which he still values to this day.
While in the Marines, Nick advertised the idea of a baseball league to his fellow Marines at Camp LeJeune. Within 72 hours, he had 95 Marines signed up. Nick took on the role of commissioner for the 8-team league.
After completing his service, Nick, 30, moved to southern California. There, he joined an adult baseball league and crossed paths with Glen Raasch, the owner of the West Coast Baseball School in Burbank. Shortly after, Raasch offered him a chance to become a partner in another school located in Sherman Oaks.
His involvement with the WCBS led him to coaching positions in high school and college. With the guidance of Rick Magnante, an Oakland A's scout, Nick ventured into professional scouting. Magnante asked him to coach a summer scout team for the A's, which continued for another year.
Although Nick initially failed to secure a spot at an MLB scout school in Arizona, he discovered another opportunity in the Dominican Republic.
With the help of a translator from the Dominican scout school, Nick devised a plan to scout Central America for major league teams. In 2011, the Texas Rangers sent him to Nicaragua to scout the surrounding region for potential players. Nick fell in love with the Latin culture, and six months later, the Rangers sent him back to continue his scouting work.
During a side trip to Costa Rica, Nick attended a practice session of the national baseball team. Word spread that the gringo in the stands was a scout, which caught the attention of the Costa Rica Baseball Federation president. Impressed, his expressed interest in becoming the head coach led to a one-year contract. As head coach, Nick led the team during the 2013 Central American Games.
Nick remained in Costa Rica, continuing his scouting work in Central America. He spent five years there with his wife and daughter, enjoying the Costa Rican lifestyle before embarking on his next adventure.
With assistance from David Burns of Baseball Job Overseas, Nick spent twelve weeks working in player development in Newfoundland, Canada. After returning to Costa Rica for another year, he spent the next five years on Vancouver Island, Canada, where he focused on player development, serving as commissioner of the local baseball organization in Nanaimo.
In August of 2022, Nick and his family returned to southern California, where he continued his entrepreneurial, establishing a third-party scouting company called Global Sports Metrics and the "Love the Game, Live the Dream" podcast. Nick emphasizes that there are numerous job opportunities in sports that don't require being a high draft pick.
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